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? [...]
Both barbells and dumbbells have their place in a fighters program for exercises like the shoulder press... Either to target specific qualities in different blocks of training, to accommodate shoulder mobility or injury, or simply because of the limited availability of one or the other in your gym! In this video all is explained, while [...]
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 [...]
Tune-up your Muay Thai Superman punch or elbow with this Med Ball Jump Slam exercise! Not only is this a great explosive hip extension and core anti-extension exercise, but it’s a fantastic way to teach timing and awareness of body position during jumping strikes. Seriously great for amping up your flying Superman elbow! This [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I said, "Ask me anything." Well I asked for it! While getting to grips with the Instagram Live format, in this first episode of the Q&A I'm asked... 1. Why don't you buy a toupee? 2. Does masturbation or sex before a fight negatively affect performance? 3. [...]
The world-wide impact of the COVID-19 virus is now being truly realised… Events are cancelled and fighters are now feeling a little aimless, not knowing how long restrictions are going to be in place. During this time of inevitable social lock-down – depending on where you are in [...]
Despite what you may think, there’s a lot of technique involved in running economically. Just because you can run, doesn’t mean that you’re running efficiently… I know for a fact that a lot of you guys are making this same mistake I have… because your running cadence, or steps per minute [...]
Naresuan the Great Shrine, Ayutthaya My first trip to Thailand was back in 2000, organised by Ajarn Tony Moore though the British Thai Boxing Council. The trip was an eye-opener in every sense possible! As a Muay Thai coach, I travelled to train in real Muay Thai gyms, [...]
Saenchai is a Muay Thai living legend, and his trademark moves are based on a particular athletic foundation that he’s naturally exploited to awesome effect. Saenchai is an elastic animal! He’s super efficient at storing and returning elastic energy in his muscles and tendons, what sports scientists call stretch-shortening cycle – and not [...]
Chin-ups and pull-ups, a holy grail of gym performance – but what does it mean to your Muay Thai performance? And is one better than the other? We’ll get into the differences and the effect on your Muay Thai in more depth in just a moment, but first let me explain why [...]
Are you making these 3 mistakes when planning your training? 1. Not understanding the boundaries of different types of training 2. Training the wrong types of sessions together 3. 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 [...]
Ok, full discretion... I've just nicked this video out of my Cardio Conditioning Program module, from my Minimum Equipment Program. But I've been so busy filming, editing and putting the new program together in my brand new online coaching portal this last month, that I've not had time to prepare anything else! It's a [...]
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. :) PETCHYINDEE TRAINING METHODS – MUAYTHAI STRENGTH & CONDITIONING [...]
Planning Muay Thai resistance training requires some thought. Just throwing in random exercises based on equipment choices wastes your training time and could lead to unbalanced structural development and ultimately injury! Instead, you should hand pick exercises that fulfil a specific need. But getting caught up in specifics can render you unable to see [...]
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 [...]
