We all reach a point in our lives where we take a long, hard look at ourselves and realise that we could do with losing a little bit of weight and becoming healthier. Usually it’s at the beginning of the year, with new year resolutions and people resolved to lose their holiday weight, however this moment could strike at any time throughout the year. If you are currently battling with losing those extra pounds, don’t know where to start, perhaps have tried and failed a few times in the past, why not give Muay Thai training a try?
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What is Muay Thai?
Muay Thai is an ancient martial art, the national sport of Thailand in fact, and is over several hundred years old. The main principles of the art, also known as the “Art of eight limbs”, is that you use eight different parts of your body to represent weapons. Hands as swords and daggers, shins and forearms as armour, elbows as heavy maces and hammers, and your knees and legs as the axe/staff. Sometimes confused with kickboxing, Muay Thai uses the whole body constantly as you attack and defend, therefore leading to a lot of sweating and a lot of calorie burning, more so than any other martial art or sport we could think of! Let’s take a closer look at four of the main reasons Muay Thai can help you lose weight.
Cardiovascular Exercise
We all know that cardiovascular activity is the key to losing weight, be it taking part in an active sport or just going for a morning jog. Cardio activity burns calories, which ultimately leads to losing the weight. There aren’t many activities out there that compare to the cardio workout you get with Muay Thai. The constant moving of your body and limbs ensure you get a thorough and busy workout.
Strength Training
Another great secret not too many are aware of is that muscles burn fat. The more muscles strength that you have, then the easier it is for you to burn fat throughout your day, both in training and while sitting on your couch. Muay Thai training involves very physical labour, constantly tensing the muscles with each attack and each parry, almost as effective as lifting weights but not nearly as boring!
Whole Body Training
On the subject of strength and muscle training, another great benefit of Muay Thai is that does work the entire body. You need all your limbs and muscles to be strong and ready before facing up to your opponent, from your arms to your core to your legs, to your back and shoulders and keeping your balance, no other activity will have you pushing your whole body to the limits as Muay Thai does. You will be fatigued and sweating all over, which is ultimately what we want for weight loss.
Interval Training
Finally, if you’ve looked into fitness and weight loss you no doubt will have come across the term interval training. This suggests that you lose more calories by having short, intense periods of exercise and activity regularly. This is to break up the normal routine, and train your heart to adjust to different conditions quickly. Muay Thai usually involves multiple 3-5 minute rounds, with cooling off periods in-between. This will eventually increase your metabolism, and increase the efficiency and speed at which your body burns those calories so you can get into the shape that you’re aiming for.
