Category: Health & Fitness

A Beginner’s Guide To Martial Arts & Weight Loss

Can Martial Arts Help You Lose Weight?

The short answer to this question is yes; martial arts can help you lose weight. Many styles involve high-intensity cardio and strength training, which can result in significant calorie burn and weight loss. However, it is important to remember that weight loss is not the only goal of martial arts training. Many people also practice martial arts for self-defense, mindfulness, and personal growth.

When it comes to weight loss, it’s important to understand that the underlying principle is simple: you have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. This means you need to consume fewer calories than your body is burning. While there are many different approaches to weight loss, this basic truth remains the same.

The Power of Martial Arts in Supporting Weight Loss Efforts

Martial arts, like other forms of exercise, can support your weight loss efforts in two key ways:

1. helps provide stimulus to maintain muscle mass during a calorie deficit
2. helps create or increase a deficit by burning extra calories

First, exercise like martial arts helps to provide a stimulus to maintain muscle mass during a calorie deficit. When you’re in a calorie deficit, your body tends to break down muscle tissue to use it for energy.

In his article “How to Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle,” Chris Masterjohn writes,

“But if you choose to lose weight, you have to focus on losing fat, not muscle.

Unfortunately, the average person who cuts calories to lose weight will lose between 40% and two-thirds of that weight as lean mass. This ratio is HORRIBLE.

There is no need whatsoever to lose as much or more muscle as fat, and this shows you that standard calorie-cutting is a tremendously bad way to lose weight.”

Losing lean tissue can be a problem because muscle tissue is a key contributor to your metabolism, meaning that the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns at rest. Additionally, not all lean tissue is muscle; this includes organ tissue and bone mass as well.

Again, quoting from Chris Masterjohn’s article:

Exercise like martial arts can be a great form the of moderate to high-intensity exercise discussed by Masterjohn to prevent muscle tissue loss. This can help maintain your metabolism and offset the dreaded “metabolic slowdown” that often accompanies weight loss.

Second, exercise like martial arts can help to create or increase a calorie deficit by burning extra calories. When you engage in physical activity, your body burns calories to fuel your movement. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. Martial arts can be a great way to get in some extra physical activity and create a calorie deficit, which can help you to lose weight.

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Personal Responsibility

Additionally, martial arts are renowned for fostering self-discipline. We develop a strong sense of focus and commitment by setting and working towards goals in the training environment. This mindset can be easily transferred to other areas of life, such as eating healthier, which is key to weight loss success. By setting achievable nutrition goals and sticking to them, we can improve our overall health and well-being.

Support & Accountability

Not all peer pressure is bad. Belonging to a community of like-minded individuals is a powerful motivator. Martial arts helps us not only take responsibility for our own safety, but for all of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. By working alongside others towards common goals, individuals are held accountable for their progress and can stay motivated. The camaraderie of a martial arts community can help individuals stay on track with their weight loss goals and encourage them to continue improving their health and fitness.

Mindfulness of Food

Zen philosophy is key to many martial arts practices like I Liq Chuan. Whenever we have been on meditation retreats at MABA (Mid-America Buddhist Association), mindfulness of food and eating was always stressed as part of the training. By cultivating mindfulness of food, we can approach mealtime with a greater sense of balance and awareness. This can greatly support long-term weight loss efforts.

Eating slowly and mindfully can have a greater impact on weight loss and overall health than just focusing on what, when, and how much we eat. Eating mindfully can bring immediate benefits, such as eating less without feeling deprived [1]. Physiology and psychology play a role in this, as our body needs time to register feelings of fullness, and savoring our food leads to feeling satisfied with less.

Eating slowly and mindfully can also improve digestion, reduce bloating and stomach pain, and increase nutrient absorption. This, in turn, leads to feeling better physically and mentally and helps develop a better relationship with food by learning to listen to our body’s internal hunger and satiety cues. This skill can lead to healthier food choices for the rest of our life instead of relying on a rigid meal plan.

Four Tips for Effective Weight Loss with Martial Arts

Starting a weight loss journey can be a challenge, but with martial arts as your companion, you can achieve your goals. To help you get started, here are four tips to consider:

1. Calories count
2. Eat more protein
3. Avoid liquid calories
4. Focus on whole foods

It’s important to remember that martial arts alone do not mean guaranteed weight loss. When it comes to weight loss, there’s really only one requirement: you have to be in a calorie deficit. If you’re eating more calories than you’re burning, you won’t lose weight, regardless of how much martial arts you do.

