by Don Heatrick @donheatrick Fighter training intensity is something to respect and use appropriately. It's easy to be misled by the majority of training montages and highlight videos shared around of pro fighters. It's important to realise that these snapshots are not what all of their training looks like. If it was, they'd be [...]
by Don Heatrick @donheatrick It maybe a bit of cliché in the fight game that either you win a fight or you learn… but that doesn’t mean it’s not true! However, you can seriously increase your rate of learning (even if you won the fight) if you follow up by reflecting on the answers [...]
This week, three Muay Thai strength and conditioning questions answered! Standing or sitting between rounds? Weightlifting belts (for fighters), yay or nay? MAS cardio sessions? Plus a bonus game changer to help focus your efforts! Is sitting between rounds best for recovery, or is it better to remain standing instead? How about fighters using [...]
"What Muay Thai strength and conditioning equipment do I need?" I'm asked this a lot! You don't need lots of equipment, or even expensive equipment to follow a world class strength and conditioning program. And I've boiled it down to these "must have" items. Collect these, and there really is nothing holding you back, except [...]
Adding more training may seem like progression, but there's more to it than that. In this video I explain a little more, using cardio conditioning as an example. There are tools for the job, some are better suited to different situations. As a coach (or a self-directed fighter), it's your job to pick the [...]
Strength vs speed, what would you pick?Before you answer, how about a little Muay Thai sports science review of the fight between Rafi Bohic vs Dylan Salvador at Lumpinee Stadium... A massive thanks to Timo Ruge at Muay Ties for allowing his footage of Rafi vs Dylan to be used in this video! [...]
Have you started yet? Whatever your training goals are, have you begun or are you still keeping it on the backburner? If it's important, do it. Get started right now. I’ll help you... MUAY THAI TRAINING WEEK CHEAT SHEET Making the best use of your limited training time is [...]
Are you making these 3 mistakes when planning your training? Not understanding the boundaries of different types of training Training the wrong types of training together Emphasising the wrong type of training either too far away or too close to a fight It’s important to understand that TYPES of training are different to training [...]
How do you test for maximum heart rate? This question came up in response to my review of the sports science methodologies being used at Petchyindee Muay Thai in Bangkok... ...And this week I've been buried under a LOAD of work, moving my website domain over to new hosts in preparation for something big [...]
Following my interview with Daniel McGowan at Yokkao 28, I've been asked a lot of questions about what I thought of the training methods used at Petchyindee MuayThai in Bangkok. So I've put together this short video to share my thoughts. Let me have your comments and questions below! ;) [...]
Prevent gassing out? Why exactly do fighters gas out? Before you can understand this, and how to train to prevent it, you must be familiar with the key tipping point in your central energy supply... your anaerobic threshold. Once you know what you don't want, you can make sure your training gives you want [...]
There’s been a lot of discussion on social media about Conor McGregor’s cardio (or lack of cardio conditioning) against Floyd Mayweather - and reflection on the importance of a strong aerobic base in any fighters training program. These discussions are useful. Aerobic capacity and aerobic power are two foundation qualities that any fighter must [...]
To put these three videos in context, this Liam Harrison interview at Bad Company Gym was given just after I’d helped him with some re-hab for a chronic separated shoulder injury – that was further aggravated during his successful Yokkao World Title defence against Rayan Mekki at Yokkao 24, and had prevented Liam training [...]
This video clarifies some of my thoughts regarding the changing face of Muay Thai training in Thailand itself. It's going to be a long process, but it has begun. Things are slowly changing in Thailand. And with traditional Muay Thai training habits so strongly embedded and blindly defended, it's the foreigners that could be [...]
In part three answering Richi Alvarez' Muay Thai strength and conditioning questions, we turn our attention to energy systems (or cardio conditioning) training while in Thailand. To plug gaps in your cardio conditioning training in Thailand, you must first understand what you're already getting! You'll certainly get a large volume of "threshold training" and [...]
This is the first episode in a series, answering six great questions posed by Richi Alvarez in the private group for my online strength and conditioning programme. Richi is training full time at Khongsittha Gym in Bangkok, and has a background in strength and conditioning too. So there's some great thought behind the questions. And [...]
Muay Thai specificity is a term that's largely misunderstood, and therefore misused. In this video I set about explaining how all three main elements of your training; strength and power, cardio conditioning, and Muay Thai training itself, have a range of activities from general to specific. Once you understand this, you can begin to [...]
Don Heatrick grabs the opportunity to speak to Richard Smith, Bad Company Muay Thai founder and senior instructor, about his philosophies and methods for preparing his team of Thai boxers, from undercard to World Title fight. These four episodes where filmed at the Supershowdown Presents Yokkao 23 & 24 event at the Bolton Macron Stadium [...]
Muay Thai Strength and Conditioning... Supplemental and Essential Video Transcript: Your primary training focus is of course MuayThai. And your main limitation early on is technical competence, and focusing on this will have the greatest impact on your performance to begin with. Strength and conditioning on the other hand is [...]
Don’s Winning Fighter's Principle Quick Coach’s Chat EP. 03 Featuring Manachai and Yodchai filmed at the Yokkao Training Centre in Bangkok. Head over to my YouTube channel #MuayThaiTube and subscribe to get all the latest videos as soon as it goes live every Saturday. Don's Winning Fighter's Principle Video Transcript: I'd like to share with [...]
