The best martial arts for fitness
Different martial arts / combat sports have become super popular for a variety of reasons, self defence, people learning a martial art to try compete but the real growth among both male and females has been for fitness. The nature of the below sports mean that you need to be super fit to get to a decent level, and so coaches are now using the sport to train fitness classes.
Boxing
This is the most popular of all combat sports for fitness, the sport is probably the ultimate test of physical and mental stamina in sport. Normal boxing requires incredibly quick footwork, the ability to throw accurate, fast and powerful punches for 12 three-minute rounds. The same principles and fitness techniques are taught in boxing fitness classes.
Constantly moving at speed and exerting energy through punching is draining, try hitting a punch bag for 1 minute and you’ll soon find out why boxers are some of the fittest athletes in sport!
Kickboxing
Much like boxing, kickboxing is an excellent sport for fitness, and possible better as you rely on kicking as well as punching which means a better all over body work out. When you learn kickboxing, you will learn self-defence, you will increase your fitness levels and engage your entire body while doing so. It is a fantastic sport that will work your entire body. Kickboxing focuses on your core, your arms and shoulders, your legs and glutes. It also helps you increase stamina and it is great cardio workout that boosts your cardiovascular health, making it one of the best sports for weight loss.
Muay Thai
It’s a sport similar in style to kickboxing so workouts for Muay Thai are rigorous and sparring even more intense. There is a high level of flexibility and balance that goes into many of the movements which leads to strength and core improvements as well as better stamina.
MMA
MMA is one of the most physically demanding sports out there, it’s a full-contact combat sport that allows basically anything from boxing, kick boxing, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, wrestling and grappling. MMA requires full body strength, un-matched conditioning and fitness levels to ensure those fast reflexes, speed and power. This has made MMA a great martial art to learn for fitness.
Wrestling
Wrestling is similar to MMA, these sports are non-stop action and demand a lot from the body. Wrestling requires lots of stamina too and great deals of strength and power. It is a constant battle of all-out physical and mental effort, as fighters delicately balance attempts to overpower and out-position each other.
The multi discipling sport is done both standing and on the ground, using techniques from various combat sports and martial arts all at once.
Taekwondo
A typical Taekwondo class involves dynamic punching and kicking drills, blocks, core-strengthening exercises and stretches. You’ll build stamina and strength and fitness pretty quickly through this combat sport.
It can also improve muscle tone and appearance and increase your overall flexibility. While performing these moves with an increased heart rate you will shred those pounds in no time.
The best overall sports for fitness
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