The Crossfit Discipline of Taekwondo

If practiced correctly with an experienced instructor martial art training can positively impact the rest of your life. There are many benefits of Taekwondo for all ages depending on what you wish to achieve throughout your training. Martial art training is something which should not have an age limit on because everyone regardless of age and ability can get something positive back out of their Taekwondo training if they are taught correctly.

SELF DEFENCE

Learning the ability to defend yourself has a lot to do with self confidence, one compliments the other. Self defense is a natural by-product of any martial art and is one of the main reasons why people continue to train, to ensure that the skills they have learnt are at the forefront of their mind.

SELF CONFIDENCE

A lot of adults as well as juniors have low confidence and self esteem before and after they step foot on the floor to train and this is one of the main reasons for people to join a Taekwondo club. Through your Taekwondo training you should automatically gain more confidence both physically and mentally. Your instructor is instrumental in this, in encouraging you in the right direction and giving you advice as well as positive criticism on your training.

Parts of your Taekwondo training, if you wish to do so, are regular grading (going for next belts), competitions and educational seminars. However, every single person is an individual and is allowed to go at their own pace when it comes to grading. If you are in any doubt then go and speak to your instructor. They should know what you are capable of and help you to overcome any anxiety you may have. If you only want to train then that is fine.

DISCIPLINE

Because of the content of Taekwondo training the instructor has to ensure it is taught in a safe environment where no one is going to get hurt. Therefore Taekwondo training should be very strict to ensure students safety. Also because the whole Taekwondo system is built on‘respect hierarchy’ students are expected to listen carefully to the instructor and follow instructions. Especially younger students who are renowned for lack of discipline soon learn that if they want to continue training they have to conform to the strict Taekwondo regime.

FITNESS

When starting Taekwondo training no one should worry about their fitness levels. The instructor will recognize that every person has totally different fitness ability and will discuss it prior to training.

For people who wish to start training to improve their fitness levels Taekwondo exercise works the majority of muscles both upper and lower body and when you reach a higher level requires a certain amount of stamina. Every person as mentioned before is an individual so it is up to yourself how much energy you exert into your training.

FLEXIBILITY

This is like anything you do and is just practice, irrespective of age. Taekwondo training does require a certain level of flexibility but this will come with time and your instructor will help you and tell you the stretches you should be practicing to improve your flexibility.

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Kickboxing: Crossfit Plus Self-Defense

Top Benefits of Kickboxing Workouts

If you’re stuck in a workout rut or looking for a motivating fitness routine, you might consider adding a high-energy kickboxing workout to the schedule. Kickboxing workouts combine martial arts techniques with heart-pumping cardio, which means you can get a total body workout and whip yourself into shape in no time.

Whether you’re a fitness newbie or long-time gym aficionado, undertaking a kickboxing workout at least once per week can help you feel re-energized and out of a rut. Here are seven more benefits of kickboxing workouts:

Reduce Stress

You can kick and punch your way to a stress-free zone within minutes of your high-energy kickboxing routine. The movements in kickboxing challenge several core muscle groups and will give you a total body workout, fast.

Boost Confidence Levels

According to Dr. Rose Windale of Healthzine.org, kickboxing helps you release endorphins which will give your mood a boost and help you feel more confident. Endorphins will also make you feel happier and more positive for several hours after the workout.

Improved Coordination

If you’re suffering from posture problems and have poor coordination, you can strengthen your ‘core’ and improve your reflexes and coordination skills. The speedy punches and kicks in the kickboxing routine will give you a chance to focus your energy to execute each movement successfully.

Burn Mega Calories

Muscle and Fitness Magazine reports that fitness kickboxing can burn over 800 calories per hour, and you’ll be toning up your entire body as you rev up your metabolism. It’s a high-power cardio routine that’s great for weight loss and getting you in shape, fast.

Ideal Cross-Training Workout

If you’ve been pounding on the treadmill for several weeks and need a break from your usual cardio routine, kickboxing is the perfect cross-training workout. You can add some weights by wearing wrist weights or ankle weights, or just putting on a pair of lightweight boxing gloves for extra resistance. Just one or two routines a week can help you break out of a fitness rut, fast.

