By: Adam Que and Aida M. Toro
There is a certain enjoyment to my ears when I hear the crisp cracking sound of a glove against a focus mitt. Each crack becomes a beat that wants me to move and glide across the gym floor, which becomes a dance between the trainer and client, a play between rhythm, and power between relaxation and an explosion between calmness and intensity. All the while, sweat is dripping and there is a smile vibrating from one’s face.
Photo Credit: Max Elling @sickpicswmax
Pad Training is a heck of a workout containing many benefits:
Improvement in Hand & Eye Coordination
Having decent hand-eye coordination is key when it comes to health. Coordination portrays a critical part of an individual’s motor skills. Those that tend to have innate hand-eye coordination, have the tendency to reflex and react much better than those who don’t. Throughout the aging process, it is highly important to have your coordination and balance on point.
Photo Credit: Max Elling @sickpicswmax
In this case, hitting the pads will assist you in achieving coordination and balance for life.
When hitting the pads, you have to make sure you can see the target, react and hit the target, while the trainer is moving and changing the target’s position. It’s not easy in the beginning, but the more you attend pad training sessions, your hand-eye coordination and balance will develop.
Stress Reliever:
If striking appropriately, you’ll feel your muscles burn. Not to mention, it’s an amazing stress reliever. The American Psychological Association on Gender and Stress mentions that 79% of women report more stress over money and the economy and 68% of men report more stress towards work. Honestly, it isn’t sugar-coated that we’ve all felt this type of stress. In this case, we need stress relievers in our lives to alleviate those woes, which a little punching and kicking can absolutely do.
During a pad training session, you basically transition between high-intensity and recovery rounds where you’ll do some moderately intense work. Even while taking that 20-second break, you’ll be very concentrated on preparing your moves for the next attack round rather than stress-related issues.
Keeps The Heart Pumping and Aids Overall Physiology
Just as if you’re performing Olympic lifting or calisthenic movements, pad training can improve the fascia. The fascia is the web of tissue weaving around our muscles and internal organs. Most importantly, it aids in our overall physiology and our proprioception.
As performing cardio is known to prevent heart disease, a pad training session provides a balanced amount of stress on both your heart and lungs in order for them to be challenged. The heart and lungs are compelled to create physiologic variations to support a much higher level of physical activity. It’s ultimately up to you on how you want to apply stress on your heart and lungs. As long as the heart rate is up during a pad training session, you’ll be on your merry way to achieving better physiological health.
Overall, wrap up those hands, strap on those gloves, react to the trainer’s cadence, and amplify your senses and work that proprioception to become healthier. Of course, seek out medical guidance before starting a new type of workout or fitness program. But if you’re good to go, pad training can be a conduit for a brand new version of yourself.
Photo Credit: Max Elling @sickpicswmax
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