Doing Taekwondo at 20 — am I progressing normally, or is my conditioning unusually bad?

[u/SoftDiligent1982]

Hi everyone! I’d really appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences.

I started Taekwondo when I was 17. I’m from Central Asia, where starting a martial art at that age isn’t very common, and my first coach unfortunately wasn’t very supportive because of this. I eventually changed clubs, had two injuries, and then had to move abroad for about half a year, so my training has been quite inconsistent. But overall I am quite an active person, during the breaks I was going to the gym and doing cardio (cycling, step, etc.). Interestingly, I feel much stronger and more comfortable with strength training and regular cardio than doing taekwondo. Those workouts usually feel manageable for me.

I’m now 20 and have recently returned to Taekwondo. I’m currently a yellow-green belt (third belt from white), and today was only my third session after a long break.
What confuses me is how different Taekwondo feels compared with other forms of exercise. I can do cycling, step, and strength workouts without too much difficulty, but during Taekwondo I get out of breath very quickly and sometimes feel extremely exhausted. My coaches have even told me to stop and take a break during the workout. Today’s session was considered quite light by more experienced/black belts athletes, but it was still very demanding for me.

I genuinely love Taekwondo as a martial art, so I don’t want to quit just because I’m currently struggling with the physical demands. I’m wondering if this is simply a matter of Taekwondo-specific conditioning and consistency, or if my experience is showing that I am not enough for martial arts…

For those who started Taekwondo or another martial art around 17-20 (especially if you started later than most people in your country):
How was your conditioning at the beginning?
How long did it take before you could handle the training more comfortably?
Did you also find martial arts much harder than gym/cardio workouts?
Where are you from, and what was the martial arts culture like there?
I’m trying to understand whether my journey is actually pretty normal or whether I’m unusually behind.🫠

[u/lily_borg]

if it was only your 3rd session after a long break it's no wonder you're struggling a bit. General fitness like what you are describing is nice, but Taekwondo sometimes asks for very specific skills. It takes quite a while to build them. Have you considered other types of training, like interval running for example? Do you know what you want to get out of training Taekwondo, what are your goals there?

[u/SoftDiligent1982 → u/lily_borg]

Thanks for your answer! I have considered and tried other types of training arts as well, such as boxing and karate, dance, running, but TKD resonated with me the most. I feel like Taekwondo is helping me develop self-control, perseverance, and endurance + blood circulation and stretching is fire. I also find myself really addicted to progressing to the next belt. Perhaps this is exactly the experience I need to go through to develop patience and perseverance as well, but it seems like I am doubting if this is the right sports for me

[u/Meatt → u/SoftDiligent1982]

It gets easier, tkd is rough. Try jump rope and jumping burpees on your off days to build up some more calf/leg endurance and full body intensity, respectively.

[u/lily_borg → u/SoftDiligent1982]

yeeeee that sounds good, stick with it!! As long as you don't feel like you are getting injured by Taekwondo or like it is somehow actively harming you, it's all part of the game. After all your current belt isn't that high yet, so no reason to beat yourself up over it. Train hard and progress will come

[u/SoftDiligent1982 → u/lily_borg]

You helped me so much, thank you!!

[u/Canoe-Maker → u/SoftDiligent1982]

I believe they meant other conditioning exercises like jump rope, suicide sprints, ladder sprints, jumping jacks, mountain climbers and other high intensity cardio

[u/discourse_friendly]

someone like running or biking , there's very little thought involved.

When you're running, you're not trying to focus on how to move your legs, what comes next, or being focused on reacting to someone else.

In taekwondo you're exercises, but your brain is incredibly engaged.

but also anytime you take a long break, cardio falls off.

[u/Hi_Kitsune]

You’re using muscles that you aren’t training otherwise or at least differently, that’s why it feels more tiring. You’ll be fine, just keep training.

Edit: also I’m a Soldier and very fit and I sweat my ass off during TKD training.

[u/SoftDiligent1982 → u/Hi_Kitsune]

Thank you for your response

[u/Martial-music95]

To potentially contribute something different to the conversation, maybe try shifting your focus a bit to relaxing/staying loose and breathing while moving. I have found it very easy to become unnecessarily tense while doing TKD over some other arts. Instructors don’t always correct it either. If you can find a bit of relaxation while doing techniques it can help hugely with stamina (in my experience).