Energy Boost

Kickboxing is a high-energy cardio routine that will give your body and mind a boost, and will increase your energy levels. You’ll be breathing hard and sweating out toxins; this process will give your energy levels a much-needed boost.

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Crossfit Discovery: Arnis and Aerobic Fitness

Studies consider arnis as a complete sport because of the diversity of its movements and the physical challenge it impose on the body. Both solo and two-man drills of arnis develop aerobic fitness. Double stick practice is the most aerobically challenging part of arnis training mainly because of the weight of the two sticks and the degree of coordination required to execute the intricate movements. Arnisadors know the demand on the heart and lungs of performing redonda and sinawali continuously for several minutes.

Arnis sparring in heavy armor is equally tough. A match lasting two to three minutes with little rest in between requires aerobic and muscular endurance.

Experts estimate that it would take more than an hour of strenuous exercise to burn around 1,000 calories. To relate burning calories to weight loss, the simple equation is 3,500 calories is equal to one pound of body fat. So burning 3,500 calories means shaving off a pound of fat from your body.

A usual arnis class last an average of two hours and its intensity may vary from moderately strenuous to very strenuous. Yes, there is no doubt that arnis is a good aerobic exercise and the only determining factor to success is if the student can stick to his training until he starts losing weight.

Arnis and Joint Mobility

Arnis masters were known to maintain the dexterity of their hands and gripping power way into their twilight years and the dominant use of the hands and wrists in arnis maintains the tonicity of the muscles and ligaments of the arc of the wrist joints.

To further scrutinize how arnis benefits joint mobility, it is good to examine a restorative physical discipline that employs a highly similar pattern of movements – Indian club swinging. As its name implies, Indian club swinging originated in India where the war club or gada was a feared weapon during ancient times.

Indian club swinging reached the West and was very popular in America during the early part of the 20th century. The fact that it was one of the disciplines included in the United States Army Manual of Physical Training (1914) attests of it popularity during that period. Then its popularity waned.

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Crossfit and Mental Discipline of Jujitsu Practice

Jujitsu training can increase self-confidence, mental focus, and self-discipline, build balance and coordination, and reduce stress. These effects are potent, long lasting and can profoundly impact all aspects of the Jujitsu practitioner’s life.

Self Defense

Jujitsu is a highly effective form of self-defense. Unlike the striking and kicking martial arts, the power of Jujitsu lies in its ability to harness and redirect the force of an attacker, allowing the practitioner to execute powerful techniques without possessing great size or strength.

Fitness

Jujitsu is an excellent activity for improving fitness. A dedicated Jujitsu practitioner can expect to significantly improve strength, speed, endurance, muscle tone and flexibility, all in a vigorous and dynamic exercise environment.

For Children:

Children will enjoy many hours of confidence building activities, including tumbling, falling, and self-defense training. Smaller or more reserved children will have the advantage of working with more experienced students and instructors who constantly support and cheer them on in a non-competitive environment. Students also make remarkable gains in dexterity. Awkward and gangly kids are soon amazing their parents with their new found abilities. Because Jujitsu requires one to yield rather than resist, a more aggressive child learns the value of patience and self-control. Finally Jujitsu enables the greatest gift a parent can present to a child.

For Adults:

Dedicated practice has profound benefits for adult students.  Of course fitness and self-defense skills come to mind, but more important are the stress reduction and conflict resolution skills. Students find themselves more confident, more relaxed, and able to take on the day with a new found ease.

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Crossfit Activities to Gain Muscle Weight

Here’s a list of the best weight lifting exercises you can do to gain muscle weight and increase your strength. Depending on which muscle groups you’re training, pick 2-3 of these for each muscle group from among the following list.

These basic, compound exercises are proven to be the best lifting exercises to gain muscle mass and increase strength. If you’re not using them as the foundation of your workout program, you’re not going to gain weight like you could.

