New Year, New You : How Taking Martial Arts Classes will help you lose weight FAST!

Feeling self conscious about your body? Don’t worry. You’re not alone because we’ve been there before at some point.

Fortunately, there is a way you can help yourself look and feel good. Get into the greatest shape ever (inside and out) by training in the martial arts!

Apart from helping you get stronger and tougher, martial arts is extremely efficient when it comes to melting away fat. This is crucial because when you burn fat, you’re strengthening your resistance to diseases, improving cardiovascular health and overall fitness in general.

Today, American Karate Institute shares 5 REAL Reasons Why Martial Arts helps you lose weight FAST!:

1) It consumes fatty acids for fuel

Do you know that your brain is unable to metabolize fatty acids during the first 30 minutes of exercise?

It has been reported that once you hit the half hour mark, your body starts to favor fatty acids over glucose, which is what it mainly metabolizes. This means it can more effectively access and target free fatty acids (FFAs) from lipids in body fat.

An intense martial arts training session would usually last longer than half an hour. This ensures the prevention of new fat stores and the erosion of old ones. What’s more, it effectively melts body fat because it feeds on FFAs to fuel you throughout your workout.

At AKI, martial arts classes are typically 45-60 minutes long, depending on the class. So you can be sure that you’d be punching and kicking and grappling those fats away!

2) It increases your muscle mass

Training martial arts is a great way to get a nice, toned physique because almost every muscle group in your body is activated and utilized when you train. In just one martial arts session, you can burn up to 1,000 calories while building and toning your muscles.

The more muscle you gain, the more effectively your body will melt fat. This is because maintaining muscle requires your body to naturally burn more calories than it does when it’s maintaining fat.

3) It speeds up your metabolism

Martial arts workouts are intense, thus requiring effort and strength to execute the techniques. Practicing martial arts regularly will not only help you to perfect techniques but also condition you physically. What’s more, it will boost your metabolism and as a result, melt away more fat.

According to fitness experts, if you’re a morning person and choose to start your day with a martial arts class, you’re actually zapping your fats more effectively. This is because you tend to make healthier food and activity choices throughout the day when you kick-start your day with a focus on fitness.

4) It helps reduce stress

Have you been stressed out lately? That might be the reason why you’re putting on weight.

Each time you feel stressed, your body releases potent hormones, which give you a burst of adrenaline along with a gush of cortisol. The cortisol then tells your body to replenish the energy with food, although you haven’t used many calories. This is why you tend to feel hungry or crave junk food when you’re stressed.

Research reveals that chronic high stress can prevent you from losing weight – or even cause you to put on some extra pounds – despite a good diet and exercise regime.

5) It gives you more motivation to train

Fight the stress (and fat) with a martial arts workout! Besides helping you de-stress, it will make you feel happier and regulate your mood as your body releases endorphins during your training. This would help reduce your stress, and prevent you from potentially putting on more weight.

When you train regularly, you’re increasing your stamina because your body increases its production of energy-promoting neurotransmitters. Thus, it keeps you motivated to go back week after week.

Contact American Karate Institute for a Free Trial Class

At the American Karate Institute, we teach a way of life. Our Miami martial arts school and MMA Classes has developed a well thought out curriculum that teaches more than just the art of self-defense. We delve deep into our students’ technique, skill set, intelligence, intuition and overall physical fitness. Contact us today if you’re interested in mixed martial arts and self-defense classes and schedule your free-trial class!