Anyone take Martial Arts when they were out of shape?

[germanhalo]

Hello, I'm new to here but I thought it would be a good place to ask this, considering I am thinking A LOT about taking Karate classes.

I'm 23 years old and 215 lbs and I'm thinking about taking a Martial Arts class. Maybe Karate or Kickboxing or Japanese Shitoryu Karate. But the problem is, I'm out of shape. Now I'm not obese or anything like that, but I am a little overweight. I know that it'll get me in shape and show me how to defend myself if something was to happen, and that's exactly what I want to do.

The thing that's holding me back right now is that I'm just a little self conscious. I don't want to go in there and be the biggest guy in there or something because if that was to happen, it'll just make things worse. It would be great to have some friends here that would go with me, but I moved away from the city that had all my friends so there's no way I can go with anyone that I know. I'm pretty confident in myself when doing my job, or doing my own workout, or doing whatever it is, but if I'm with a group of people and we're doing physical training or anything that requires me to do heavy physical or a lot of running etc with people I don't know or am comfortable around.

So, has anyone been in this predicament? And if so, what did you do to conquer it? Did you just tell yourself, "don't be a lil biotch" and just sign up? Were there other people there that were overweight or older individuals? And if you can give me any more suggestions and just tell me how it went, I'd appreciate it.

[ShoriKid]

I can't speak from personal experience really. I mean, I've considered myself out of shape before and needed to get at it, but never worried about it much. I did have a friend in high school start and train with us who topped out over 425lbs. No one gave him a hard time, he was always welcomed and encouraged. Heck, everyone admired his guts for training.

Honestly, I don't think anyone would make an issue of you training. More people start training when out of shape than start training while in shape.

[MasterPain]

Well, you're not going to get fit by locking yourself in the basement and eating cheesy poofs. Get in there and get after it! It could be the best thing that ever happened for you.

[germanhalo]

Thanks you guys I'm looking at a couple buildings right now and might go see how they work.

[Lupin1]

I topped out at right around 260 about a year ago (down under 200 now, I think-- I haven't weighed myself in about five months...). I was probably close to that when I restarted karate three years ago. I was a little worried, but I got there and there were three or four other overweight people there in addition to the few fitness buffs. Nobody judged anyone and everyone took things at their own pace. I'm sure you won't be the only overweight person there and everyone will be very supportive. A lot of adults take up martial arts to help them get in shape.

Keep in mind also that weight loss is like 90% diet and 10% exercise. Do some research on diet and start working on that at the same time you're getting into martial arts. You might lose a little weight with the increased exercise, but unless you cut the junk and give your body quality proteins and fats, you're going to be starving and zapped of energy. I know this isn't the fitness and health forum, but I've been primal for almost a year now and it's worked great for me. Watch Fat Head on Hulu. It's hilarious and informational once you get past the first 1/2 hour of Spurlock bashing.

[JusticeZero]

Yes, I practice and teach a martial art that is associated with ridiculous fitness, and I am in worse shape than you are. (Bad eating habits from childhood can do a number on you for a long time. The worst isn't "eating junk food", it is "Clean your plate, we can't afford to throw away food".)

Furthermore, one doesn't wait to exercise until they are in shape. That's a bit like saying "I can't eat because i'm hungry".

Anything worth doing is worth doing horribly with no coordination while looking silly. If you do things badly, you will improve. If you don't do things because you don't want to do them badly, you will never do anything worthwhile.

[germanhalo]

I topped out at right around 260 about a year ago (down under 200 now, I think-- I haven't weighed myself in about five months...). I was probably close to that when I restarted karate three years ago. I was a little worried, but I got there and there were three or four other overweight people there in addition to the few fitness buffs. Nobody judged anyone and everyone took things at their own pace. I'm sure you won't be the only overweight person there and everyone will be very supportive. A lot of adults take up martial arts to help them get in shape.

Keep in mind also that weight loss is like 90% diet and 10% exercise. Do some research on diet and start working on that at the same time you're getting into martial arts. You might lose a little weight with the increased exercise, but unless you cut the junk and give your body quality proteins and fats, you're going to be starving and zapped of energy. I know this isn't the fitness and health forum, but I've been primal for almost a year now and it's worked great for me. Watch Fat Head on Hulu. It's hilarious and informational once you get past the first 1/2 hour of Spurlock bashing.

WOW! Congrats! That's amazing! And that's a relief to hear Yea I'm actually exercising and eating "healthier" now. Kinda just wanted to change and stop being how I am now. I'm looking at different dojos around where I am and look at reviews to see which ones are best. What kinda sucks is that they show you how much it costs for the introduction, but they almost VERY show how much it costs monthly after that.

But I'm definitely going to do this. I'm so happy to hear the responses on here, gets me pumped

[darksoul]

The great thing you'll find about good martial arts dojos is the fact that you won't get judged. Even if you're the biggest guy there (and I doubt you would be) you'll be a member of the class like everyone else. If you go regularly and train hard, the pounds will melt off of you.

Remember though, some people are built to be more husky. Some people are built skinny. If you end up staying close to the same body size but notice your stamina and cardio being better, that's just your build and you might be in better shape than you think!

Throw that self-consciousness out and join up! The martial arts are welcoming to everyone

[jaypo]

I consider myself to be in "decent" shape. But one thing I like about MA training is that it will take the best conditioned people and make them feel out of shape at times!

When we spend an hour drilling combos and then sparring, my legs and lungs feel like they want to explode. But you push through it. That's what forges your mental toughness. There are people that quit and sit on the side. But the people that are truly in it for the right reasons find ways to push thru the "pain".

I may not be able to run a marathon. But I feel confident that I can go a bunch of rounds with any sparring partner. 3 weeks ago, 2 of our senior belts tested for their Shodans. The first 1.5 hrs was spent on katas and drills. The next 1.5 hours was spent on sparring. By the time the first half hour was over, our legs all were like jello. THEN we had to spar with everyone!! Fortunately, I was in the better shape. (And I took full advantage of that fact!!) But both of the people testing, who were both physically and mentally exhausted, found something within themselves that made them keep going. That's what separates true martial artists from "people that take karate".

My friend, I am certain that if you enroll and you work as hard as YOU can, you will find yourself in better shape physically and mentally than you've ever been!

[JohnnyB]

You should definitely start your Martial Arts journey.

Karate is the best thing that happened to me last year, where i found myself overweight at 95+kg with little endurance and self confidence.

After taking some extra gym courses on top of my Karate lessons and getting rid of some bad eating habits i started to improve.

Later when i started the Herbalife nutrition plan my body changed dramatically and i feel a totally different person, full of energy throughout my day.

I'm holding steady at 80kg now with increased muscle mass and i'm planning to lose another 5kg to be closer to my ideal weight. I only know it will take a few more months but i know for sure i'll get there.

Nutrition is everything, but without Incentive derived from my urge to get better at Karate none of all these would happen to me.