Postsfor the recommended shortlist
Most likely, if you ask your Muay Thai trainer what fitness training you should do outside of your Muay Thai sessions, you’re told to simply run a number of times a week, and maybe do a little weight training if you want to… It’s largely down to you. And aside from “do more” when [...]
I was asked about that Pallof Press w/ Perturbation core exercise that Tawanchai was using in my recent reaction video... "Could that be used in a Strength Block in a training program?" When choosing the best core exercise for fighters, it's important to first consider... How far a fighter is away from an important [...]
When it comes to fight warm up exercises, back stage at shows, I often see fighters missing out on truly priming their bodies for explosiveness. Well, today I'll share a two exercise protocol that will amp you up, both physically and mentally in a total of just 8 to 15 reps! [...]
As fighters become more experienced, we must understand how to coach them so they don't become stale. Experts in any field are ruthlessly good at the basics. What marks the best apart from the rest, is their ability to revisit and resharpen their foundational practice. It's vital that those at the top of their [...]
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 [...]
Muay Thai training and Muay Thai as an art has a deep history. And when it comes to the ring sport we’ve all come to love, the period between 1980 and 1995 known as “The Golden Era”, spawned arguably the most talented fighters ever. Names like Dieselnoi, Samart, Jongsanan, and Sakmongkol demand almost superhero [...]
Your work life and fight life are in conflict. I know you feel the clock is ticking, that you’re running out of time when it comes to finding out how far you can go in Muay Thai. It was true for me, and it’s true for everyone – regardless if they compete or not. We [...]
For snappy punches and kicks, Shin Box Switch hip mobility exercises both warm up and challenge hip internal and external range of motion – they're harder than they look! And adding a hip extension movement turns these hip mobility exercises into combined hip strengthening exercises too... Not to mention increasing your ability to use your [...]
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? [...]
Thoracic spine, or mid back rotation mobility is lacking in 90% of the fighters I’ve tested, from novices to world class pros. In the last episode, I demonstrated how I test and score this. If you scored between 1 to 3, you’re limiting your striking power and have an increased risk of lower back [...]
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 [...]
When it comes to fight skills technical practice, repetition is key. And group sessions present challenges for individuals looking for technical practice opportunities to fast-track changes in their habitual fight skills. In this episode, I discuss my approach for fast-tracking technical practice in group sessions, both as a coach, and a fighter taking part [...]
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 [...]
Even elite pros require methods for coping with pre fight nerves. And it begins with accepting how you really feel, before adopting strategies to manage that pre fight anxiety when it crops up... And it will! Every fighter has nerves before a fight. If they didn't, they can't perform their best. However, it's important [...]
Using fighter's deload week effectively takes discipline! Recovery is often a dirty word for fighters... However, it’s the difference between year-on-year progress, or a monthly boom and bust. In this discussion with Rolf Eijsink during his coaching call, we explore both my approach to maximising deload weeks, and Rolf's valuable insight too. Use these [...]
In the last episode, I explained that consistent effort over the long-term makes the biggest difference to your performance. To achieve that, there’s a common denominator – DISCIPLINE. Discipline is what you need when your motivation has run dry… And it’s exponentially more important! [...]
Do you know the difference between optimal and peak fight performance? Too many fighters don’t, and it’s costing them! I see many pro and hobbyist fighters alike, rightly working incredibly hard in their training, but mistakenly believing that every session must push them harder than the last. “Go hard or go home” has its [...]
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 [...]
To become a faster, more explosive fighter you must first become stronger – produce more force. If you can create more force, you can accelerate quicker, hit at higher velocity and do more damage. That’s the mechanics, but we’re biological machines not purely mechanical ones. If we want our strength to transfer into the [...]
