Currently, aerobic practices have settled in gyms and sports centers that may be able to replace performance in the weight room, adding doses of group work, some fun, and choreographic arts thanks to music. This is Body Combat.
With this, many of them use the heritage of martial arts and contact sports to give movement to the classes, allowing a very rich mobility of muscle groups and an exercise that allows sweating easily. As if it were a karate or taekwondo kata, these activities get a very profitable exercise.
Today we are talking about body combat, another activity that has been able to squeeze the legacy of martial arts to offer an attractive and tremendously aerobic exercise.
What is Body Combat?
There are times when two things look alike, they are usually from the same creator. Not long ago we talked about the benefits of the body pump, and how it was born in the early 90s by Philip Mills and his company Les Mills International. Well, do you know where body combat comes from? Yes, they are correct.
On this occasion, Mills was not the creator, but the Argentine Nathaniel Leivas, who in the year 2000 produced the first program of the training routine belonging to Les Mills International. Today, the program has reached one hundred countries, recognizing the creators of more than 100.000 qualified monitors around the globe. We can say without fear of being wrong that again from New Zealand they hit the nail on the head.
If we look at a technical definition of what Body Combat is, we could understand it as an aerobic routine that aims to improve cardiovascular performance through movements taken from martial arts such as Taekwondo, Tai Chi, Capoeira, Muay Thai, Karate, or boxing. Seen this way, we could place Body Combat not far removed from other aerobic routines such as aerobics itself, the aforementioned Body Pump, or Fitboxing, which is perhaps closest, but with the addition of a punching bag.
All these movements similar to martial arts katas will be accompanied by music tracks, each song corresponding to the performance of an exercise for a muscle group. Kicks, knees, elbows or punches will exercise the whole body, as well as coordination and psychomotor skills.
Benefits of your regular practice
Group classes of this type come with all kinds of benefits. Body Combat is not only great for burning calories and fat, it will also help you build your cardiovascular endurance, relieve stress, and is also great for coordination, muscle toning, and agility.
Increases weight loss
On average, you can burn around 740 calories for each 55-minute Body Combat session (which are the most extended versions). While this can change a bit depending on your specific weight and height, as well as your ability and fitness level, the fact remains that it's still a more productive way to burn calories, and therefore fat. This makes it ideal for those who want to lose a few kilos based on cardio training.
Additionally, upper body movements increase heart rate, burning calories more.
Increase resistance
This type of collect class could be comparable to running when it comes to improving your stamina. However, the explosive elements, combined with the non-contact nature of the class, means that you are unlikely to sustain any injury. This means you can work out harder, for longer without any long-term injury. Although you must adapt it according to your physical condition. If you're just starting out, try not to do jump kicks, as the instability when landing could injure you.
Plus, workouts are divided into timed intervals, helping you maximize your heart and lung capacity. So there will be no excuse to practice it, whether you are a beginner or if you have been attending classes for weeks.
It improves muscle tone
Kicking, punching and blocking, that is, the elements of martial arts when combined and repeated extensively at a regulated pace and intensity, will help to utilize muscle groups you didn't even know you had.
Unlike running or cycling, Body Combat is a total body workout, which means it uses both your upper and lower extremities for the workout, giving you a more balanced effect and helping you achieve lean muscles and a well-toned body.
Body Combat reduces stress
We all need an avenue to relieve any pent up stress and anger we may be carrying around with us. This type of collective classes is the perfect way to help you relive that stress. It's not a violent element that helps unleash that fury, but simply the power and explosive nature of the exercise that helps you release all the stresses of everyday life.
Combine this with the natural endorphins released during exercise and the many times proven positive effects of exercise on overall mental health and you are sure to feel better in every way after a Body Combat session.
Improves agility, reflexes and coordination
By practicing a mix of martial arts followed by choreography, Body Combat has a great effect on balance, coordination, and agility. Many of the exercises require you to balance on one leg while kicking or punching with another limb. This requires good balance, coordination and agility, all of which will improve the more classes you take.
How is a routine?
Once the origin and its development have been explained, the big question is to know how a body combat session develops. A common session is made up of one hour and ten songs, divided into eight training songs together with a warm-up and a final stretching song.
The routine, like all of your family, is recommended to be done three times a week. In turn, it is recommended to complement it with anaerobic activity (you will not get rid of the gym), fulfilling the body combat with the doses of cardio that you need during the week.
As for the exercises, we will find from songs that focus on the punch, and with it the exercise of the triceps, biceps and upper body in short, to others that perform kicks and with it the lower body. All this will always be accompanied by a previous warm-up and a selection of songs where dance and EDM predominate over other styles.
How many calories are burned in Body Combat?
The movements of karate, boxing, taekwondo, tai chi, and muay thai kickboxing are set to high-energy music to provide an aerobic workout designed to burn fat and calories. According to their own brand, each class features an introduction to the movements, followed by fighting sequences and combinations focused on speed, power, and endurance. Classes end with strength training and stretching and can burn between 600 and 1.000 calories per class , depending on the individual.
But it's not just an ideal workout for burning calories; it also improves heart and lung function and reduces the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, they claim that it " tones and shapes key muscle groups, burns calories for a leaner body, improves coordination and agility, enhances bone density, and improves posture, core strength, and stability ."
Who can practice it?
Finally, it will always be essential to highlight for whom body combat can be a magnificent activity and for those who are the opposite. In this case, as with any aerobic activity of this type, it is a magnificent exercise to gain resistance and lose weight, since we will be able to eliminate fat by avoiding the monotony of the gym.
In turn, there is always talk that in these practices women are the ones who come the most, although this cliché must be avoided. Both men and women can find great benefit in body combat, as a system to improve resistance, gain flexibility or sharpen coordination by learning so many exercises from a great amalgamation of martial arts.
As with any exercise program, consult with your physician before beginning a BodyCombat workout. People with knee, ankle, hip or shoulder injuries need to be careful, as do people with high blood pressure, heart conditions and pregnant women.