Weight Lifting Exercises for Chest

• Flat bench press with bar
• Flat bench press with dumbbells
• Incline bench press with bar
• Incline bench press with dumbbells

The Best Exercises for Back

• Dumbbell one arm row
• Cable lat pulldowns to front
• Deadlifts
• Bent over back rows w/ bar
• Lower back extension
• Chin-ups (Pull-ups)
• Shrugs for Traps (Dumbbells or barbell)

Weightlifting Exercises for Shoulders

• Seated military press with bar
• Seated dumbbell shoulder presses
• Dumbbell side lateral raises
• Bent-over dumbbell raises

There’s a list of some of the best weight lifting exercises to perform for muscle weight gain. In order to get the most out of these, you have to make sure you’re training with the ideal number of reps and sets per workout. But that’s not all. You also need to make sure you’re not training too often, or overtraining will ruin your best results. And finally, in order to gain the most muscle mass and weight, you want to ensure you’re getting enough rest in between sets AND your workouts.

So, as you can see, there is so much more to gaining muscle mass than just knowing which exercises to do. Besides, we all know about these exercises, but why do so few people REALLY see the results they want? It’s because they’re not putting these proven weight lifting exercises to the best use possible. Below you’ll find a weight lifting program that take these exercises and plugs them into a step-by-step routine that will have you packing on more muscle and weight!

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Crossfit Tips: The Role of Warm-up Movements before Doing Daily Exercises

What you do just before your workout begins can have a big impact on what you are able to do during your workout. Many athletes prepare for a training session by carrying out some routine stretching exercises, but it’s important to remember that stretching helps to improve your static (non-moving) flexibility and may not do such a good job at preparing your body to move quickly and efficiently. That’s why I recommend that you focus on ‘dynamic mobility exercises’ before every workout.

Dynamic mobility exercises during your pre-workout warm-up period prepare your body completely for the vigorous movements that make up the main part of your workout. Most sports involve forceful, strenuous activity, and mobility exercises and drills stimulate your nervous system, muscles, tendons, and joints in a very dynamic manner. Static stretching exercises, in which you’re not moving around at all but are simply elongating a particular muscle or group of muscles, do have a place in your training programme, but their value and proper usage are often misunderstood.

It’s probably best to place your static stretches at the end of your workout as part of the cool-down, not at the beginning of a training session. Static exercises help bring your body back toward a state of rest and recovery and allow you to focus on relaxing and lengthening the muscles that you have put under stress during your workout. Placing static stretches at the beginning of a training session, on the other hand, tends to interrupt the natural flow of an optimal warm-up and fails to prepare you fully for the dynamic movements that will follow.

What follows is a detailed description of a group of dynamic mobility exercises designed to warm you up, stretch you out, and keep you moving as you make the transition from resting to high-energy activity. In addition, I have provided two sample mobility training units that you can utilize during your pre-workout warm-ups.

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Crossfit Tips: Why Your Muscles Need Cool Down Exercises?

The practice of cooling down after exercise promotes recovery and allows for a smooth transition between physical activity and a state of rest. Just as a warm-up prepares your body for exercise, a cool-down provides an effective means for initiating the recovery process.

During a bout of strenuous exercise your body goes through many stressful processes resulting in muscle and soft tissue microtrauma. A cool-down is the first step in the recovery and repair cycle. Unfortunately, many exercisers pressed to fit a workout into their busy schedules fail to recognize the benefits a cool down provides. Educating yourself about the cool-down process and the role it plays in the overall recovery scheme will enhance your exercise experience and leave you feeling rejuvenated after each and every workout.

Cooling down after exercise can prevent dizziness and allow for a seamless transition to a resting state. When exercising, your muscles serve as a secondary pump assisting the heart in circulating blood to all the working areas of the body.  If you go from a period of intense activity to rest, the muscles stop pumping blood and the heart must compensate and pick up the extra workload.

If the heart is not capable of this, you may experience a period of dizziness or possibly even pass out. Below is a list of additional benefits a cool-down offer: Allows for a safe and gradual return of heart rate, respiration rate, and core body temperature back to pre-exercise levels.

• Allows for the safe and gradual return of heart rate, respiration rate, and core body temperature back to pre-exercise levels.
• Reduces the risk of post-exercise cramping or spasm.
• Aids in the prevention of blood pooling, dizziness, and fainting.
• Assists in the removal of waste products such as lactic acid, which can accumulate during vigorous exercise and delay recovery time.
• Assists in the decrease of post-exercise stiffness and muscle soreness.
• May enhance flexibility and facilitate an improvement in the length-tension relationships between muscles.
• May decrease the risk of injury.
• Begins the recovery process, preparing the body for the next workout.

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