How to Get Stronger and Leaner with Martial Arts

How to Get Stronger and Leaner with Martial Arts

The topic of today's article is how to get stronger and leaner with martial arts.

If you are already lifting weights, doing cardio and you are not seeing the desired results(or you are just getting bored), maybe it's time to change the things a little bit.

Combat sports or martial arts could be a great substitute for the cardio you are doing every day.

Make no mistake about it, sports like boxing, kick-boxing, or Muay Thai are very exhausting and you should give yourself enough time to rest.

Even if you are a well-trained gym veteran you will feel a different kind of muscle stress that a boxing workout can give you.

For example, training with a punching bag can help you improve your stamina, endurance, and coordination.

You work on your upper body, core, and lower body. These kind of intense workouts are incredibly helpful for losing weight and becoming leaner.

Also, other nice benefits are that you will learn how to defend yourself better and release some stress.

Here we show you 3 short workouts that you can do at home.

First of all, warm up.

Do some arm circles, shoulder slumps, and hip circles. Run a little bit and let's get this started.

Workout #1

Clock each round at 3min with 1min rest between the rounds. This is going to be 1 warm up round and 3-rounds of intense heavy bag work.

The equipment you will need is a heavy bag, hand wraps, and a pair of boxing gloves.

Round 1: Start throwing some punches at around 50% power and low intensity. Only light jabs, crosses, uppercuts, and hooks.

Rest 1min.

Round 2: Only straight punches - left straight and right straight. Work 30sec at 100% and then rest 30sec. That way you will do 3x30sec work this round.

It may not look like a lot of work but that is because it is with very high intensity. Make sure you throw every punch with full power and try to punch as fast as you can.

However, make sure you are hitting with the right technique. There is nothing worse than hitting hard with bad technique. You can easily injure yourself, so be careful.

Rest 1min.

Round 3: Only hooks. The same thing - hitting 30sec at 100%, then resting 30sec.

Rest 1min.

Round 4: Only uppercuts. Hitting 30sec at 100%, then resting 30sec.

Total time for the workout: 15min.

If you are doing it right at 100% then at the end you will feel completely exhausted.

If this is the only workout for the day you can add(before or after) some bodyweight exercises, short weightlifting, or heavy ball lifting.

Workout #2

This is a lighter workout aiming to finish you after you already trained(doesn't matter if you did some weight lifting or martial arts training).

Choose a song you like that repeats the same thing over and over again. For example, AC/DC - Thunderstruck.

When the song starts, you start shadow boxing. Try to keep a good rhythm and tempo. Don't be sloppy with your punches and try to make them fast and explosive.

When the singers say "Thunderstruck"(or the thing that repeats the most from your song) you do a burpee or any other bodyweight exercise. However, burpees are the best for this kind of short workout because they give you a full body training and improve your cardio.

Then you continue with the shadow boxing.

That way you will do around 40 burpees in 3-4min while boxing. And if you already trained before that this will be a great finish.

Workout #3

The last workout is made of 6 one-minute rounds.

One round is this - you just have to do 15 burpees.

When you make the burpees, you start shadow boxing. If you don't do the 15 burpees inside of the one minute, you continue into the next round and try to do 15 burpees again.

Sounds simple, right?

It is simple and very tiring. After the 3rd round, you most probably won't finish the 15 burpees. Therefore, you will have to do burpees without any rest.

It is exhausting but burpees are one of the best bodyweight exercises and have a lot of benefits for combat sports and overall fitness.

Conclusion

Whether you are already going to the gym or you are just starting out, these 3 workouts can diversify your normal training and make it more interesting.

Combine them or use other exercises if it's too hard or too easy. It will definitely help you become leaner and grow stronger!