However, when combined with a healthy diet and a calorie deficit, martial arts can be a powerful tool for weight loss.

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Eat More Protein

Protein is an important nutrient that helps to build and maintain muscle mass. When you’re in a calorie deficit, your body tends to break down muscle tissue to use it for energy. Eating enough protein can help to prevent this [2], which can be especially important if you’re engaging in martial arts or other forms of exercise as part of your weight loss journey. People tend to eat more calories when they undereat protein, so it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough.

Whether you’re looking to maintain muscle mass, create a calorie deficit, or both, eating more protein can help to support your weight loss efforts and improve your overall health and fitness.

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Focus On Whole Foods

Focusing on whole foods during a calorie deficit boosts micronutrient intake (vitamins and minerals) and helps you eat fewer calories. Whole foods provide essential nutrients while taking longer to chew.  This helps keep you feeling satisfied and reduces the temptation to snack. Getting enough vitamins and minerals is important because they play a role in the metabolic processes that help us burn body fat for fuel [3] and keep our immune systems strong.

By following these tips, you’ll be on your way to effective weight loss. Remember, weight loss is a journey, and just like martial arts, it’s important to be patient and persistent. By incorporating martial arts into your routine, you’ll improve your overall health and fitness and progress towards your weight loss goals.

Other Questions About Martial Arts & Weight Loss

 Here are some other common questions regarding martial arts and weight loss:

Which Martial Art is Best for Weight Loss?

No single martial art is best for weight loss, as each style has its unique combination of physical and mental benefits. The number of calories burned during martial arts training depends on the intensity and resistance of the workout, not the specific martial art style. Higher intensity and resistance lead to more calories burned, improving fitness and weight loss. However, some styles, like MMA and Thai Boxing, are more likely to include high-intensity workouts, which can be especially effective for burning calories and losing weight.

In contrast, low-impact styles like Tai Chi might better suit older folks or those with limitations.  While not as intense as other styles, all activity counts and is much better than sitting on the couch! Qigong (breathing exercises) can also reduce pain, helping us to be more active overall, which can be helpful for managing weight. Breathing exercises can also help those who are already fit recover better from intense training so they can see even better results.

Can Martial Arts Reduce Belly Fat?

While martial arts can help you lose weight overall, unfortunately, it’s impossible to target specific body areas for fat loss. However, building lean muscle mass and increasing your metabolism can burn calories and reduce body fat, including belly fat.

Which Martial Art Burns the Most Calories?

The number of calories burned during a martial arts workout will vary depending on your age, weight, fitness level, and the intensity of your workout.

However, some styles are known for their high-intensity workouts, which can result in significant calorie burn. Some of the most calorie-intensive martial arts styles include:

• Muay Thai
• Boxing
• Krav Maga
• Brazillian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ)

Does Martial Arts Increase Metabolism?

Martial arts training can help increase your metabolism by building lean muscle mass and improving cardiovascular health. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when resting. Additionally, you can improve your cardiovascular fitness and metabolism by engaging in high-intensity workouts, helping you lose weight and keep it off.

Summary & Conclusion

Martial arts can support our weight loss efforts in two key ways. First, it helps to provide a stimulus to maintain muscle mass during a calorie deficit, preventing us from losing muscle tissue. Second, martial arts can create or increase a calorie deficit by burning extra calories, resulting in weight loss.

In addition to physical benefits, martial arts also promote self-discipline and mindfulness of food, which help us make better long-term food choices and eat less without feeling deprived. 

Belonging to a martial arts community helps us stay accountable and motivated toward our weight loss goals.

While martial arts alone do not guarantee weight loss, they can be a powerful tool when combined with a healthy diet and calorie deficit. Remember that the underlying principle of weight loss is simple: you have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.

Read More!

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  Warrior’s Diet: The Omega-3 Hack That Makes You Nearly Invincible in the Cold
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  Five Concepts To Help Build Real Fighting Skill (No Matter What Martial Art You Train)
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  Testosterone & Prostate Health

References

1. Andrade, Ana M., Geoffrey W. Greene, and Kathleen J. Melanson. “Eating slowly led to decreases in energy intake within meals in healthy women.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 108.7 (2008): 1186-1191.
2. Jo, Edward, et al. “Resistance training during a 12-week protein supplemented VLCD treatment enhances weight-loss outcomes in obese patients.” Clinical Nutrition 38.1 (2019): 372-382.
3. Johnston, C.S., Corte, C. & Swan, P.D. Marginal vitamin C status is associated with reduced fat oxidation during submaximal exercise in young adults. Nutr Metab (Lond) 3, 35 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-7075-3-35

We’ll also consider potential limitations or challenges that may affect the extent to which martial arts can help build muscle, such as intensity, focus on muscle growth, and individual differences. Whether martial arts is an effective way to build muscle will depend on your current condition and any potential limitations or challenges.

