Knowing how to fight is essential. MMA is a sport like any other that has rules, regulations, discipline, and restraint.
In fact, all these martial art forms are excellent, but they do not teach you how to fight.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu teaches you how to subdue someone on the ground with a choke or arm bar but doesn’t teach you fighting or punching.
Boxing, on the other hand, teaches you how to throw a punch, but the fight goes to the ground, then the boxer is done for.
Thai kickboxing shows you how to kick, but once the fight is on the ground, the kickboxer is also out.
So MMA does have various benefits because it combines all of these fighting styles.
In the following guide, we’ll take a closer look at the benefits of MMA.
Contents
- 1 What are the main benefits of MMA?
- 1.1 Non-contact fight training
- 1.2 Total body workout
- 1.3 MMA fitness is more than just fitness
- 1.4 A new style of workout
- 1.5 Burning calories
- 1.6 More than cardio
- 1.7 Self-defense and confidence
- 1.8 Make friends
- 1.9 Discipline
- 1.10 Manly hobby
- 1.11 The Need for physical expression
- 1.12 Competition
- 1.13 Stress reliever
- 1.14 Chick magnets
- 1.15 Coordination
- 1.16 Increased strength
- 1.17 Mental toughness and resilience
- 1.18 Mental health benefits
- 1.19 Related Posts:
What are the main benefits of MMA?
Non-contact fight training
If you care about your fitness, then it’s definitely the way to go.
MMA offers fitness routines based on conditioning programs and training followed by elite mixed martial arts fighters.
This is done in a safe and non-contact environment.
The training program itself is designed by a group of experts who share a common vision to take the excellent health and benefits of MMA and make them accessible to everyone.
So these programs are taught by professional MMA trainers and used to stimulate opponents.
Ultimately all of this is done without getting into people’s comfort zone.
Irrespective of whether you want to lose weight or learn more about self-defense, you’ll get the exposure of conditioning, skills, and fitness training that MMA fighters have.
All of these benefits can be gained without having to get punched and kicked.
Total body workout
In most sports, one set of muscles is required more than the other.
Swimmers tend to have strong shoulders; soccer players have strong lower bodies, and cyclists have strong quads.
MMA fighters, on the other hand, have strong, upper, and lower bodies as well as abdominals.
So the question is why does MMA develop so much strength?
It’s because it is designed to incorporate every muscle in your body.
When you kick, your legs are stronger when you punch, your arms are stronger, and when you grapple, your core muscles are made stronger as well.
MMA also improves flexibility. You need to be seriously nimble in order to grapple someone to the floor.
If you don’t have the skills, that’s fine as well because your trainer will help you develop flexibility as you go.
MMA fitness is more than just fitness
Working out in a normal gym can tend to be monotonous, and you need to motivate and push yourself constantly, and this can be tedious.
Even in a quick workout, it tends to be routine, and perhaps the only motivation is to get through the workout.
Because you are building self-defense in MMA training, it’s something to think about as you exercise.
It’s less of a chore, and you have something to look forward to.
Meeting trained MMA professionals or having them train you is also another thing that helps motivate you.
So you see improvements quickly in MMA fitness. It may take months to see these results; however, when you do, it will all be worth it.
A new style of workout
At an ordinary gym, you an extra chore coming up with workout routines.
You need to warm up and stretch properly and workout as appropriately as possible.
Ultimately, you need to do the techniques correctly as well.
So being able to train takes know-how. When you go to an MMA gym, you have a chance of someone else doing it for you.
So you don’t know what dynamic stretches are, because your instructor will teach it to.
The instructor comes up with the workout, and you don’t have to think about that.
All you need to do is show up for class and be prepared to be a big part of the MMA training.
All other responsibilities are off your shoulders.
Burning calories
In a normal gym, there are only so many ways to burn calories.
Some people will burn calories quicker than others, but there is no exercise machine that compares to the speed at which MMA burns calories.
It is suggested that you can burn up to 590 calories in a single 45 minute MMA workout.
In grappling routines, you could burn up to 620 calories.
mmaGrappling and striking also put more muscles to use than using a treadmill, an elliptical bike, or any other piece of equipment inside a normal gym.
Your core is almost always engaged, and the workout is nonstop.
Non-contact classes, as well as contact ones, are designed for an extremely intense workout.
More than cardio
You don’t have to be a fitness expert to try different types of exercises.
Cardio is also referred to as aerobic conditioning because it makes your lungs and heart work better and get more blood flowing.
Running is a great cardio exercise, but it’s not about endurance.
It’s more about performing better in a short amount of time.
Metabolism conditioning teaches your muscles to make use of the fuel that your body gives off more effectively.
