Martial arts fitness

If last weekend’s Muay Thai kickboxing promotion and test is any indication, the new year is off to a great start!  Everyone seems refreshed and though the break was just enough to get us all excited to dive right back in.  New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep, but even great habits can be hard to keep when you travel, be it for work or for fun.  I think the most important thing to remember when traveling is to keep the mindset of “anything (however little or insignificant), is better than nothing” when it comes to exercise and martial arts fitness.  Every bit of workout ads up.  While you may maximize your benefits by doing intense, muscle exhausting sets, remember than 10 squats are better than zero squats.  So whenever you have a free minute or two, try to squeeze something in.  Roll out of bed and onto the floor for some push ups or sit ups.  Making time to keep yourself healthy is one of the best gifts you can give yourself and your family members.  If you need ideas for martial arts fitness workouts on the go, think about the calisthenics we do in extreme or comfit!  The dreaded “around the worlds” require very little space and no equipment.  Same for shadowboxing your Krav Maga or Muay Thai, which, if you keep your pace up, can exhaust you in just a few minutes.  You don’t need to be whaling on Thai pads or tombstones to get in a workout.  And even though it may feel silly, the major motion of jumping rope (an awesome workout) is the jumping, so if you don’t have the rope, you can still get your sweat on.  If you need ideas for improving your martial arts fitness, any of the instructors will happily give you suggestions 🙂

Why is working towards and maintaining fitness important?  So many reasons.  Obviously, there are the health benefits.  There are performance benefits as well when it comes to sparring and testing.  But remember, if you are ever attacked and need to use your Krav Maga, Muay Thai, or MMA for self defense, your adrenaline will push you for about 30 seconds, a minute if you’re lucky.  Hopefully the fight will be over by then, but since we plan for the worst, assume it won’t be.  At that point, you need to have conditioning in your back pocket to keep you going.  If you’re gassed in sixty seconds, technique alone will not likely be enough to win the day.  So definitely keep coming to technique classes, but if you’re not an extreme, heavy bags, or comfit regular, come give them a try!  They are the perfect complement to technique training and will give you a great chance to get in lots of reps to build in the right habits (though that’s why you need to be sure to keep technique sharp even in extreme!).  Remember, these classes are great in that they are challenging at every level.  That doesn’t mean that everyone should be afraid, it means that everyone should try them! Don’t wait for the day that you “feel ready” to take on an extreme class.  The best way to do it is to just dive right in.  So, if two weeks into the new year, you’re still looking for a resolution to stick to, try adding an extreme class (or one more than you already do) to your routine.  It will improve your martial arts fitness tremendously!  I’ve been missing you all in heavy bags for two weeks due to work and travel, but I can’t wait to get back to seeing you all in there crushing it next week!  I was glad to hear the first Tuesday back was such a full house!

Happy New Year!