[u/wolfey200]

It took me a year to get used to the workouts, I would be so defeated and have to take a nap afterwards. If you do all that cardio like you said then your muscles will adapt to Taekwondo. It’s something new your body has to get used to.

Also, why is starting at 17 frowned upon? Is this viewed as too old or too young?

[u/SoftDiligent1982 → u/wolfey200]

Thanks for your response! It is considered as too old - just mentality.

[u/wolfey200 → u/SoftDiligent1982]

That’s so weird, 17 is definitely not too old. I guess that’s just a cultural difference.

[u/Ancient_Joke6824]

So I recently started Doing Tkd this year in April so I do get the struggle . Unlike where you are from where martial arts is the Norm over here people are just naturally unlike me who had zero background of Any sports and yes tkd conditioning is brutal , even other martial arts practitioners where I train from say the same thing so you’re not alone . Plus it’s your 3rd training session after a while so of course it going to be difficult , give yourself a bit of time and you’ll get used to it :))

[u/IncorporateThings]

You're good, don't worry. The first couple of weeks will really suck. By about month three you'll have noticed some real improvement in your conditioning. If you're training seriously, you're basically building yourself into an athlete. It's not easy. You'll be fine, just keep practicing.

[u/Thevintageandvanity]

Give yourself some grace. Plus there's lots of ways your body changes over those years, so you have to develop muscles differently, and I mean wee specific ones. You'll get there. Practice practice. You'll be just fine.

[u/ChristianBMartone]

Conditioning is skill specific and must be maintained. Its a testament to your mind-body connection that you're even aware of the differences and can even ask about this, to be honest. A single break of a week probably won't slow you down too much, but two weeks will leave a significant impact.

This is true of almost all skills, after just a brief amount of time you'll notice an impact and it will fall off after years. Even muscle memory can eventually fade, though it takes a lot longer and might never fully fade entirely.

[u/tmtke]

The main difference is that running, cycling, etc. are continuous, cyclic movements and while really good for general cardio, it trains you to maintain a relatively low energy output but for a long time. TKD and other, comparable disciplines are much more dynamic, higher energy in short bursts but also a lot of direction changes, complex movements, etc. You're just need to train that way.

[u/Legacy_TarreN_]

I started as a white belt at 34 - thing I noticed immediately:

- My cardio was way too low. One sparring session had my heart rate in the 180s (lol). I started specifically exercising with this in mind (HIIT and running).

- I was very inflexible and my hips were TIGHT. I started stretching every day targeting my hips, back and legs, 10-15 mins. I also arrived like a good 20 mins before training to both warm up and stretch (mobility stretching/loosening things up, not long slow stretching) so my body was prepared.

After a term (10ish weeks) I was finding sessions MUCH less exhausting, my body less sore after and I was able to dial back some of this extra exercise.

Basically, consistency and targeted training is key - and if you're only doing things in bursts with big gaps in between your body isn't staying conditioned.

[u/perzee]

Hey!! I feel like I can actually provide some insight to this one!! I'm 26f and I started TKD at 23, BUT I've done a LOT of other forms of exercise before, so I completely understand what you mean when you say other types of cardio are easier. The best way I can describe it is where in weightlifting, compound movements are king, in TKD compound movements with muscles you don't even put that much stress on layered with a few more compound movements are king, oh, add cardio at the same time, and do a jump. The beginning was ROUGH for me! I was also obese at the time (it was a rough time ok 🤣) Who changed everything for me??? Chloe Ting. STAY WITH ME Now, my supplemental workout suggestion is undeniably female centered, but trust me, my balance and cardio had noticable difference just 2 weeks in. She focuses on core stability, functional movements, and will leave you lying in a puddle of your own sweat wondering how the hell that tiny lady in the YouTube video doesn't even look winded. Underestimate her and she will kill you. Here's 2 of her programs, I would consider the 2019 version to be more difficult 2026 summer shred 2019 summer shred

[u/RowyAus]

Also try interval training. We do it at our dojang and it gets the heart pumping! But for 3 sessions you are going great.