In addition to the physical benefits of building muscle, practicing martial arts can also have numerous other benefits, such as improving coordination, flexibility, and mental focus. It can also be a fun and enjoyable way to stay active, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and meet like-minded people who share your values.

Will Martial Arts Build Muscle?

If you haven’t been very active recently, almost anything can help you build muscle. This study looked at how different types of exercise affected obese women’s bodies and health. The women were split into two groups. One group did cardio, and the other did resistance exercise for 12 weeks. Both groups lost fat and gained lean muscle mass. 

However, as individuals become more accustomed to their training program and less out of shape, the adaptation processes start to specialize; this means that after about eight weeks, if you want to continue to develop new muscle, you will have to adjust your training. After that, how much muscle you can develop will depend on several factors.

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3 Ways Martial Arts Training Can Help You Build Muscle & Get In Shape

1. Resistance training: Western-style weightlifting is a recent addition to martial arts programs, but traditional martial arts have always incorporated resistance training of various kinds over the centuries.
2. Sparring: Many martial arts styles, such as boxing, kickboxing, and judo, include sparring as a regular part of training. However, hard sparring isn’t the only type of partner training you will practice in martial arts. For example, in I Liq Chuan, we have a unique training method called spinning hands, which involves a lot of heavy pulling and pushing with a partner. It can help to build muscle, as well as improve cardiovascular endurance and overall physical fitness.
3. Conditioning training: A martial arts conditioning program typically includes a variety of exercises to improve cardiovascular endurance, power, speed, and flexibility. These may consist of running, plyometrics, agility drills, and stretching. The program may also have specific exercises or drills to improve martial arts skills, such as footwork, punching, and kicking.

Resistance Training

Bruce Lee represents the pinnacle of the martial artist’s physique in the minds of many, and for a good reason. Lee was a pioneer in incorporating modern resistance training methods into his martial arts regimen. Resistance training involves using external resistance to increase muscle strength and endurance. Martial arts have always included resistance training. However, it has taken very different shapes and forms throughout history.

Ancient Resistance Training Methods

Western-style strength training primarily uses barbells and dumbbells. It tends to focus on the sagittal plane and moving the bar in a straight line. In contrast, Eastern strength training methods are much more circular and multiplanar in nature. 

The earliest form of strength training in martial arts likely originated in ancient Persia. It involved using heavy clubs called ‘meel,’ large wooden shields called ‘sang,’ and a board called the ‘shena’ for pushup-like exercises. These ancient forms of resistance training are still in use today, especially in Iran, where men meet and train in “houses of strength.” This type of training has a history stretching back possibly 5000 years.

Chinese Kung Fu has its own unique strength training culture, which uses a variety of specialized equipment. The Chinese also developed training methods using a barbell made of bamboo or wood with stone plates on one or both ends, called the “single-head” and “double-head,” respectively. Unlike a Western-style barbell, single and double-headed exercises in martial arts are very dynamic. They involve a lot of swinging and twirling the weights around the body in a circular manner or tossing and catching the weights to strengthen the hands for fighting.

The stone lock is another tool unique to Chinese kung fu. Also used in a swinging, circular fashion or thrown and caught, You can train the stone lock alone or with a partner/small group.

Partner Training

Partner training is another form of training common in martial arts that can help you build muscle, particularly in grappling arts. No activity on earth is more intense and exhausting than fighting or wrestling with another human being! If you’ve ever seen the bull-like necks, thick traps, and gorilla-esque arms of an Olympic wrestler, there can be no doubt about the effectiveness of partner training for building muscle. Remember, resistance exercise is just applying force to an external resistance, which can include another person.

In I Liq Chuan, our fundamental partner training exercise is spinning hands. Unlike Western-style strength training with a barbell, spinning hands develops strength through rotation via a series of pushing, pulling, and “grinding” circular movements with a partner.

