Bored of treadmill walking or cycling?
Monday, November 28, 2005
Tim Scheet, writing in the May 2005 issue of Muscle & Fitness, suggests this exciting alternative:
"But what if we told you that there's an alternative to spending 30-40 minutes bustin' your butt on the stationary bike, treadmill, stair-stepper or elliptical trainer to shed body-fat?
It's true... What is this great activity? Martial arts, and according to a study from the Human performance Laboratory at Wayne State College (Nebraska), it boosts heart rate and calorie burn to levels equivalent to those produced by a good run. Scientists studied the heart rate and calorie expenditure of 18 male and female beginner-level martial artists during a typical tae kwon do workout. The routine cycled front kicks, butterfly stretches, forearm strikes, crunches, side kicks, quad stretches and push-ups. Researchers found that, on average, the men's heart rate rose to 80% of their maximum heart rate and they burned about 600 calories per hour. The women showed similar results."
Source: Muscle & Fitness (May 2005, page 180)
NOTE: Classes like Boxercise are now very popular and are excellent for building tight, toned, muscular bodies, especially for women, who might not want to push weights like the men.
"But what if we told you that there's an alternative to spending 30-40 minutes bustin' your butt on the stationary bike, treadmill, stair-stepper or elliptical trainer to shed body-fat?
It's true... What is this great activity? Martial arts, and according to a study from the Human performance Laboratory at Wayne State College (Nebraska), it boosts heart rate and calorie burn to levels equivalent to those produced by a good run. Scientists studied the heart rate and calorie expenditure of 18 male and female beginner-level martial artists during a typical tae kwon do workout. The routine cycled front kicks, butterfly stretches, forearm strikes, crunches, side kicks, quad stretches and push-ups. Researchers found that, on average, the men's heart rate rose to 80% of their maximum heart rate and they burned about 600 calories per hour. The women showed similar results."
Source: Muscle & Fitness (May 2005, page 180)
NOTE: Classes like Boxercise are now very popular and are excellent for building tight, toned, muscular bodies, especially for women, who might not want to push weights like the men.
