Best Martial Arts For Weight Loss (Top 5)
In this day and age, martial arts training is not just about learning how to fight or defend. No, it has become one of the most popular forms of exercise for weight loss. We can see more and more people joining the BJJ or boxing classes for fitness and weight loss. And unlike in the fitness gym, martial arts also teaches you how to fight, which is a very useful thing by the way.
Most martial arts classes are cardio intense no matter what fighting style you choose to train in. Whether it’s a BJJ, Muay Thai, or Boxing, the classes in all of these arts will push your mind and body over the limits. But as we know, with a lot of effort always comes a high reward, or in other words, calories burned.
In this article, we are bringing you the best martial arts for weight loss. If you stay committed to classes, expect to get your body in top shape in a very short time span. Bear in mind that the exact number of calories you can burn training martial arts depends on your weight and various other factors.
5. Kickboxing
Calories per hour — around 900
For the people not familiar with it, kickboxing is very much like Muay Thai, but a bit less brutal. It is a very popular striking style, notably in Europe, which people often overlook when it comes to how effective it is. Not just for fighting, but for fitness and weight loss as well.
In fact, a form of kickboxing called “Crossfit kickbox” has become very popular, notably in the west. I don’t know much about this form, but from what I saw, it differs a lot from the kickboxing we are talking about here. Yes, you can lose weight and get your body in shape. But these are not the types of classes in which you learn how to fight. No, students just shadow box using kickboxing techniques to get sweaty and tired, that’s all.
In our view, real kickboxing is a far better choice. You will also burn a lot of calories, around 900 per class, but also learn how to fight. And by the way, the risk of injuries in training is really low so there’s no point in going for the “CrossFit” form.
As in Thai boxing, students learn how to mix kicks, punches, and footwork. But kickboxing differs because it doesn’t include knee and elbow strikes. You will spend a lot of time working on a heavy bag before moving to live drills with the partner and maybe sparring. But even if you are not a fan of exchanging strikes, no one will force you to do it. Sparring and live drills are always optional.
4. BJJ
Calories per hour — around 600
BJJ is an ideal option if you are not a fan of striking and being hit. It is a very safe fighting style that doesn’t include any striking at all, and the rate of injuries is really low. And on top of that, it is a great option for weight loss, developing core strength, and very good self-defense skills.
OSU Gym — Check out our exclusive gym with workouts and martial arts tutorials from top influencers in the space.
In short, BJJ is all about taking the fight to the ground and finishing the fight using chokes and joint locks. Since BJJ has its origins in Judo, you will learn how to execute various throws. But the emphasis of the art is on ground fighting where you learn various positions, escapes, and submissions to finish the fight.
Although this sounds great, you must know that BJJ training is really hard. Rolling on the mats with a person the same size as you are is hard and you will suffer a lot in the beginning. This is because you must spend a lot of time improving your core, strength in both upper and lower body, and cardio. But as said earlier, there’s always a high reward behind the great effort.
The best thing about BJJ is that anyone can train it. It really doesn’t matter how older or fat are you. We can often see 60 year olds rolling around the gym and having a lot of fun.
3. MMA
Calories per hour — around 800
MMA is the fastest growing sport that might be a perfect option for weight loss and here is why. You see, MMA is a versatile style that is a total package in some way if you ask us. It teaches you how to fight at any place and against any opponent, and lose weight fast. What more could you ask for?
MMA teaches you how to fight in all three elements of fighting:
- standup
- clinch
- ground fighting
But the problem is, not a single fighting style covers all three elements. This is where its name “mixed martial arts (MMA)” explains it all. MMA is a mix of various grappling and striking techniques put into one style of fighting. To cover all the elements, students learn skills from the following four martial arts:
- Muay Thai (clinch, striking)
- Boxing (striking)
- Wrestling (grappling, ground fighting)
- BJJ (grappling, ground fighting)
As one would expect, MMA training is really hard and burns a lot of calories. Shifting between striking and grappling will activate every single muscle in your body, even the ones you didn’t know you have.
And above all, training MMA just can’t get boring or monotone. You are always learning new things and shifting between the arts.
2. Boxing
Calories per hour—around 800
Boxing is one of the oldest fighting styles that has been around since ancient times. Although boxers use “just” their hands to fight, there is a reason why boxing is also known as the “sweet science.” It is a very technical striking art and the classes are among the toughest workouts out there.
Still, people who want to get into combat sports for fitness and weight loss tend to avoid boxing. This is mainly because they are afraid of getting beat up, as boxing has that type of bad reputation. But nowadays, boxing gyms offer different types of classes. If you want to train just to lose weight or get in shape, no one will force you to spar or do live drills.
There’s no playing around in boxing as the emphasis is on core strength and endurance. Throwing thousands of punches will improve not just your upper body, but the lower body part as well. People tend to think that boxing only improves your arms and stabilizes your core. But no, footwork plays a big role in boxing and will activate your thighs and calves.
And let’s not forget that boxing is the most popular fighting style. Or in other words, every town in the world, even the small ones, has a boxing gym. You might have a hard time finding BJJ or Muay Thai gym to train in. But boxing is a well-spread sport all around the world.
Muay Thai
Calories per hour — up to 1000
Muay Thai is often seen as the best striking style, which is by the way among the most brutal as well. But don’t worry, in this day and age, Muay Thai training is very safe and fun. It will teach you all about real fighting, and help burn calories like nothing else out there.
You see, Muay Thai is a fighting style that teaches you how to use all limbs as weapons. Students learn how to throw kicks, punches, knees, elbows, as well as some basics of grappling. The emphasis of training is on endurance, throwing hundreds of kicks, and learning how to fight in the clinch.
The classes are cardio intense and will bring you close to throwing up, that’s for sure. But at the same time, each class burns from 800 to 1000 calories per hour, which is a lot. I mean, you would have to run over one hour to burn that many calories. In our view, Muay Thai is an ideal combo of fighting skills, fitness, and health benefits.
Each technique you learn in Muay Thai works on the streets and could help you get out of trouble. Though the training is hard, it will improve your strength, and get in top shape in a record time.
Final Thoughts
Martial arts training is a fun and healthy way to lose weight and get your body in top shape. No matter which style you choose from above, you will see the results after just a couple of months of training. The key to success is to stay patient, humble, be consistent, and not give up.
In the best-case scenario, training hard will inspire you to go on a diet. Eating healthy food and training hard is the best recipe for not just losing weight, but improving the quality of your life in general.
And let’s not forget that all the fighting styles listed above are among the most effective ones. Apart from losing weight, you will learn great fighting skills that might help you on the streets.
We have a chat room! (We use Discord) join here
Check out our exclusive gym with workouts and martial arts tutorials.
