Martial Arts for the Over-30 Adult

Mr. Craig Willits, Chief Instructor at Spotsylvania Martial Arts in Fredericksburg VA, discusses how martial arts can contribute to a balanced lifestyle for adults over 30.

Adults over 30 often resist signing up for martial arts lessons.  They give a variety of excuses, such as being too old, being too overweight, or having nagging injuries.  The misperception that martial arts is a kids' activity does not help.  However, adults in this age group typically have the most to gain from martial arts training.

Consider what older adults are up against when it comes to aging.  As age increases, cardiovascular fitness and endurance decrease, leading to a lack of energy.  Muscular strength and endurance also decrease, sometimes up to three percent per year for people over 70.  Metabolism slows with age, as well.  All three of these factors combine to sap energy, increase weight, and decrease mobility.

None of us wants to wind up in an assisted living facility in our 70s.  Yet that's exactly where most adults are headed by leading a sedentary lifestyle.  The good news is regular martial arts training (one hour, two to three times per week) can help you cope with aging through improvements in the following areas:

• Cardiovascular Fitness and Endurance: Regular martial arts training, combined with an active lifestyle, will help you get your "wind" back.  You'll see particular improvement in you anaerobic capacity, the fitness that helps you get through situations requiring short bursts of intense energy.
• Muscular Strength and Endurance: Unused muscles shrink and weaken with age, especially those of the legs and abdominal core.  The good news is that with regular exercise, muscles shrink more slowly.  Martial arts provides an excellent total-body workout and slows the shrinking process.
• Metabolism and Diet: Regular martial arts training, like any moderate to intense workout, will burn calories and speed up your metabolism.  This makes it easier to keep weight off.  (Martial arts by itself won't make you lose weight.  However, your martial arts training will be most effective for weight control if you adopt a balanced diet.  We recommend the Mediterranean Diet for a healthy heart.)
• Mental Wellness: Martial arts students get important benefits they would miss simply by going to the gym.  The structured environment in a martial arts studio provides accountability, so you're more likely to work out regularly.  In addition, the friendships you build with fellow martial arts students as you go through collective training enhance your mental wellbeing.  If you have children training in martial arts, even better -- the shared experience will make your family stronger.

So if you're thinking about training in martial arts, look for a school where the adults train separately from the kids, at an intensity that will give you the workout you need.  Look for a martial arts instructor who understands the needs and limitations of older students.  Most importantly, stop thinking and act!  The sooner you start, the greater the benefit.

Spotsylvania Martial Arts offers a free trial program in the following areas:

• Tiny Tigers (Martial Arts Pre-Skill Program for Ages 4-6): Physical and Mental Agility, Focus, Awareness, Child Safety
• Traditional Martial Arts for Children (Ages 6-12): Better Grades, Self-Discipline, Respect, Enhanced Focus, Child Safety
• Traditional Martial Arts for Teens & Adults (Ages 13 and Up): Self-Discipline, Physical Fitness, Goal-Setting, Self Defense
  

Spotsylvania Martial Arts Training Facility
4100 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg VA 22408
Commerce Center Plaza (across from Spotswood Baptist Church)
Phone: 540-891-9008

Website: spotsybba.com; Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

© 2010 Spotsylvania Martial Arts