There are plenty of reasons why someone would be looking into taking up Judo as a sport and hobby. Some do it for fitness, some do it for self-defense, and parents enroll their kids in it for mental conditioning. The question for this article is, does Judo make you stronger physically and mentally?
Judo does not directly increase your strength in most cases. What it can do is give you the discipline needed for sticking to strict gym routines. It also helps with fitness, making building muscle a lot easier on your body and mind. Finally, it increases flexibility, which also directly helps.
Is that the end of this subject? It most definitely is not. There is a lot to talk about if you want to use Judo or any martial art as a way to build muscle and strength. Reading this article will leave you knowing everything you need to know about the subject. So, let’s get into it.
Does Judo Make You Stronger?
Martial arts is a great way for people to get in shape and stay fit. When it comes to building muscle and getting stronger, we are going to take a look at this. In this section, we are going to go in-depth with this and consider all the factors that go into the subject of Judo and how it does or does not make you stronger.
To understand how Judo can assist you in gaining strength, you need to look at what Judo does do. Here are 3 of things that Judo teaches that can, in the long run, assist with strength building:
- Discipline
- Fitness
- Flexibility
Judo teaches you a lot more than those 3 things, but in my experience, those are the 3 that really matter when it comes to building muscle. This takes us into the next section, where we will look at how these 3 lessons help.
The 3 Ways Judo Can Help Make You Stronger
Doing Judo alone will have no significant impact on your strength conditioning. You still need to go to the gym, or at least do strength training wherever you can. Judo will assist this and make it easier for you. Here’s how:
Judo Makes You Stronger: Discipline
One of the hardest parts of building muscle is being consistent in your routines. It is so easy for us to come up with reasons as to why we have to skip certain days and cheat on our diets. If you do Judo and adhere to what it teaches you, this will less likely happen.
Judo teaches you discipline, which will ultimately help you structure your routine and stick to it. This is also true when it comes to meal plans and diets. Judo will teach you to set goals and achieve them.
Judo Makes You Stronger: Fitness
Let’s say that you are at the gym, you are getting tired, and your entire body feels fatigued. This does not just cause the issue where you don’t give 100% effort anymore. It also makes your body recover slowly. The recovery process is the most important part of gaining strength.
Being fit will ensure that you can give your best when working out. It also helps prevent your muscles from going through bad recovery stages. The recovery stage is what builds the muscles and makes you stronger, so you want to make sure you have the best recovery possible.
Fitness is always a good thing to have when you start working out. It eliminates a lot of the work that you need to do. When you are building muscle, you want to do only a very little bit of cardio in the gym. So, having Judo as a way to keep fit is great.
Judo Makes You Stronger: Flexibility
Judo is a martial art that places a heavy emphasis on grappling and ground combat. Therefore, the training includes a lot of stretches and flexibility training. How this helps with building muscle, let me explain.
If you are flexible, it helps with the efficiency of your training and, again, the efficiency of the recovery process. You will be less stiff after your gym sessions, and a faster recovery means you can get back to the gym sooner than you usually would be able to.
What Muscles Does Judo Work?
Are you still looking to use Judo to build your strength and want to know which muscles Judo works on your body? let’s find out.
Judo works your core muscles the most. This helps to improve stamina, overall endurance, and, obviously, your core strength.
Your core strength and endurance is the most important thing to work on regardless of what you are trying to achieve. This is why I would encourage people to do martial arts, anyone of them, as they all work on your core strength.
Judo Can Improve And Optimize Your Strength
We have already stated, numerous times, that Judo does not make you stronger, but it can optimize and improve your strength and conditioning. I am sure you are thinking what does this even mean. How can you optimize strength?
Being strong is one thing, and a lot of people put a lot of work into gaining strength. Judo can help you focus that strength. Basically, Judo can help you better understand and utilize your strength.
Does Judo Tone Muscles?
This question is much better than the previous one “does Judo make you stronger.” This is because when I answer this question, I can actually give you some good news.
If you build muscle at the gym or through strength training, Judo is perfect for toning those muscles. This is because Judo is continuously high energy. It has a lot of cardio training and fitness conditioning aspects to it. So, if you are looking to get toned, Judo is a great option for you.
Does Grappling Make You Stronger?
This is another great question but it has a two-way answer. Let me explain.
While the grappling in Judo will make you stronger, the high-intensity cardio will minimize muscle growth. This can also contribute to why Judo is so good at toning muscles and why it improves strength.
Grappling your opponents means you will always be grappling against resistance, which will teach you how to utilize your strength in the best way possible.
How Often Should You Train Judo To Build Muscle?
So normally I say that people should attend at least 2 Judo classes every week, but if your main focus is building muscle, this might change.
If you are focused on building muscle, then I recommend doing no more than 2 Judo classes a week but doing one would be best.
When bulking and building strength, you need to eat, and you need to lift weights. You also want to strike a good balance between Judo and the gym. How you do this is completely up to you.
Conclusion
We have reached the end of the article, and I hope that you walk away from it, having been encouraged to take up Judo as a sport, hobby, or even just a way to assist you in your strength-building journey.
I would love to say that Judo makes you stronger, but that would be untrue. I do understand that some parts of the article might seem contradictory, but I assure you, Judo will not make you stronger. It will improve and optimize your strength. You still need to do weight training if you want to build strength.