This weeks post is in response to a coach’s request at one of my seminars. He wanted a “finisher” to stick on the end of his Muay Thai training sessions.
Here’s the brief:
- 10 – 15 mins in duration
- to go on the end of 2 or 3 Thai boxing classes a week
- kept simple (3 or 4 best exercises)
- all bodyweight with little or no equipment
- to target power endurance development
I decided to use a combination exercise I created called a ‘Don-ee’.
I’m sure it’s been done before, and it probably has a proper name, but as I independently strung it together for my Muay Thai classes, I needed a name for this concoction in my session notes, and a Don-ee fits. ;)
It involves elastically dropping from a standing position onto your back on the floor, sitting up and exploding onto your onto your chest, explosively pushing up into a squat postion, before jumping up into the air!
It’s easier to see it than verbally explain it, so check out the following video.
This body weight movement uses lots of coordinated, elastic, stretch-shortening cycle action for some full-on power-endurance training…
And you can add the chin up bar option if you want amp the exercise up even further!
To successfully execute this exercise, you’ll need good ankle and hip mobility, along with sufficient core, lower body and upper body strength and explosiveness.
The Session Protocol – Great Fight Prep!
The training protocol is one I’ve borrowed from the CST (Circular Strength Training) and TacFit guys. It’s the relentless ‘Every-Minute-On-The-Minute’ format (EMOTM) — thank you Michael Addison and Will Chung!
The objective for week 1 is to complete between 5 to 7 Don-ees as quickly as possible, every minute in succession for 10-minutes straight. The quicker you do them, the more rest you get before the next minute starts and you have to go again.
Pick the number of reps that take between 30-40 seconds to complete flat out. If you’re taking longer, either regress the exercise in some way or reduce the number of reps.
For each round, monitor how many seconds remain on completion of each set before the next one begins. Try not to slow down as the routine continues, and even try to get through the fastest on your final round. If you’ve got a heart rate monitor, measure your peak and recovery heart rates for each round too.
Progress the routine in week 2 by going every-minute-on-the-minute for 15-minutes straight, and 20-minutes in week 3. I know that’s a little beyond the time constraint set in the brief, but I want to push you!
Lots of great benefits for a fighter here, both in terms of athletic movement and also in Aerobic Power, Anaerobic Capacity, and Anaerobic Lactic Power (energy systems) development.
I’ve put together a summary table below, and added a 4th week for reference – if you’re using this routine as fight prep cardio conditioning from 4-weeks out.
NOTE: I recommend that all final fight week cardio sessions are Muay Thai specific, i.e. fight paced pad work or bag work.
Give it a go, and let me know how you get on in the comments below.
| Week | EMOTM Round Duration |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10 mins |
| 2 | 15 mins |
| 3 | 20 mins |
| 4 (fight week) | Fight paced pad work or bag work only |
Don Heatrick
Founder of Heatrick Strength and Conditioning
Don Heatrick is a family man from the UK, former mechanical design engineer, European Muay Thai silver medallist, former pro Thai boxer (ranked 4th in UK while aged 40-years), a Muay Thai coach, podcast host, and the go-to expert on Muay Thai performance training with over 25 years of coaching experience.
Don helps ambitious fighters and coaches take their game to the next level by bridging the gap between Strength & Conditioning, Performance Science, and Muay Thai.
Follow Don Heatrick on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donheatrick/
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