Conditioning

Some possible components of a martial arts conditioning program may include:

1. Cardio training: This may involve activities such as running, shadow boxing, or skipping rope to improve cardiovascular endurance.
2. Strength training: This may involve weight lifting, calisthenics, or bodyweight exercises to build strength and muscle.
3. Power training may involve exercises such as plyometrics or medicine ball throws to improve explosive power and speed.
4. Speed and agility training may involve drills and exercises designed to improve quickness and coordination, such as ladder or cone drills.
5. Flexibility training: This may involve activities such as stretching or yoga to improve flexibility and reduce the risk of injury.
6. Body hardening: many martial arts have a variety of body hardening training to desensitize the body to pain, increase bone density for striking and kicking, and ability to absorb impact without injury.

Chinese kung fu, in particular, has a rich history of conditioning and body-hardening techniques. In the video below, Sifu Chris Heintzman demonstrates a few of the unique methods for strength training and body hardening from his Tibetan Hop Gar lineage. (I know Chris from my san da days, and he’s one of the teachers active today I would recommend without hesitation.)

Historically, traditional kung fu had many different training programs to improve resilience and toughness, such as “iron vest/iron body” and “Golden Bell” sets. In addition to subjecting the body to increased stress through repeatedly striking wooden posts, sandbags, etc., these sets also involved various forms of qigong and herbs to help improve recovery between training sessions and help prevent the disability that can happen when we subject ourselves to intense conditioning methods.

Limitations Of Martial Arts & Building Muscle

It’s worth noting that while martial arts can be an excellent way to build muscle, it may not be suitable for everyone, and there may be certain limitations to the extent to which it can help build muscle. Here are three potential reasons why martial arts may not help build muscle for some people:

1. Insufficient intensity: While martial arts can be a high-intensity workout, it may not be sufficient to stimulate muscle growth for some people, especially if they are already highly fit or are not training with enough intensity or volume. Muscle growth occurs when the muscles are subjected to progressively more challenging workouts over time, and the intensity and volume of the training need to be sufficient to stimulate this adaptation.
2. Limited focus on muscle growth: While some martial arts styles may include specific training drills and exercises that focus on building muscle, others may not emphasize this aspect of training. As a result, individuals primarily interested in building muscle may see less progress through martial arts compared to other training types that focus on muscle growth.
3. Individual differences: Finally, it’s essential to remember that everyone is different and will respond differently to training. Some people may have a natural tendency to build muscle more easily than others, which can be influenced by genetics, age, and hormone levels. As a result, even if martial arts is an effective way to build muscle for some people, it may have a different effect for everyone.

Other Considerations For Building Muscle

You can’t out-train a bad diet! Proper sleep and nutrition are crucial. Adequate sleep allows the body to recover, while a balanced diet provides the necessary nutrients for growth. Skimping on either of these lifestyle factors will hinder progress. 

The martial arts are known for helping to cultivate discipline. This is one of the most valuable personal qualities we can develop. Discipline protects us from the tyranny of our own worst thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Having discipline doesn’t mean we have to white-knuckle it through our lives, though.

If you’ve been having trouble losing weight and getting into fighting shape, you’re not alone. A nutrition coach can help you meet your goals by providing personalized nutrition guidance and support. Coaching may include educating on the importance of different nutrients for muscle building or weight loss or offering strategies for overcoming challenges such as cravings or a busy schedule. A nutrition coach can also provide accountability and motivation to help you stay on track and progress toward your goals. If that sounds like something you’re looking for, check out our Fit To Fight one-on-one health coaching program!

Summary

While martial arts can be an excellent way to build muscle and improve physical fitness, it’s essential to consider your individual goals and needs and any potential limitations or challenges when deciding whether it is the right form of exercise for you.

In summary, practicing martial arts can be a fun and effective way to build muscle and improve overall physical fitness and coordination. Martial arts can build muscle through resistance training, sparring, and conditioning exercises. 

The intensity and focus on muscle growth may vary depending on the martial arts style and individual factors, including age, sex, stress levels, and lifestyle. 

Join our martial arts classes to experience the benefits of building muscle, improving body composition, and developing physical fitness and coordination. Learn from experienced instructors and train with other motivated individuals in a supportive and challenging environment.

Read More!

• 
  You Should Be As Strong As Possible For Self-Defense (& Daily Life)
• 
  Warrior’s Diet: The Omega-3 Hack That Makes You Nearly Invincible in the Cold
• 
  Five Concepts To Help Build Real Fighting Skill (No Matter What Martial Art You Train)
• 
  Testosterone & Prostate Health