The world of mixed martial arts is evolving. A lot of people are now watching the UFC, and this has brought a larger audience and practitioners to these types of sports. It’s easy to watch one fight and think that what the athletes are doing is easy.
However, behind their movements are traditions and lineages that go for thousands of years. Martial arts originated in Asia. The samurai put a lot of emphasis on their movements, and they thought that a person is complete when they reach their mental and physical capabilities. That’s absolutely true. Click here to read more.
The fighters we see today spend their lives improving their movements and calibrating their reaction times to see an incoming attack. That’s why a lot of people are now starting kickboxing, boxing, BJJ, Krav Maga, as well as Muay Thai.
In all of these sports, a punch is a thing they teach you on the first day. Whenever someone wants to attack you, the first defense is a counterpunch. That means that you have to be faster than the incoming attack. The arms are the closest to the face, which means that they are used for both defense and offense.
When you learn how to throw a jab and a hook, you’ll be hooked to the movements, and you’re going to want to get a punching bag of your own. Here are some of the benefits that come from training with one.
Cardiovascular fitness
If you’re someone that can last more than five minutes with a heavy bag, then you’re in extremely good shape. Hitting the heavy bag takes an enormous toll on your arms, back, and abdomen. You need to move around the equipment and change your stance with every movement.
This puts your cardio to the test, and it’s classified as aerobic fitness. You can have an amazing workout in less than ten minutes. Professional fighters use digital clocks that measure rounds. You can do the same thing, or you can install an app on your phone that rings when a round is over.
A title fight in the UFC has five rounds, and each of those rounds lasts for five minutes. That’s a total of 25 minutes of work. When you read it, this seems like it’s not hard to do. However, when you’re faced with an opponent that doesn’t hit back, it’s one of the most difficult exercises to do. Follow this link for more info https://www.boxingnewsandviews.com/2021/06/21/the-water-bag-boxing-workout-often-overlooked-despite-hidden-benefits/.
Improves coordination and stability
When you’re hitting the bag, you need to be on your toes all the time. The power of a punch comes from the hips, and they need to rotate to accommodate the position of your upper body. Plus, when you alternate your hands, the weight of your body gets distributed from one leg to another.
If you’re a beginner, you’re going to feel totally lost the first time you do it. Make that the first ten times you do it. As you get more experienced, your nervous system will start to adjust, and you will stop thinking about your posture since it will happen automatically.
Including this type of training at least once a week will better your posture and make your movements firmer and more elegant. Not to mention the stability of your core muscles. You won’t have to do any crunches since your abs will get burned during the movements.
More power
One of the greatest measures of physical strength is a fight. Sure, someone can lift 500 pounds. That’s impressive. But can they beat someone else in a fight? When you’re talking about strength and power, you might be wondering how will punching and kicking a bag make you stronger.
Well, you’re using all of your muscles. This includes the legs, core, back, chest, shoulders, and arms. Your legs are always engaged when you’re generating power with your upper body. Try hitting uppercuts for two minutes, and you’ll feel your back burning. After a few months of training, you’re going to see a considerable improvement in your chest and shoulder muscles.
Improves stamina and endurance
In order to have a healthy heart, you need to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio every single week. Most people choose running or riding a bike. That’s a repetitive movement, and it can be quite boring after a while. However, the world of kickboxing has a surprise for you.
Trying out new techniques and kicks will make time fly by. You can get a punching bag on Amazon if you don’t have one. When it comes to stamina and endurance, you need to be in the perfect heart rate zone. Whenever your heart beats more than 140 times per minute, you’re burning calories, and you’re in a fat loss zone. This also increases your blood flow and can count as high-intensity interval training, also known as HIIT.
Stronger ligaments and bones
When you kick, you’re making contact with your foot and another surface. This serves as a shock to all the small bones in your feet. The same thing is true about the hands. When you finish your first session with a bag, your wrists and ankles are going to burn.
That’s because all the ligaments and bones have been moved around. This type of physical activity lowers the chances of developing osteoporosis and improves the health of all the ligaments.
Self-defense and self-confidence
When you think of the bag as an opponent, you need to try and beat it. A lot of people try imagining someone they hate as their opponent, and they do everything it takes to defeat the foe in front of them.
This improves your self-confidence since you know about the tactics of offense and defense, and you can use them in the street if something happens. Those abilities transfer throughout your life. Everything you face can be thought of as a battle.
You’re fighting for a better position at work. It’s always a competition to see who is the strongest, and this will make you feel like you’re on top of the world. All the tension from your days will disappear, and you’ll feel amazing afterward.
