Muay Thai Vs Kickboxing: The Best Martial Art for Weight Loss

Muay Thai Vs Kickboxing: The Best Martial Art for Weight Loss

Do you want to achieve an ideal weight but are not sure how to do it? Well, if you want to lose weight, martial arts can be one of the best hobbies out there. They are the classic multi-purpose hobby that provides an excellent basis for self-defence and a fun workout. It also involves intense exercise that is very helpful in burning calories.

But, which martial art to go for? It’s a bit confusing because Muay Thai and Kickboxing both are beneficial in letting you have your ideal body shape. Now the question is, “Which one to choose?” 

In this article, we’ll be telling you about both Muay Thai and Kickboxing, and hopefully this will help you make a better informed decision.

Are Kickboxing And Muay Thai The Same?

Muay Thai and kickboxing are stand-up fighting styles that have gained popularity in the last two decades. At first, you might think that both are similar, but there are slight differences. 

If you’ve even watched a single match, you can easily tell the difference between them. Muay Thai is an eight-point striking system; on the other hand, kickboxing is a four-point system. 

In simple words, the Muay Thai boxers use their eight limbs, including knees, elbows, hands and feet, to strike all the punches. On the contrary, kickboxing involves four limbs for all the kicks and punches. 

Muay Thai For Weight Loss

Many consider working out at a gym to be the only way to lose weight. If you think the same, then Muay Thai is worth trying for you. Muay Thai is a historic style of Martial Arts that has gained tremendous popularity worldwide due to its high efficiency and great power.

It is also referred to as “the art of eight weapons” as it involves eight critical muscles of your body. With the involvement of all these muscles, weight loss becomes a much easier goal to achieve. If you’re a woman, then you also find muay thai to be a transformational experience for your body image. 

In the beginning, this form of Martial Arts can be a little hard to get into. But, once you start practicing it regularly, you will find it a straightforward approach to burning fats.

Reasons for doing Muay Thai

Now, let’s take a look at some key factors that make it an ideal Martial Art for weight loss.

Whole body workout

Muay Thai involves multiple muscles of your body and is a full-body workout. When you kick or punch, your hands and legs work in tandem with the core muscles.

Punches work on your core muscles as well as on your biceps and triceps. In contrast, leg work strengthens your glutes, calves, and hamstring muscles.

Therefore, just by practicing this form of Martial Arts, you can tone the muscles of your entire body and change your bulky look to a slim and muscular one.

Burns bulk of calories and fats

When you want to lose weight, your target is to lose more calories in less time. This is what Muay Thai does for you with its intense workouts. The hard training sessions along with muay thai belly fat exercises help you get rid of undesired fats in your body and shape up your muscles.

You need to show excellent endurance and strength to perform this form of Martial Arts. However, traveling these hard yards will serve as a fantastic catalyst to reduce calories and fats in your body.

If we had to go by the numbers, studies show that on average you can burn 783 calories with an hour of Muay Thai.

Reduced stress and anxiety levels

As we know that stress and anxiety contribute significantly towards increased weight. An unhealthy mind leads to a sick body. So, to start your journey towards a slim and fit body, you need to have a calm and composed head on top of your body first.

Muay Thai not only helps to shape up your body but also allows you to bring down your stress levels. Performing Muay Thai daily will enable you to find better focus and stay relaxed and happy.

Helps in building muscles and increases body strength

Muay Thai involves cardiovascular exercise that helps in burning fats which aids in gaining muscle mass. It’s among those workouts that burn your fats even after you’re done exercising. With your every strike, you’re testing your muscles to their full impact. And the repetition of punches and kicks results in providing great strength to your body. 

Kickboxing For Weight Loss

Kickboxing is surely on the list of those people who want to lose weight. It’s basically art that emphasises using the hands and feet to deliver all sorts of punches.

But, if your purpose is solely weight loss, you might like it because it involves the highest amounts of sparring. However, in most gyms, they see the business potential, too, so they have aerobic kickboxing, one of the best options out there for weight loss. 

This aerobic kickboxing provides an outstanding full-body workout without much sparring and intense fights that are usually part of the standard kickboxing classes. The practitioners are allowed to use kickboxing as a weight loss technique while learning how to punch and kick.

Kickboxing classes usually have a mixture of strength training and aerobic training. Along with that, they also entertain participants. Losing weight becomes a fun thing.

Reasons for using kickboxing to lose weight

Here are the reasons that make kickboxing a go-to Martial Art for weight loss.

Helps to burn fats

In kickboxing, like any other exercise, you can burn a good amount of fats. Practicing kickboxing for an hour with enough intensity can greatly impact your weight. But, you need to have a check on what you eat. 

Helps to tone the body

Building muscles and toning the body along with losing weight is a dream of a lot of people. Kickboxing has made it achievable. It basically aids in building muscle mass and boosts metabolism, which helps lose weight faster. It particularly assists in toning the belly and love handles, resulting in a perfectly shaped body. 

Helps to strengthen core muscles

In addition to toning the body and reducing fats, it also promotes core muscle development that protects your back and provides abdominal strength.

Burns a lot of calories

Kickboxing helps you burn calories that are essential for weight loss. A study showed that a person could burn 444 calories in 30 minutes with kickboxing. In an hour, the burned calories can go up to 900. 

Recommendation

Kickboxing is one of the best forms of martial arts. It mainly focuses on fitness. But is it better than Muay Thai for weight loss? The answer is, perhaps no, because Muay Thai involves more body parts than kickboxing. In short, when it comes to Muay Thai, you have more weapons at your disposal despite a slightly lower caloric burn rate than kickboxing.

At KONGA, we offer both muay thai and kickboxing classes for people of all levels. If your goal is weight loss, don’t hesitate to contact us and find out how we can help you on your journey to a healthier, leaner body!