Wanting to lose weight is a popular reason why so many people take up different types of exercise and sports.
However, many people still underestimate how healthy and active martial arts can be because they assume that they are sports to teach self-defense and core values instead of promoting physical activity.
But is this really true?
Here we are going to be taking a look at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and if this martial art could be the key to helping you lose some weight. This way, you can find the right kind of sport or martial art that suits your needs and desires.
So, let’s get into it!
Can You Lose Weight While Practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a popular combat sport that requires a lot of moving around. As a result, it’s pretty common for new students to shed some pounds and lose some weight as they introduce this new sport to their routine.
So, yes – you can lose weight while practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
This is because Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a pretty physically intense sport to practice. Between the warm up sessions, drilling, sparring and rolling, each class can get you moving around burning more calories than you are used to.
Being physically active and moving around is key when it comes to losing weight because this is what helps burn off the calories you take in during every meal.
As a result, it’s recommended that you aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day. Because Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is considered a high intensity sport, it is considered an anaerobic exercise with breaks of aerobic exercise.
This means that just 30 minutes of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a day can seriously help you lose weight.
Most Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes run for 90 minutes, three times a week, so taking up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can definitely help you lose weight even though it is not designed for that purpose.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu started out as a martial art, as a form of self defense, but practicing it involves a lot of working out and burning calories as well as building up your strength.
So, a natural side effect of taking up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that you shed a few pounds – but just how much weight can you lose?
How Much Weight Can You Lose Doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
How much weight you can lose thanks to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu all depends on the intensity of your training. The more anaerobic exercise you do (intense activity), the more calories you will burn.
By burning more calories, you force your body to use up some of the fat stored around your body and thus, you can lose weight.
An hour of martial arts can burn between 500 to 900 calories, depending again on the pace and intensity of your training session.
This means that if you do an hour of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu three times a week, you will burn around 1,500 to 2,700 calories a week – that translates to roughly half a pound of fat.
That may not sound like much but you cannot rely on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu alone to help you lose a lot of weight.
Losing weight can be difficult because it requires a lot of dedication and discipline – so let’s look at how Brazilian Jiu Jistu can help you lose weight in other ways and what else you need to do to help shift more weight.
How To Lose Weight With Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Adding Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to your routine is not enough for you to lose a lot of weight.
Although it’s a great way for you to be more active and avoid leading a sedentary lifestyle, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is not a sport you can rely on to solve all your weight issues.
You also need to follow a balanced diet and cut out fatty food and drinks that are high in sugar. Swap these out for healthier alternatives like fruit and vegetables, and drink plenty of plain water.
This combined with at least 30 minutes of intense exercise every day will help you lose weight. Relying on one part will not help you lose weight; you need to eat a healthy, balanced diet and do enough exercise.
These kinds of changes to your normal routine can be a huge struggle and many find that they lack the discipline and motivation to keep to their diets and exercise routine.
However, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can also teach you some important values that you can apply to other aspects of your life.
Because Brazilian Jiu Jitsu requires a lot of dedication and constant effort in order for you to master the art and rise up through the ranks of the belts, this means that you learn a lot about discipline and persistence.
These values can seriously help you stick to your diet and exercise routine and support you as you continue on your weight loss journey.
Not only that but Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is great for instilling confidence and making you more self aware of all of your strengths and great qualities.
So, it may turn out that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can help you lose weight in more ways than just one!
Conclusion
So, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can help you lose weight as it’s a high intensity sport that counts as your 30 minutes of daily anaerobic exercise. This means that you can burn some serious calories during training – but it’s not enough on its own to completely change your life.
Instead, you need to couple Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with a healthy, balanced diet and an active lifestyle.
Some people can find this difficult to stick to but luckily, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is great for instilling discipline and perseverance in its students so you can also learn some core values that can aid you in your quest to lose more weight.
This means that taking up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can definitely help you get more active and follow a healthier lifestyle – just don’t expect it to solve all of your weight issues.
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