Martial arts have been around for centuries, initially, people practiced martial arts for learning self-defense, and later the physical and mental health benefits of martial arts came to light. Fitness is very important for human health and all other workouts are not as engaging as a martial art is. More and more people are entering this great field because it yields some quick fitness results. No doubt martial art is the most effective full-body vigorous workout but it can cause injuries if you don’t raise the temperature of your body before entering the intense drills of martial art. Despite the fact that warm-up saves you from muscle pull and the risks of accidents while training, a warm-up is many times overlooked and underappreciated by martial artists. A well-structured warm-up must include cardiovascular activity, stretching, and sport-specific activities for increasing blood flow to the muscles you’ll use during training. Read on to learn in detail about the exercises that should be included in the warm-up of martial artists.
Stretching is vital for martial arts warm-up:
Stretching improves your flexibility and the instructor will advise you to stretch before and after your martial arts class to reduce possible injuries that can arise due to tight muscles and tendons. Some vital areas to stretch include backstretch, neck stretch, and hip rotations. These are the problem areas, so they need to be stretched smoothly, gently, and slowly before going into your rigorous martial arts training.
Shadow Striking to Loosen Muscles:
In karate and kickboxing, you are asked to through various punches and kicks in the air to loosen your muscles before actually fighting or hitting the bag. These shadow strikings act as the sport-specific part of the warm-up and have cardiovascular benefits too. The release of sidekick in the air is one of the most common warm-up strikes. You can also include straight jabs, hooks, and uppercuts in this drill.
Burpees:
Burpees are a whole body workout and a great martial arts conditioning exercise used for both strength training and aerobic exercise. This exercise works your arms, back, chest, core, upper body, glutes, and legs. Moreover, you don’t need any equipment or lots of space for this amazing exercise, so, you can do it anytime and anywhere. Besides all these benefits, burpees improve your cardiovascular fitness and test your balance and coordination. To avoid any potential injury all stretches and pre-workout exercises must be supervised by a trained martial arts instructor.
Yoga for martial arts:
Yoga is an ancient workout that has been around for centuries. People practice this physical activity to improve the flexibility of their body and to supplement traditional stretching techniques besides toning mental and emotional conditions. When you are going into some martial arts drills, it would be a great way to warm up and stretch different muscle groups by selecting specific yoga positions. With that, you can improve your martial arts flexibility, balance, and/or strength training (esp. core strength). Improved flexibility and core strength in addition to increasing the range & power of your kicks, punches, and grappling techniques, reduces the potential for over-extension injuries (i.e. hamstring pulls).
Foam Roller Exercises:
Foam roller exercises are widely used by martial artists to reduce muscle tension, loosen muscle “knots”, trigger points, and help a range of motion. These exercises are usually incorporated in the warm-up and/or cool-down phases of a workout especially before stretching. Foam roller self-massage is used to heal problems that can be caused by muscle imbalance, overuse, and injuries, among other things. It can increase your range of motion, alleviate soreness, help injury prevention, increase blood flow and elasticity of muscle tissues and joints, and decrease recovery time after a hard workout. The exercise is very easy, you just have to place your body part (i.e. quadriceps muscle) on the foam roller and slowing rolling the body part across the foam roller.
The upshot:
Martial arts are the ultimate full-body rigorous workout that can improve your physical health, fitness, and tone your muscles more quickly than any other form of workout. But you need to prepare your body before starting martial arts drills with some pre-workout exercises to avoid any kind of injuries and accidents. If you wish to enjoy all the aforementioned benefits of martial arts, join a great martial art sport like boxing after buying Elite Sports boxing gloves and Elite sports boxing shorts for your training.
