There’s an intricate relationship between managing life stress and training stress. In this episode, gain invaluable insights into how stress impacts your performance, both inside and outside the gym, from the unique perspective of a seasoned Muay Thai, and strength and conditioning coach. Join me as I decode the correlation between General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) [...]
Muay Thai endurance training is more than just endless running! And this conversation with one of my Heavy Hitters is too good to keep ourselves. This isn't just any chat; it's about mastering the art of Muay Thai endurance. Ready for some insights? Here's a glimpse of what we uncovered: We break [...]
Tawanchai has been putting in the work for his first defence of the ONE Championship Featherweight Muay Thai World title. And he's shared a glimpse of his strength and conditioning prep on Instagram. In the clip, we see him working through a series of exercises... Battling Ropes Band Resisted High Knees Band Resisted Agility [...]
When putting together a training plan... Although many fighters and coaches are doing the right things, they organise their training weeks haphazardly and squander the full training effect, or inadvertently cancel out performance gains entirely. At best, this wastes effort. At worst, it burns out fighters and injures them. But, you can apply simple steps [...]
These days, fighter training has become more sophisticated. Coaches, fighters, and hobbyists alike all realise that to remain healthy, injury free and perform their best it takes more than steady runs, bag work, pad work, and sparring. But, what types of sessions are needed? How often should you train? What order should sessions go? [...]
Solo fight skill technical practice can fast-track your fight ability if it's done well. In this episode, avoid these fight skill pitfalls or risk sabotaging your technical practice and undoing all your hard work! Fight Skills – Solo Session Considerations Further Resources Fight Skills [...]
There's a difference between feeling tired during fights and being tired... Competing as a fighter is stressful, and the cocktail of neurochemicals and hormones this dumps into your body drastically affects how you feel. Especially early in a fight career, nervousness, anxiety, or even all-out fear, will leave you feeling exhausted without even exerting [...]
Fighters instinctively feel that hill sprints boost their fight performance. And mixing these High Resistance Intervals amongst your “roadwork” develops your endurance in a way steady state running can’t. But, not everyone has access to a decent hill. What’s the minimum hill gradient required? And what alternatives to hill sprints are there if you [...]
Fighters burnout all the time. Hobbyists, amateurs, and pros alike must learn how to balance high intensity fight training with adequate recovery, to not only peak on fight night, but to optimise long term fight performance and health too. We all have a training “Goldilocks zone” that boosts our performance without sending us into [...]
In this episode, we ask how do Thais train so much and explain why you don’t have to! I’m often asked questions similar to this one from Alex… “I was wondering something while I was training at Attachai. The sessions over there are way harder than I’m used to, but I assume he just puts [...]
Many fighters struggle to adapt their training program to suit their personal weekly schedule... A schedule that’s VASTLY different to a full time fighter out in Thailand. In this short podcast, I explain more by way of a worked example from Jamie. Join the most informed Muay [...]
Panicos Yusuf came to England from Cyprus on a one-way ticket, with just £60 in his pocket and a habit of working hard... He's since achieved an incredible amount in the sport of Muay Thai, owing everything to his family, his friends, his coaches [...]
Podcast episode with Angela Chang, a New Yorker now living and fighting Muay Thai in Bangkok, WBC ranked 12 super flyweight in the world, a social media manager and writer, and author of the Muay-Ying website which promotes muay thai for everyone - equal pay, spotlight, and opportunities for everybody...
I've been asked how I'd recommend structuring strength and conditioning when you're just 2 weeks out from a fight. So here's a quick "down and dirty" podcast episode to get something out quickly! Join the most informed Muay Thai performance community out there! Subscribe Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/donheatrick Apple [...]
In this (whiteboard) podcast episode, I go into some detail on how I’d recommend changing the strength and conditioning element of training if you’ve little or no Muay Thai training right now! Join the most informed Muay Thai performance community out there! Subscribe Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/donheatrick Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/heatrick-heavy-hitters-muay-thai-performance/id1381118000 [...]
Paraphrasing a recent question… I have seen your videos on different training blocks… I have been training Muay Thai for 6months and I’m not going to be fighting any time soon, so is it necessary to do the speed block and peak-week if I’m not competing? Here's a short podcast [...]
Driven from a question left on one of my previous Q&A videos, here I expand on my reply and explain what I mean when I say a "Low Intensity Muay Thai Session"... Join the most informed Muay Thai performance community out there! Subscribe Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/donheatrick Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/heatrick-heavy-hitters-muay-thai-performance/id1381118000 [...]
From Buakaw to Petchmorakot... is it real? Combat sports athletes are constantly bombarded with video clips of fighters using training methods or supplements that are seemingly a shortcut to fantastic results. Most of the time, these clips are little more than social media stunts, either to market a product or [...]
Another nice balance of questions between movement skill, resistance (strength, power, speed) training, and energy systems cardio (endurance) conditioning in this Q&A episode. In this second episode of the Q&A I'm asked... Hi, Don. What do u think of the Ido Portal method of [...]
Some big questions this week! In this episode of the Q&A I'm asked... What is better for the longterm progression and why? MAS or Main Conditioning from Heavy Hitters? Warm-up protocols to stimulate greater neural drive? Training at home and having trouble with loading [...]
