Muay Thai Performance Hack Episode 1: Sleeping to Better Muay Thai Performance In this series, I'll quickly share (in less than 5-minutes) hacks that'll improve your Muay Thai performance. The link between sleep and recovery is well known and documented, but just how much do you need, and how much does it affect your athletic performance? [...]
Let's face it, Thai boxing is a full contact discipline. The objective is to leave your opponent unable to continue, preferably unconscious! Damage is the name of the game. Contact injuries can certainly be reduced through improved Muay Thai skill, but they still happen, there's no avoiding it. So what happens when you get [...]
Here’s the thing… You might not admit it, but I guarantee there’s something in your life that you’re powerless over… …And it’s become unmanageable. That’s an addiction, and denial is one of the characteristics! If you’ve read my blogs before, you’ll know I’m no stranger to drawing inspiration and expertise from diverse fields. And [...]
You might not be ready to hear this, but I’m going to say it anyway. Guess what, everything that happens to you is your fault. …I can feel a wave of aversion rising – “but” what if this, or that… Ok, to pander to this argument a little... other people can affect what happens to [...]
Hamstring cramps at night, cramps while sitting, or during training can send you into a writhing, screaming heap on the floor. And if it keeps happening, there's something wrong. Here are some ideas that can save you some grief, and potentially a torn muscle. To be honest, the exact cause of muscle cramping is largely [...]
My sports massage therapist Jacqui Sinclair pointed out I've a muscle imbalance in my back. Are you thinking this doesn't apply to you? Guess again — it's a sneaky muscle imbalance! Although I use a well balanced strength and conditioning training programme, I failed to account for some innocuous postural activities. In this video I explain why [...]
Mariusz posed a few questions, wanting to know about common injuries in Muay Thai training (not fighting) and what to do to check and correct the causes; muscle building (hypertrophy) training for Muay Thai fighters; and eating allergies/intolerances. So here's another dog-walk talk, where I take the opportunity to chat through some ideas while out [...]
One of the guys on my programme asked me, "What are the benefits of your training (strength and conditioning) method versus the the Thailand method?" It's a good question, and one I thought I'd answer with a video rather than a few brief sentences. So on a windy, November, Sunday morning, I grabbed my [...]
In a previous article for Muay Thai Scholar, I discussed using strength and conditioning training to discover how your body fails, and working on these weak links – we’ve all got them! I illustrated with the example of valgus collapse of the knee, where the knee buckles inward under load... And this is pretty [...]
My wife forwarded the following video to me, showing an apparent impact conditioning drill. Now, it's pretty obvious this is the dumbest idea ever. This kind of deliberate repeated trauma to the brain causes damage, and you can only accumulate so much brain trauma in a lifetime, so don't waste it with this kind [...]
Following the Gym Session Density article, I've been asked what mobility exercises I'd suggest to fit into the gym session template. In reality, the specific exercises I select depend on the movement limitations of the individual that I've programmed for. However, Thai boxers generally need to work on ankle, hip, thoracic spine and shoulder [...]
Cuts are part of Muay Thai. A well placed knee or elbow can easily result in a profuse cut that prematurely ends a fight (7, 22). This sort of external bleeding is obvious, but there's also internal damage; bruising and haemorrhage of various tissues within the body (17, 22) – the most consequential being [...]
by Don Heatrick and Lev Borukhov @donheatrick This is a joint article with Lev Borukhov, a physical therapist from the U.S. with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from New York Institute of Technology who specialises in working with fighters. He's passionate about Muay Thai and has an informative blog at www.fightpt.com. We'll be [...]
It's important to schedule enough rest and recovery in your training programme to avoid injury, illness and overtraining. Most competing fighters train for 6-days a week, resting for one day of the week. But is a rest day best spent doing absolutely nothing at all? Are there low intensity activities that would better aid [...]
Because of the of interest in my Thai boxer Down - Injuries article, I felt I should continue on this theme... Fighters are a different breed, you're wired a little 'differently' – it's why you were attracted to Muay Thai in the first place. Like it or not, you're an extremist by nature [...]
It's easy to get carried away when preparing for a fight. I've seen many fighters 'self destruct' at this time and get injured – myself included. Injuries such as these either fall into the traumatic (sudden accidental) category, or chronic over use. Traumatic injuries are always possible, and can spontaneously occur by chance — [...]
Forget your old perception of a warm-up and now consider a new model for optimising performance preparation for both fights and training sessions. Time is wasted and physical potential goes untapped following typical ill-conceived warm-up routines. I know it's been done to death – a warm up will promote faster muscle contraction; relax agonist [...]
Pulling on my barefoot running shoes, I chose to run the 2 miles to the gym as part of my warm up. I'm not yet accustomed to the altered calf loading from barefoot running, and as I completed my gym session, my calves began to feel tight — but I still have the run home... [...]
As fighters our exercising training time is very limited. We should spend as much time as possible practising technical and tactical Muay Thai. Time spent exercising must provide a benefit that can't be obtained during Muay Thai training or it's wasting time. Each exercise in your strength and conditioning programme must provide the biggest [...]
Following on from my last post, "Is Muay Thai Bad for Posture?", this time I look at some exercises that can counter balance the overuse and posture compensation that results from hours of Muay Thai training. These exercises strengthen and activate deep neck flexors and lower scapular fixators and stretch out the pectoral, upper trapezius [...]
