Martial Arts Self-Defense Classes: Mobility and Muscular Endurance

Recreation & Sports Blog

If you're looking for a way to build physical fitness and self-confidence, martial arts self-defense classes can be a great way to achieve both. When preparing for martial arts self-defense courses, it can help to work on your mobility and muscular endurance.

Here are a few of the ways you can improve your mobility and muscular endurance as you prepare for these classes.

Martial Arts Mobility

When many athletes begin martial arts self-defense classes, they often struggle with basic ankle and hip mobility.

Ankles: generating power and stability from your lower leg requires ankle mobility. One of the easiest exercises to begin before starting martial arts self-defense classes involves completing a series of deep squats. Start by removing your shoes, setting your feet at shoulder width apart, and squatting over your heels. Hold the squat for sixty to ninety seconds. Repeat this process two to three times per day until you can hold the position, without straining. You can evolve your squatting exercises by rocking from side to side or bringing your opposite elbow toward your foot. These deep squats will drastically improve your ankle mobility and make your time in the dojo manageable.

Hips: Your hips might not lie, but they can certainly let you down. To improve your hip mobility, consider completing a series of hurdling drills two to three times per week. Begin by placing a chair parallel to a wall with ample space to maneuver. Standing next to the chair, rotate your foot over the back of the chair, focusing on allowing your hip to complete a full rotation. Continue cycling your foot over the back of the chair for sixty to ninety seconds.

Martial Arts Endurance

Martial arts classes can be exhausting. To get the most out of your sessions, you might want to build your muscular endurance before you hit the gym.

• HIIT: High-Intensity Interval Training, as the name implies, involves a series of strenuous bouts of exercises in circuits. Using HIIT workouts to prepare for martial arts self-defense classes will stregthen your major muscle groups. For instance, you might hold a plank for a minute, rest for twenty seconds, complete push-ups for one minute, rest for twenty seconds, complete burpees for one minute, rest for twenty seconds, and finish off the set with a series of squats. You can repeat these types of HIIT workouts leading up to your martial arts self-defense courses.

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29 November 2022