The Fight for Fitness - Should you try combat training for your fitness?
We got an opportunity to see Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. grace the boxing ring for a highly anticipated fight that did not disappoint.
Spoiler everyone it ended in a draw!
What was important are the fitness conversations that emanated from two 50 plus-year-old athletes fighting for their fitness and a chance to entertain and give back to their community.
Let's take a quick look at this from two perspectives
The potential calories burnt per sport
The biggest question “Am I going to get hurt?”
The potential calories burnt per sport
If we are talking about the potential calories burnt per sport we have to talk about MET or metabolic equivalent - The estimated amount of energy expended by just sitting around doing nothing for a minute.
Researchers have assessed the amount of energy required to engage in all kinds of activities over the years. In order to make it easier for other scientists to conduct large scale studies, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Arizona State University have compiled updated versions of that data on the Compendium of Physical Activities website
How does it work?
Brace yourself we are going to get nerdy for a second.
One MET is approximately 3.5 milliliters of oxygen consumed per kilogram (kg) of body weight per minute.
The formula to use is: METs x 3.5 x (your body weight in kilograms) / 200 = calories burned per minute.(source)
Example: Mike Tyson weighs 225lb = 225 / 2.2 = 102kg
Mike Tyson’s MET for boxing is: 12.8 Mets x 3.5ml x 102kg / 200 = 22.8 calories per minute
That's 1,368 Calories for one hour of boxing but Mike Tyson boxed for 16 mins that night therefore he boxed away 364.8 calories
The second question. Am I going to get hurt?
No. In most combative and martial art classes you'll spend countless hours learning the fundamentals and drills before you hit anything or anyone.
You'll have to ensure that you check the am I fit enough to attempt combative training boxes
You’ll need healthy stable:
Ankles
Knees
And Wrists
You’ll need adequate flexibility in your:
Hips
And Shoulders
There are lots of twisting and turning in combat sports and if one link in the chain is weak you’ll definitely run into some challenges.
If you are indeed brave enough to spar please obsessive about mastering your defensive fundamentals.
Don't get hit in the liver, kidney, chin, or temple if possible.
If you take these things into consideration you can check with your medical doctor and start your journey to combative self-mastery and soon as you see fit
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