by Don Heatrick
@donheatrick
Fighters push ups aren’t typically considered to enhance the clinch!
Most fighters view push ups only as a punch-specific exercise, but programmed in your training correctly, it can make a serious difference to your Muay Thai clinch escape too.
And being a bodyweight exercise, specific push up variations are super accessible for everyone’s Muay Thai training sessions, regardless if you’re training alone or in a class.
In this episode, we feature a push up exercise variant that powers up your clinch escape and ability to control the clinch.
Good clinch ability is about surprising your opponent, switching your emphasis in contrasting ways.
And where novice fighters tend to think of the clinch as a pulling skill…
Experienced fighters recognise that pushing and lifting in the clinch is just as important.
And successful Muay Thai clinching ability demands a variety of pushing angles and strength in multiple types of movements from the shoulder.
Moving beyond a basic push up, the Screw Push Up has a fantastic amount of carryover into the way the shoulder, chest, and arm are used in the Muay Thai clinch.
Further Resources
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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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