How many calories can you burn hitting the heavy bag?
April 30, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments
Anyone who knows me, knows I love training in MMA.
(“Lady by day… lion in the cage…”)
Okay, so I’m no Paige VanZant… But my reasons for training remain innumerable. Some people do it to have a practice that keeps them disciplined. Some people do it to have some street skills. Then, for those like me, it’s all of that and then some. For example – it keeps my mood up, rage down, and weight leveled. And, for those dojo dwelling folk focusing on that last aspect (weight loss) you’ve come to the right place. Granted I’ve never actually dragged my FitBit into a class with me. However, based off what the Interwebz’ stats have indicated (coupled with a buddy of mine who checked hers right after Muay Thai), you can stand to burn over 400 calories. It makes sense, seeing as you’re often doing HIIT level workouts (between the pyramid kicks drills, jab cross sprints, and whatever burpee-mountainclimber-crunch combo your lovely instructor’s so generously taken the time to devise for you beforehand). It gets your BMR up, which means you’re not only burning calories ATM, but long after the muscle massacre’s terminated for the day.
Now, I absolutely adore this. I’m always grateful that something I love can make staying in shape so simple. (Especially this past January, after I’d put on a little winter insulation.) The only issue? Classes only happen at certain times. There’re a mere handful of days I can attend and go HAM on the thai pads with a pal. (Yes, our coaches’ve got lives outside of molding us into rump kickers.) Granted, I can stay and train late into the night, but I too have a life outside of being whipped into fighting shape. I’ve gotta wake up early and be able to adult the next morning.
So, what’s the fix?
The fix came to me in the form of a rhetorical question one day from my instructor, Ben.
“Uh, you know you can come in and just hit the heavy bag, when you want, right?”
Duh. In the two years I’ve been here, it slipped my mind the way I slip jabs (usually, but not always, if you saw my right eyebrow after last Thursday night). But, now, it caught me straight in the face like the superman punch above. Of course. I can stay and do work on this massive, suspended lump. And while, for me, it’s a way to get in extra training for what might be my first fight in another year, it’s also an absolutely fab way to use up that sushi fuel I may or may not have overdone last week, in addition to supplemental junk food I didn’t need. There’s no arguing that it’s a great weight loss tool.
And just how much do you stand to burn?
Going it alone on your punching pendulum can land you a burn ranging anywhere from 354 to 558 calories.
(Yes, you read that right.)
Alright… but how do you get that higher number? You guessed it: putting in more work. But, if that’s a little too abstract for you, a plethora of add-on options to burn even more exist. Example? Don’t just hit it; HIIT it! Raise your heart rate between punch intervals to raise your heart rate further. How? Add in some kicks after your flurry of punches. (Getting your whole bod involved means more caloric crushing.) Use your footwork, to mime like you’re avoiding blows (‘cause you’d f’real be moving to avoid getting KO’d in a legit fight anyway). Then, for some real fun, add in some masochism of your own in between five minute intervals on the bag: punch crunches, pushups, jump squats…
Get creative with your weight loss! Have fun with it!
So, my dojo goers, hit that bag solo – and bag that summer body you’ve been after!