Best Martial Arts For Fitness (Top 5)
Martial arts training has become very popular among people who want to get in top shape and improve overall fitness. In fact, this trend is on such a rise that a lot of gyms, notably the ones in the western world, have started opening amateur groups where people can train in a martial art for fitness.
For example, a single hour of martial art training can burn up to 900 calories, which is a lot. With a bit of consistency and hard work, you may expect to get in top shape and lose a lot of weight in a very short time span. You may even speed up this process by following a strict diet.
The best thing about it: martial art training is more dynamic and fun than training in a fitness gym. And of course, it teaches you valuable self-defense lessons and skills.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the 7 best martial arts for weight loss.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is the most popular grappling martial art. Apart from all the benefits in terms of self-defense, BJJ also burns a lot of calories and is perhaps the best if you want to develop functional fitness. It’s one of the rare sports activities that will activate and improve every single muscle group in your body.
Watching two people grappling might look “easy”, playful and fun. But rolling with a person similar to your size is exhausting and quickly drains the gas tank.
During the rolls, you will have a hard time moving, breathing, getting out of awkward positions, and overall, surviving. Spending just 5 minutes rolling with your partner will make you feel like you have run 5 miles.
What are the fitness benefits of BJJ?
In some way, it is an ideal combination of cardio, strength, aerobic and anaerobic workouts in one workout. It is great for your core and back muscles, legs, and hips. It is also great for your mind as it improves problem-solving skills, trains your mind to stay calm and focused, and in the end, builds strong mental toughness. Students burn between 500–800 calories per class, around the same as Muay Thai and other striking arts.
But the key advantage BJJ has over other martial arts on this list is safety. Since there is no striking, which is the most common way people get hurt, jiu-jitsu includes a really low injury rate.
Pros:
– Low injury rate
– Dynamic and playful
– Improves every single muscle group
– Builds strong mental toughness
Cons:
– Takes a lot of time to learn
Muay Thai
Muay Thai has become one of the most popular martial arts, mainly thanks to the rise of modern MMA where it plays a key role. It no longer has a bad reputation for brutal training and a high injury rate.
Most modern gyms include an amateur group where you can train in Thai boxing at your pace, and of course, improve fitness and get in shape.
What are the fitness benefits of Muay Thai?
A single hour of Muay Thai training burns between 600–800 calories, often even more than that. Training is brutal and includes a lot of grueling cardio workouts, sprints, running, endless rope jumping, and sparring. Though hard, this type of workout is the main reason why all Thai boxers look lean, have a nice muscle tone, and never gas out in a fight.
Training in Muay Thai does not build big muscles as bodybuilding does. However, students do a lot of bodyweight exercises such as squats, push-ups, and pull-ups, and they also lift weights occasionally. The key is to find an ideal balance between slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. Or in other words, an ideal balance between cardio and strength.
On top of that, Muay Thai is a very practical combat system that works really well in any type of self-defense scenario. You will learn how to deliver powerful blows using your hands, feet, elbows, and knees, as well as the basics of grappling and how to fight in the clinch. It truly is a total package and you should at least try it.
Pros:
– Increases leg strength
– Burns a lot of calories
– Strengthens your core
– Improves hip mobility
– Improves cardiovascular health (lowers blood pressure)
Cons:
– High injury rate
– Too intense for most people
MMA
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a hybrid mix of various striking and grappling martial arts put into one style of fighting. It enables athletes to strike using all limbs, wrestle in the clinch, score takedowns, and fight on the ground. To succeed, each athlete must cover all the aspects of the sport, or in other words, be an expert in multiple martial arts, and that is really hard.
The first bad news is that, in order to become good at MMA, you have to hit the gym at least 5 days a week. Each week is a mix of grappling (BJJ and wrestling) and striking (boxing and muay Thai) classes and sparring. On top of that, you have to spend at least one day working hard on your cardio and strength. Though this may sound like a lot of work (and it is), this training approach has many benefits.
What are the fitness benefits of MMA?
MMA is an ideal mix of anaerobic and aerobic workouts and high-level MMA fighters are a definition of a functional athlete. On one side, they must be strong to endure all the grappling exchanges and have enough power to hurt the opponent. And on the other, must have top conditioning and cardio to do that for an extended period of time.
So the main goal is to find that ideal balance between being strong, agile, and flexible, and having a deep gas tank, which is really hard.
Training is a cardio intense activity that involves all the muscles and is often seen as the most complete workout you can get. It burns so many calories and is so hard on your body that you really have to pay a lot of attention to what you eat and how much water you drink.
Pros:
– Full body workout
– Improves upper and lower body strentgh
– Functional fitness
– High practical for self-defense
Cons:
– Not many people can sustain such intense workload
– High injury rate
Boxing
One of the key reasons why boxing is so popular among all genders and ages are the fitness benefits of training. Few other sports offer similar benefits when it comes to losing weight and improving overall fitness. And since it is well spread all around the world, it’s going to be easy for you to find a school in your area.
What are the fitness benefits of boxing?
Boxing burns around 600–700 calories per training and classes are cardio intense. It is not uncommon to see students, notably beginners, leaving the gym on all fours, exhausted from intense workouts. But apart from losing weight, boxing workouts also improve both upper and lower body strength as well as core muscles.
When it comes to fitness, the key in boxing is to develop strong aerobic endurance while maintaining strong muscles. Or in other words, training focuses on developing muscles that offer a lot of strength and power, but burn little oxygen. That’s why all boxers look ripped, and strong, and do not lack cardio and explosive strength.
Last but not least, boxing falls into the group of easier martial arts to learn. You won’t have a hard time picking up the basics and keeping up with the classes.
Also, many people are afraid they will get hurt and beaten up, but this is not true. You can always train boxing in an amateur group and spar at your will.
Pros:
– Relatively easy to learn
– Burns a lot of calories and boosts endurance
-Improves upper and lower body strength
Improves hand-eye coordination and balance
Cons:
– Hard on your body
– High risk of head and face injuries
Kickboxing and Cardio kickboxing
Kickboxing offers similar benefits when it comes to fitness and weight loss as Muay Thai training. However, kickboxing is a bit less complex and the intensity of the classes is also lower. On top of that, a “cardio kickboxing” variation is very popular among people who want to lose weight.
What are the fitness benefits of kickboxing?
Cardio kickboxing is all about utilizing martial arts techniques for the purpose of sweating and losing weight, and it is very safe. The emphasis is on high output, keeping the heart rate elevated for an extended period of time, which in the end builds a strong aerobic base.
The only major downside of this variation is the fact that you won’t learn how to fight. There is no sparring or any type of fight simulation.
However, if you are in for some real martial art training, then you should choose a regular kickboxing school, and you won’t regret it. Training is hard, targets the leg muscles, arms, shoulders, and back, and is great for improving posture. And unlike the cardio variation, you will develop proper fighting skills.
Pros:
– Less intense than Muay Thai
– Relatively easy to learn
– Boosts endurance
– Strengthens leg and upper body muscles
– Improves flexibility
