If your goal is to improve your fitness or lose weight but you need to do something more exciting than jogging on a treadmill to keep you motivated, perhaps you should consider doing a martial art like boxing, kickboxing, karate, or judo.

In this article we list the top 10 reasons to consider doing a martial art for fitness and weight loss to help you decide if doing one is right for you.

1. Doing martial arts for weight loss

It’s no coincidence that gyms, personal trainers and producers of exercise videos and DVD’s are now heavily incorporating training techniques and exercises from a wide variety of martial arts in their workouts.

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One of the most common goals of fitness enthusiasts is to have low levels of body fat covering their hard-earned muscles. Whether the individual is an athlete that wants to look good in and out of uniform or a fitness instructor that wants to have “toned” arms, everyone is looking for the most effective exercises to reach their goals.

There is certainly no shortage of opinions when it comes to training programs and exercises that trainers and magazines seem to promote to reach these goals, so it is understandable that many bodybuilders and gym-goers can be overwhelmed by information. But what really confuses me is the claim made by gym employees and fitness authors that certain resistance training exercises

are for definition and cutting up .

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Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain illness. It is characterized by long-term, body-wide pain and tender points in joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. It is also called is Central Nervous System-myalgia. In FMS, there is a generalized disturbance of the way pain is processed by the body. Fibromyalgia can develop on its own or along with other musculoskeletal conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. The most common sites of pain include the neck, back, shoulders, pelvic girdle, and hands, but any body part can be affected. Fibromyalgia patients experience a range of symptoms of varying intensities that wax and wane over time. Most patients with fibromyalgia say that they ache all over. Their muscles may

feel like they were pulled or overworked. Sometimes fibromyalgia symptoms include muscle twitches and burning sensations. More women than men are afflicted with fibromyalgia, and it shows up in people of all ages. A conservative estimate of its prevalence is 2% of the general population, but it may be as high as 3-5%. It is estimated that approximately 5-7% of the U.S. population has FM. Although a higher percentage of women of all ages and races are affected, it does strike men and children. Because of its debilitating nature, fibromyalgia has a serious impact on patients’ families, friends and employers, as well as society at large.

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The basic motion of an elliptical trainer is a smooth, flowing…well…elliptical motion. The low impact nature of these machines greatly reduces stress on the joints of the lower body (ankles, knees, and hips).

Since it is a weight-bearing exercise, elliptical training promotes cell growth in the bones of the lower body and spine thus helping ward off the debilitating effects of osteoporosis. This is a distinct advantage that elliptical trainers have over other exercise devices that are not weight-bearing such as rowing machines and stationary bikes.

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Cardiovascular disease is America s number one killer, taking the lives of 37% of the people who die each year. 71.3 million Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, congenital cardiovascular defects, hardening of the arteries, and other diseases of the circulatory system. Cardiovascular disease cost Americans $403.1 billion in 2006 for medical costs and disability. Keeping blood pressure and cholesterol within healthy limits, and not smoking, are the three most important and controllable factors in preventing or stopping the progression of cardiovascular disease. Fortunately, there are many natural methods for maintaining a healthy blood pressure and keeping cholesterol levels optimal. (Remember to consult

with a qualified health care professional before starting any supplementation program. Just because they are natural, that does not mean that all supplements are safe for each individual case.)

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