Krav Maga for Weightloss

There is an assumption that only only those who are already fit, can train in Krav Maga.  Our research shows that in excess of 50% of new students describe them self as overweight or unfit and chose Krav Maga instead of the gym as a method of combining weightloss, health and self defence.

In this post we explore what Krav Maga offers those people.

The UK, has the third-highest rate of excess weight in western Europe behind Iceland and Malta. 67% of men and 57% of women in the UK are overweight or obese

Starting a new healthy lifestyle routine is hard for everyone, but it can be especially hard if you are overweight.  Cultural emphasis on the body beautiful can make the gym or health club environment intimidating and putting together a program on your own can be both uncomfortable and confusing.

If you are overweight, exercise is vitally important to a healthy lifestyle. Workouts help you to lose weight, change the way you feel about yourself, boost your mood, improve your health, and make daily activities more comfortable. It even makes you better in bed …

Barriers to change

You need to be clear, a lifestyle change including exercise and healthy eating is required to lose and sustain weight loss. No gym membership, Krav Maga class, or any other type of exercise can compensate for poor diet and life style.

Real change needs to be incremental and sustainable, NOT drastic.  Quickfix simply wont work.

Once we understand that sustainable weightloss is a lifestyle problem, you can now begin to address the root causes.  Exercise classes like Krav Maga can be part of the solution, however you need to understand that at least 70% of the problem is diet and we cant address that today.

A significant barrier facing people trying to lose weight, is the sheer volume of misinformation promoted by those with financial motives. Weightloss is a booming industry, people want your money and will sell you anything – whether it works or not. So we will keep this simple.

The following are commonly sold as weightloss methods. In simple terms the DONT WORK as effective ways to lose weight – despite the advertising…

• Gym memberships for weight loss (80% drop out within 3 months- 59% within the first month alone)
• Crash diets (a huge volume of research has shown that crash diets are not sustainable and in many cases contribute to weight gain
• Miracle pills/fitness gadgets (higher drop out rate than gyms)
  

The key to sustainable weightloss is whole lifestyle change and community support – community like that offered in Krav Maga class

Getting started in Krav Maga

So how do you get started? First, make sure that you are healthy enough for physical activity. This becomes more significant if you are over 45 years of age, potential health problems  or have a BMI over 30. Visit your GP and ask if you are healthy and safe to commence a martial art (they probably wont know what Krav Maga is – so keep it simple).

A good instructor will advise to get a GP check up if you are very heavy and over 45 years, or if you have high blood pressure and are overweright.

Take a good honest look at your self – when was the last time you exercised. We don’t mean an exercise class, it could be a brisk walk or activity that makes you heart pump faster for at least 30 minutes and how many times a week do you do that.