1.  If you have lower back pain, try to correct muscle imbalance by working out ambidextrously. Constantly rotating your lower back and hips in the same direction can produce recurrent muscle strain. Do the same number of kicks with your left leg as you do with your right leg. The same applies to punches and blocks.

2. Drink cold beverages during exercise since they leave the stomach more rapidly than warm drinks, thereby supplying the body more quickly with the fluid it needs. Contrary to popular belief, cold drinks don’t cause cramps.

3. Breathe more efficiently. The more regularly you exercise, the more efficient your breathing becomes. Improving your “wind” takes time, but it’s an important element of training, especially in martial arts.

4. A high-carbohydrate, low fat diet is still the recommended combination for better health and it’s also the winning formula that improves athletic performance.

5. If you have knee pain, exercise your leg muscles, especially the quadriceps (the large four part muscle group on the front of the thigh, which powers the knee movements). A recent study of athletes with knee pain compared the results of rest, anti-inflammatory drugs, quadriceps exercise, and other treatments, and found that the exercise was mostly responsible for complete recovery in 70% of the patients! The quads can be strengthened by leg extensions and leg raises, as well as by walking up stairs or hills.

6. Warm up, then stretch, then exercise. Stretching cold muscles can injure them. Warming up by jogging in place for 5 to 10 minutes will raise the temperature of your muscles, allowing for safe stretching. Your warm up will also increase your heart rate and blood flow and improve muscle function, reducing the chance of injury and increasing performance.

7. Be active. As many as 12% of all deaths that occur in the U.S. may be attributed indirectly to lack of regular physical activity, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control. Here’s a benefit of martial arts training that should make everyone happy…life!