MMA, or mixed-martial arts, is a full-contact combat sport that trains practitioners in the arts of both striking and grappling. MMA makes use of a wide range of techniques from other combat sports and martial arts. As such among many experts, MMA is considered to be a hybrid combat sport. In recent years, thanks to the popularity of the UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship and K1, MMA and MMA training has become a part of popular culture.
Besides being a great way of learning self-defense techniques, MMA training is also a great way to quickly get into shape and improve oneself. While MMA is a combat sport, many of the training techniques used in it can easily be adapted into your fitness regime. This is because MMA training and conditioning focuses on building up strength, endurance and stamina. In this article, we look at some of the benefits that MMA training can have.
Improves Your Overall Coordination and Balance
In any combat situation, your ability to actually land a blow on your opponent is just as important as your ability to hit hard. While you may be able to kick like a mule and punch like Mike Tyson, all of that strength and power comes to naught if you cannot accurately land a blow. This is why MMA fighters train to ensure that their kicks, punches and other movements are able to flow in order to successfully land a hit on their opponent. Any miscalculation can leave you exposed to a brutal counter-attack by your opponent.
Due to the dynamic nature of martial arts, MMA training focuses on developing one’s coordination and natural sense of balance, while also building up accuracy and precision. Thus, through this, you will learn how to improve your coordination while also training your body to work in unison. On the long-term, you will notice that your movements are more graceful and much smoother, as your ability to sense your body’s balance and position has improved.
Improves Overall Fitness
As a combat sport, MMA combines both cardiovascular and strength training, providing you with a truly balanced workout. This is a truly demanding sport, which calls for superior levels of cardiovascular conditioning together with exemplary physical strength. This is because, in the ring, an MMA fighter needs to stay alert and fresh while still attacking and defending against a determined opponent. All the while, he or she needs to keep an eye open for an opening in his or her opponent’s defense.
It is due to the demanding nature of this sport that you will find yourself quickly shedding pounds and putting on lean muscle in a very short span of time. From sparring sessions that leave you exhausted and sessions in the weight room to build strength, to long runs that build up your physical endurance, you will find that with some dedication and discipline, MMA training will have plenty of benefits.
Due to the well-rounded nature of the training, expect to have better stamina, a leaner body as well as improved levels of strength. In contrast to other workout regimens that can be one-dimensional, MMA training utilizes a wide range of workouts to improve your total body fitness.
Lowers Blood Pressure
With high-intensity workouts just like MMA training, you deal with repetitive and vigorous exercises that will get your heart pumping. That being said, cardio exercises such as these are actually good for you heart.
As a result, if you continue to do MMA, eventually, you will begin to notice that your blood pressure will decrease. However, it’s not only great for lowering blood pressure, MMA is also beneficial for the health of your heart in general.
This is because MMA training boosts and aids the circulation of your blood. As a result, it will make your heart stronger than it was before. This is especially necessary, seeing as so many deadly illnesses have to deal with the heart – such as coronary artery disease and heart failure.
So, we have to do our best to take care of this important organ of ours and make sure that we strengthen it.
Relieves Anxiety and Stress
As we all know, there can be so many stressors in our life, especially in this busy society. It could be traffic, causing you to be late for work, or even some family issues back at home. All these things can pile up and can cause our mental health to decline if it gets too much. Thus, having an outlet where you are able to let out all the steam and stress you’ve been feeling the whole day will give you relief – and that is what MMA training can do for you. Martial arts training helps you pay attention to the importance of breathing and keeping in focus. By doing this, you will feel more centered and more in control of your life. Moreover, when you’re training, you will concentrate so much on what you have to do that you will no longer be able to think about other, unnecessary distractions.
Besides that, though, just simply getting the chance to punch and kick at punching bags or dummies can be quite stress-relieving. In fact, it can even be therapeutic. Especially if you have been holding on to anger for the day, it’s best to let it out this way, where you’re not hurting anyone. Once you leave the training area and go back to your life, you will definitely feel refreshed and ready to face on the new challenges ahead of you.
Conclusion
Overall, we can see that MMA training can do wonders to improve one’s fitness, strength and confidence. Besides being a great way to learn new skills, meet other like-minded people and improve your physical condition, MMA can also improve your mental health.
If you are looking to join and reap the benefits that this intense training has to offer, head on over to your local MMA gym to learn more.
Infographic Source: MMAStation.com
