If you’ve heard of Mixed Martial Arts, which I assume you have, you know it’s one of the most sought after sport as far as training for combat and fitness is concerned.
So, have you ever thought why it’s so popular? Well, if you have, let me put your curiosity to rest by listing 10 reasons about why it’s awesome to train in MMA.
1 – It’s for everyone
Individuals regardless of any age, gender, race, etc. etc. can train in it and benefit from it. MMA doesn’t discriminate.
2 – Children can benefit from it.
It teaches children to live a healthy, active lifestyle and gives them the skills necessary to maintain that lifestyle. Getting into good eating and exercising habits at a young age can greatly reduce your child’s risk of obesity.
3 – A lot of Variety
It encompasses every range of hand to hand combat – long, mid, close, clinch and grappling, which in turn, engages more muscles in one technique, than any single workout does. It’s more engaging than aerobic kickboxing, etc, which only use punches and kicks in a dance-like movement. MMA not only uses punches and kicks, but also uses elbows, knees, it utilizes throws, and takedowns and joint-locks, mat work and clinching. All of the techniques are drilled many times, which in and itself become great functional workouts.
4 – Countless performance enhancing drills
The countless drills increase your stamina, your endurance, and help condition your body to become more durable. At first, you might get tired quick, but as you progress, your endurance will increase, and you will be able to push yourself for longer period of time. MMA is great at pushing your boundaries, it grows with you, so the more your endurance improves, the more you will push yourself and get greater results. Your cardiovascular health will improve as a result of your improvement in endurance, your heart is one of the most vital muscle in your body and it pays to keep it healthy.
5 – Excellent Confidence builder.
It is a great confidence builder and booster. With every strike you learn, with every technique you train and drill, the better you get, you will feel the difference in yourself, you will realize that you are capable of more than you ever thought you were. You will realize that you can and have conquered the fear of the unknown, overcame hard challenges put forth in training that were previously out of your comfort zone and mastered them. Every time you will strike or block or perform a successful takedown, it will be another penny in your confidence jar.
6 – Teaches self-respect and discipline.
Besides confidence, MMA will also give you a new sense of self-respect, due to the self-discipline it requires to train. You’ll be able to better control your outbursts of emotion, such as anger, etc. and as a result will learn to resolve problems without using or needing your fists. Self-discipline also helps you in other aspects of your life, it will help you eat right, sleep right, set goals and work to achieve them. It’ll also give you a unique positive attitude and teach you the value of respect.
7 – Lose Weight and Develop Muscle.
It’s a great way to lose weight and you will actually develop muscle. For example, every time you raise your knees, you are working your abs, especially the deeper abs that are pretty hard to isolate. Knee raises, blocks, and push kicks are all great for targeting those muscles. Plus, practicing the striking part has great abdomen and full body benefits and so does the ground work, like the ‘Position Guard’ will have you constantly crunching your abs and core. Punching, kicking, and the other movements that you will be doing for each training session will raise your heart rate and really get you sweating as well. Coupled with solid nutrition and clean eating, you will lose weight and tone every muscle group in your body without ever having to pick up a single dumbbell. Although, some weight training is always a plus.
8 – Increased range of motion and develop flexibility.
Your range of motion will increase. Range of motion is the distance that you can safely and comfortably move your body (including joint/s). If you don’t have any previous training, you may only be able to raise your leg up half of the way for a kick in the beginning. But as you progress, your skills will improve and your range of motion will improve as well, then soon those kicks will be higher than you ever thought they could be. Your body constantly gets more flexible. The grappling aspect of MMA gets you more stretched and contorted than yoga does, just ask any grappler or try it yourself to experience it. You will increase your range of motion and flexibility at the same time.
9 – Improves Balance.
With improved strength, endurance and flexibility comes superior balance. As core muscles become more powerful you will be able to maintain your center. This is valuable for preventing falls along with other injuries.
10 – Fun and exciting to train in .
It’s fun and exciting. The most important of the benefits of MMA training is the good time you will have. You will meet new people, learn new skills, all while having fun. You will never feel demotivated or lack energy during your practice sessions as the total experience is enriching and happy, especially because it involves teamwork and builds a community. You get interested simply by watching others practice and once you start, you will have so much fun that you‘ll look forward to coming to each and every class and continue to develop your skills further.
These are just a few benefits of training in MMA, there are much, much more and you will enjoy them all, once you start training, and you will never look back. Plus the sheer satisfaction alone after each session is gonna make you want more. So go ahead and get on the mat, start working the pads and see the difference! 😉
Eat Healthy. 