Have you ever felt like you want to shred some extra pounds and achieve your fitness goals? While gym workouts and running are commonly embraced, sometimes you just want to find a work-out alternative to switch up in between while reaching your weight loss goal. There’s another effective and helpful way to reach your aim of weight loss: Muay Thai. Muay That is originated from Thailand, also known as the “Art of Eight Limbs”, it’s a dynamic martial art that not only for self-defense skills but also serves as an effective strategy for weight loss. Before we begin, Let’s drive into the scientific reasons why Muay Thai stands out as an exceptional fitness regimen for shredding those extra pounds.
1. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
This style of workout may involve in both cardiovascular activity and resistance training. HIIT workouts provide improved athletic capacity and condition as well as improved glucose metabolism. Compared with longer sessions typical of other regimens.
Muay Thai sessions are known to be an intense burst of activity interspersed with short rest periods.
Research indicates that HIIT can significantly enhance fat oxidation and post-exercise calorie expenditure, making it a potent tool for weight loss. A study published in the Journal of obesity demonstrated that participants who are engaged in High-Intensity Interval Training experienced a higher reduction in body fat percentage compared to those who only do moderate intensity continuous training. Another one of the studies said HIIT has claimed a spot in the top 10 fitness trends since 2014 as surveyed by the American College of Sports Medicine. In about 30 minutes, it is considered a complete workout that combines both aerobic and strength (resistance) training. In order to achieve similar benefits to a longer workout, the intensity is vigorous.
In Muay Thai the combination of intensive moments such as kicks, strikes, knees and punches with shorter rest time, aligns perfectly with the principles of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), enhancing its effectiveness in burning calories and reducing fat percentage. Overall, HIIT can help to decrease body fat, increase strength and endurance, and improve health outcomes, but it is not necessarily better than other exercise formats. Its main appeal is that it can achieve similar fitness and health benefits in a shorter duration, and that it includes periods of rest.
2. Muay Thai is a total body workout
Total body workout is also known as Full-body work out. You are exercising your whole body with all major muscle groups – you’ll be strengthening your muscles and core by combining exercises that use the upper body and lower body, plus the core, in one training session. Unlike some workouts that primarily focus on specific muscle groups.
Full body workout benefits:
- One workout, no muscles left behind.
Full body workouts are a good way to make sure you are training all muscle groups and building a balanced body. - Best for people who have tighter schedules.
Sometimes you can’t always get your work done, especially when you are training specific muscle group a day. So, make sure you hit all the muscle groups in your busy week. Total body workouts are the way to go. - Strength and cardio combined.
Full-body workouts use lots of compound exercises, multi-joint movements that work several muscles at once, which are an efficient way of training for functional strength and cardiovascular fitness at the same time.
Muay Thai requires you to move your full-body comprehensively therefore, Muay Thai is also considered a full-body workout. Each session engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously, from the arms and shoulders utilized in punching to the core and legs activated during kicking and knee strikes. A study published in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine found that a single Muay Thai training session significantly increased heart rate, oxygen consumption, and energy expenditure, indicating its capacity as a total body conditioning regimen. By targeting various muscle groups, Muay Thai not only promotes muscle development but also enhances overall metabolic rate by doing some resistance training in Muay Thai sessions, contributing to sustained weight loss even after the workout ends. If you are a Muay Thai athlete, you will want to ensure that your body is as strong as possible. Strength will enable you to stay healthy, avoid injury, and even strike harder.
3. Burn calories!
For average female adults, it is estimated that they need at least 1600 – 2000 calories per day. While average male adults need 2,200 – 3,000 calories per day and likely more. As you move your body through your daily activities and exercise, you can add hundreds more calories to your total calorie expenditure. However, the number of calories you burn daily is unique to your body and activity levels.
The number of calories you should burn in a day depends on your personal health and fitness goals as well as other factors, like:
- age
- sex
- height
- weight
- activity levels
Many people think they must exercise hard to burn calories throughout the day. While exercise burns many calories, your body also burns calories as you do daily tasks. How much you burn has to do with how much you weigh.
For example, people may burn close to the following in 30 minutes of doing these tasks based on their weight:
The nature of Muay Thai training leads to substantial caloric expenditure, making it an efficient means of burning calories and shedding excess weight. According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), individuals can burn up to 800 calories per hour during a Muay Thai session, depending on factors such as intensity level and body weight. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research compared the energy expenditure of different martial arts disciplines, revealing that Muay Thai bring out the highest caloric expenditure among participants. By consistently engaging in Muay Thai training, you can create a substantial calorie deficit conducive to weight loss.
4. Cardiovascular Health benefits
Muay Thai’s fast-paced not only promotes weight loss but also enhances cardiovascular health. A person who trains Muay Thai regularly can improve aerobic capacity and stamina, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Research published in the Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation demonstrated that individuals who practiced Muay Thai experienced significant improvements in cardiovascular fitness, including increased maximal oxygen consumption and decreased resting heart rate. These cardiovascular adaptations not only optimize performance in Muay Thai but also to enhanced endurance and fat utilization during other forms of physical activity, facilitating sustained weight loss over time.
According to the Singapore Heart Foundation, cardiovascular diseases were responsible for over 31% of deaths in Singapore in 2020. It’s a problem that most likely to affect men, and it can manifest in multiple of ways such as:
- Heart infection
- Heart rhythm problems
- Blood vessel disease
- Heart valve disease
- Heart muscle disease
Fortunately, learning Muay Thai can help to treat and prevent various cardiovascular issues. Just as every muscle in your body, you heart also needs exercises to stay in good condition. It will get weakened when not exercising often. A heart that isn’t regularly exercised regularly will stress itself and will eventually get sick. That’s why athletes or Muay Thai athletes in this case who are in great shape tend to have low resting heart rates. Muay Thai gives you a fantastic cardio workout that gets your heart pumping, increasing your cardiovascular endurance.
In conclusion, Muay Thai have a great impact in the battle against excess weight, offering a multifaceted approach to fitness encompassing high-intensity interval training, total body conditioning, caloric expenditure and cardiovascular health benefits. Backed by scientific research and centuries of martial arts tradition, Muay Thai stands as a dynamic and effective tool for achieving weight loss goals and transforming lives. Whether you’re a pro fighter or a newcomer to the world of Muay Thai, consider harnessing the power of Muay Thai to begin on a transformative journey towards a healthier, fitter, and more energetic you.