Unlike a gym that focuses on one of three pathways, MMA focuses on strength, aerobic, and metabolic conditioning.
So you can consider the type of high-intensity interval training.
Self-defense and confidence
MMA is probably one of the best sports if you’re into self-defense.
In boxing, you learn how to strike while standing, but MMA combines both stand-up and ground fighting.
It teaches you how to defend yourself in any situation. So it builds confidence.
The skills are important for children as well. They will learn how to socialize with others and develop good character and confidence.
Make friends
The true art of MMA is all about respect. People learn respect from their trainers, training partners, and their opponents as well.
This respect ultimately forms a bond and a close relationship with the people you are training with.
And they inevitably become a part of your MMA family.
Discipline
MMA, like any other sport, requires discipline.
However, MMA also teaches you discipline for both your body and mind.
It teaches you discipline and when it comes to eating right, training right, and also sleeping at night.
Manly hobby
Lots of men tend to be depressed, and one of the main reasons is the lack of physical or masculine activities.
Ultimately fighting in a controlled environment is a very good hobby and promotes values like strength, will, courage and heart.
So MMA is a damn good hobby for a man to enjoy.
Ultimately, this will strengthen you in other aspects and areas of your life, such as your relationship with your spouse and generally the people around you.
The Need for physical expression
Although people don’t want to incite violence daily, everyone so young’s full physicality.
This is why you get pumped up by seeing fighting movies or hen you about someone who was attacked by thugs and beat the hell out of them.
Mixed martial arts training is a perfect middle ground.
Training is done in a controlled environment where you can get rid of aggression and not face jail time and other consequences.
So you get the physical expression that you may require without the risks that are associated with violence or other real-life situations.
Competition
This is something that everybody knows, but the second-best person in a fight is always the loser.
If you heard the saying, “winning isn’t everything” and didn’t quite like the sound of it, then you are not alone.
Training in MMA brings about a winning drive and fighting spirit to the surface.
This new attitude can bring about improvements in other aspects of your life, such as relationships in business.
Competition is good, and competition is healthy.
When training in MMA, you won’t find too many opponents that are simply willing to lay down or lose.
So competition is rife and everybody wants to win.
Ultimately, this teaches you to be more goal-orientated and never back down attitude, which is a good thing.
Stress reliever
Fighting releases aggression to a large extent.
After training in MMA for about an hour, you’re completely drained out and drenched in sweat.
Your body is also tired and sore, and all you want is a big meal and a good sleep.
So ultimately, because MMA takes up so much of your energy and focus, there is very little room left for stress.
So this is very important as it becomes a huge stress reliever in your life.
Chick magnets
If you heard women say things like “I hate violence,” then you have probably wondered if it’s true.
The truth is women absolutely love men who can handle a violent confrontation successfully.
It is simply in their DNA and in their nature. It is not something you will read in a newspaper, but it is true.
This doesn’t mean that you should get into confrontations simply to attract attention, however, being able to handle a violent confrontation and win is definitely an attention drawer.
Ultimately this is also something that can instill confidence in you and build self-esteem.
Coordination
When training in MMA, you will be taught that all of your movements need to flow together.
So you need to judge things such as distance and timing pretty quickly to be able to dodge punches and kicks.
Any miscalculation can leave you vulnerable and possibly injured.
MMA dynamics requires your body to work together, so you need to develop coordination throughout your kinetic chain.
Alternately training in MMA teaches your entire body how to work in unison.
As you continue to train, you enhance your proprioception as well.
Ultimately proprioception is the ability to sense your body’s relative position and balance.
So it makes you more agile and allows you to execute certain body movements more easily.
Increased strength
Something you will notice in MMA training is a surge of strength.
This increase in strength will be seen in your daily life, as well.
The structural muscles will be improved and especially those that are weak due to prolonged sitting.
This is where martial arts will work out your muscle groups, including upper, lower, core, and abs.
So inevitably, it is a full-body workout.
Mental toughness and resilience
Martial arts training has been linked with mental training.
The training exercise will often push it to the limit.
This helps to build your resilience and toughness mentally and also enhances your determination.
How exactly does exercise help you achieve this?
Ultimately to fix a thought process when performing these exercises.
And it’s often made possible when you push yourself to break Betty is and ultimately achieve more than you ever thought you quit.
So each time you push yourself, it’s basically a mind map test situation.
Mental health benefits
There are lots of health benefits associated with MMA training.
Some studies even suggest that it helps people with bipolar disorder.
Also, those suffering from mental health conditions such as PTSD and depression can benefit tremendously from MMA.
It’s not completely clear exactly how it alleviates these issues; however, it is believed that it does so by boosting self-esteem.