Karate is a great way to keep your body limber yet powerful. Learn more and sign up for classes at American Karate Academy.

Getting in Shape with Karate
American Karate Academy
Tired of the same old workout routines? You’d be surprised to know that you can get in shape by learning karate. Plus, if you learn karate, you’ll also get the benefit of strengthening your mind as well. After practicing karate, you’re sure to feel the burn the same way as any other cardio workout with the benefit of also improving your coordination, reflexes, and even moral discipline. So, how can you get in shape with karate, and is it even an effective workout? Keep reading today’s blog to learn more.
Karate Will Help You Stay Flexible
Every good workout starts with a stretching session. Sometimes, the entire workout is stretching (we’re looking at you, yoga). Improving your flexibility by stretching is a great way to get your body in shape. Being flexible means that your muscles are being used and stretched regularly, often causing less pain and aching in your joints. The more you stretch and become more flexible, the more energized and active you’ll feel in your everyday life.
Karate is a great way to stretch out your muscles. In karate, it’s important to be swift yet powerful with each move, so being flexible is key. Most karate moves involve kicks with the legs or jabs with the hands, and a lot of times, both. The more advanced movements you learn, the more you’ll see that the kicks get higher and the jabs get faster. The best way to become a master at these moves and rank up your belt color is to keep stretching and pushing yourself more with each lesson. Each time you push yourself to kick higher, you’ll stretch the muscles and soon you’ll be able to kick over your opponents’ heads.
Karate Requires A Ton of Power
Every type of workout requires you to exert power in one way or another. You feel tired and sore after working out because it costs energy to use that power. A good way to explain this is with weight lifting. The weights are heavy so in order to lift them you must use the strength and power within you — and you can feel it with each rep. Using power and burning energy is what helps people get fit or stay in shape. Essentially, any activity in which you have to use power and energy can be considered a workout. Sometimes, it may not feel like a workout, but as long as you’re consistently using your internal power, then you’re actually getting in shape.
Karate actually relies a lot on focusing in on and utilizing your internal power. While you may not have an external source of power against you like a heavy barbell, you’ll actually be exerting your internal power into the air around you. This can be seen in every movement in karate — it’s not just moving your hands, each movement of the fist is thrusted quickly into the air, which requires a lot of internal force. Just by using your body’s power to consistently change your stance, kick your leg, then jab your fist, you’ll start feeling like you’re in the midst of a cardio session in no time. While you might not build large muscles if you learn karate, you will condition all of your core, arm, and leg muscles. You’ll do this by mastering more difficult kicks and jabs, all while keeping your body centered and balanced at the core.
Is Karate An Effective Workout?
Yes, depending on your goals. Karate is a great way to keep your body limber yet powerful. Learning karate will help your body become more flexible which means so much more than just getting in shape. Being flexible means that your muscles are being used often and being stretched properly, allowing you to do more in your daily life without feeling aches in your joints. Learning karate also requires you to exert a lot of internal power, which feels like a cardio workout. The movements in karate are quick and forceful and will help you burn a ton of calories with each lesson. While karate may not be the best way to lose an extreme amount of weight or help you build the bulkiest muscles, it is a great way to get your body in good shape and keep it there.
Get In Shape At American Karate Academy Miami
If you live in the Miami, Florida area, you can get in shape — or stay in shape — with karate at American Karate Academy. We offer karate classes to everybody of all ages at our martial arts school. We also have classes for MMA, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and so much more. Sign up for karate classes today!