American Heart Month | How Martial Arts Helps your Heart Health
Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death both in the United States and globally? With February marking American Heart Month, there’s no better time to promote ways to keep your heart healthy.
One of the best ways to keep your heart healthy is to engage in martial arts training. Making it a habit to step on the mat can make your heart run smoothly and more efficiently, leading to a longer and improved life.
Raised Heart Rate and Activity
Whether it’s kicking and striking during Taekwondo or grappling during BJJ, when you take part in a martial arts class your heart rate is going to rise. Your heart is a muscle and must be worked to stay healthy and strong. Increasing your heart rate makes your heart work harder to pump blood and oxygen throughout your body. This leads to many more benefits, including improved endurance and overall cardiovascular health. It also helps burn calories, in turn encouraging and facilitating weight loss.
Improve Blood Circulation
With the many dynamic moves in martial arts, including kicks and punches, your aerobic exercise time increases. This raises the heart rate and gets the blood flowing better in your body. Improved blood circulation allows the heart to operate more efficiently as well as providing the necessary nutrients to the rest of your body.
Lowers Blood Pressure
One of the leading causes of heart disease is hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. When you work out, including while practicing martial arts, your heart gains more and more strength. This helps the heart pump blood more efficiently, which in turn lowers blood pressure. The negative effects of high blood pressure go well beyond the heart, including potential damage to the eyes, kidneys, and brain. This makes avoiding it that much more important, and martial arts can help!
Reduces Stress
Heart health and stress levels have a direct link with each other. The mental health benefits that can be gained from martial arts are well known and celebrated among those who train. The focus, engagement, and community aspects of martial arts can help you take your mind off daily annoyances and problems, improve self-image, and ultimately decrease your stress levels. Reducing stress will help your heart improve glucose control and even lower cholesterol.
Lowers Cholesterol
Another lead cause of heart disease is high cholesterol. High cholesterol can greatly damage your heart, building up plaque in your arteries and then blocking or restricting blood flow to your heart. By regularly participating in martial arts classes, you can lower your cholesterol as you lose weight, which increases your healthy cholesterol totals and lowers the unhealthy cholesterol. Some consistent activity can greatly improve your cholesterol levels and steadily help you increase your overall health.
Ready to start improving your own heart health during American Heart Month? Go find a martial arts school near you and take your first class to start reaping the benefits!