Obesity is a growing concern among children and adults despite the informational resources available on how to get fit and stay fit. To combat this, the fitness industry’s  latest trend in personal training is “wellness coaching”according to Jacqueline Stenson, a contributing writer for  MSNBC.

Why? Personal Trainers are discovering that their clients, seeking support to become physically fit, don’t achieve their desired results by just being told “eat healthy foods” and “be sure to exercise daily.” Wellness coaches are taking aim

at their clients’ lifestyle issues: from smoking to food choices, to job factors that induce stress, to time management and even to personal relationships. By focusing their efforts on all areas that impact on their clients’ overall health, wellness coaches hope to increase their clients’ success in achieving true wellness.

Tackling the obstacles to fitness from a broader wellness approach is an excellent idea because each individual has unique needs and demands that may be limiting their success. One adult may have career demands while another may have family responsibilities. One child may not be athletically inclined, while another may be preoccupied with electronic companionship, such as computer or video games. There are many forces that can challenge an individual’s ability to lead a healthy life-style and each needs to be addressed and overcome to achieve overall wellness.

This wellness approach is already employed and enjoyed by millions of martial arts practitioners. Martial arts have long been regarded as a complete workout for the “Mind, Body, Emotions and Soul.” Most importantly, what sets the martial arts apart, and makes it more effective than a wellness coaching system, is that it provides each individual with the tools that are needed for long-term success. A coach isn’t always going to be there for support. The martial arts prepares its students to rely on their own will through personal discipline and self confidence. These are key benefits of martial arts training. In a way, martial arts prepare you to be your own wellness coach.

Baby boomers bent on getting back into shape may want to give their love handles a karate chop: A new study finds the martial arts to be  safe, effective exercise for 40- and 50-somethings. "If you want to do something that's fun, different and good for self-defense -- and good for long-term self-defense against disease -- do the martial arts," says study author and physical therapist Dr. Peter Douris, of the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, N.Y. His findings appear in the March 25 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

For most people, the decision to get fit usually means buying a gym membership or shelling out money for expensive home-exercise equipment. But what about alternative methods, such as practicing the martial arts?

In their study, Douris' team examined the overall fitness of 18 individuals between 40 and 60 years of age. Nine of the study participants had been practicing martial arts for about three years. The other nine participants maintained a more or less "couch potato" lifestyle. Overall, the martial arts devotees "were much more flexible, had more leg strength, less body fat, better aerobic conditioning and better balance"  compared to the sedentary study subjects, Douris reports.The martial art  practitioners had an average 12 percent less body fat than the non-exercisers,  the researchers report. They also seemed much stronger -- while sedentary types could only muster up 37 sit-ups in a row on average, the martial arts practitioners averaged 66 sit-ups before exhaustion set in. The martial arts  group also displayed more than double the balancing power of non-exercisers and outperformed the sedentary types when it came to flexibility.

The study did not compare the benefits of the martial arts to that of gym workouts, running or other fitness options. However, Douris estimates that the  average martial arts class raises students' metabolic level -- a measurement of changes in the metabolic rate -- to about a 10-15, a level equal to that of jogging or running. And he believes that older individuals, especially women,  needn't be put off by fears they will be injured trying out karate-like sports. "It's not like judo, where you're doing a lot of flips and throws," Douris explains. "There isn't that much of that in karate. You do fall down when you're 'free-sparring,' but there are people in the classes that are 60 years old -- they get right back up. There are plenty of women in these classes, too."

Dr. Douglas McKeag, a sports medicine expert at Indiana University in Indianapolis,  believes the martial arts "are a perfectly acceptable way to boost fitness, certainly in middle age it makes a great deal of sense. The sport is capable of delivering the  type of stimulus that the body needs to get in shape." But he cautions that, as with any new sport, beginners "have to come at it relatively slowly and intelligently." Douris, 47, has been practicing the martial arts since he was a teenager and says he routinely beats competitors half his age in tournaments. He calls the sport "self–defense against aging." 

In a second study, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that another one-on-one contact sport, Martial Arts Groundwork (MAG), boosts the immune system of adolescent boys. The researchers measured levels of immune system white blood cells in blood samples from MAG practitioners aged 14 to 18 years old, taken before and after a typical 90-minute MAG bout. MAG appears to produce "significant and robust" elevations in immune cells, indicative of a healthy rise in immune function, the researchers report.

 The finding came as no surprise to McKeag. "The fact is that MAG, as with any form of exercise, can keep a person healthy." Exercise stimulates all of the body's organs,  he says, including the lungs, heart and other vital structures, creating "a much more efficient body." And while your actual training also provides you with exercise which helps to reduce stress, burn calories, build endurance, and strengthen muscles; martial arts instructors can direct your training towards your specific needs.

 I would like you to resolve to make 2008 a breakout year. Sharpen your mind, body and spirit like never before. Increase your strength and stamina and develop a healthy lifestyle, filled with self-confidence and motivation. Our martial arts training will allow you to achieve your goals and live your dream. Together, we will make the New Year one without limits!

Our acclaimed programs are for all ages, regardless of body type or level of fitness. Have a great 2008!

PS As an added incentive for you and your family to start “letting the martial arts be your overall wellness solution” I have arranged for you and any member of your family  to try a complimentary week in any of our martial arts programs. Give us a call (905-278-7234) or email us (karateinfo@on.aibn.com) to set up your free week. What are you waiting for? Another year?

Mr. Doyle is a 30 year veteran of the martial arts. He has been teaching and educating men, women and children of Mississauga since 1986.  He is married and he and his wife, Lesa (also a black belt) , and have two children, Charles (12) and Alexsandra (8).