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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
"Heavy Hitter", Bob Wansink audio messaged me some great questions regarding speed and power training via Anchor.fm, and this Heavy Hitters Podcast is a direct reply. In this episode, I share the 5 exercise categories I use in every resistance training session that I program. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT WITH FURTHER [...]
Muay Thai strength training is a recurring question, so let’s take the opportunity to clear things up a little. We’ll look at how to build strength in the first place, and how to get stronger when strength gains dry up! We’ll look at this from both the novice strength training end of the spectrum [...]
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 [...]
Despite the recent snow here in my part of the world, sponsored fighter Joe Le Maire has still made it in for his gym sessions at my home gym! And I thought I'd share some of the work we're doing together to help him prepare for his next [...]
What do I mean, "Training and fighting the curve?" It's a fundamental principle of performance training that I'd like to breakdown for you, specifically for Muay Thai athletes. If you can grasp this, and structure your training to exploit it, I guarantee you'll unlock more of what you're truly capable of. There's two videos, offering [...]
I've put together a few videos that should answer a some planning training questions for you. The first one considers what I believe is the biggest mistake in Muay Thai strength and conditioning. Rather than just waffling on, just watch this 2-minute video and all will become clear... The second video elaborates [...]
I received a great question following my last post on the Serape Effect, it went like this... “Howdy Don, Great article! Totally interested in this type of training, I had a look at your Speed, Power and Strength routine and I was really excited to try this. However, I was a little unsure about [...]
Of all the Muay Thai tactics, the clinch demands the most raw strength. If you layout all Thai boxing techniques on the force-velocity curve, you'll have clinchwork at one end (strength) and punches at the other (speed). To coincide with Sean Fagan's recent release of his Clinch King training video series (which is well worth a serious [...]
Quan A Nguyen recently asked on the Heatick S&C Facebook page: "What do you think about Olympic lifting, and kettlebell training? Is Olympic lifting appropriate for MT? If yes, how should I modify my weight training schedule to include them?" Both Olympic lifting (snatch, clean and jerk etc.) and kettlebell training (swings, snatches and [...]
Metabolic training, popularised by Crossfit, has become a buzz word these days — particularly with fighters. Such circuit training typically moves from one exercise to the next with minimal rest. It satisfies our need to push on hard (building work capacity) and loads with an intensity higher than body weight. All is good then, why [...]
Answering questions arising as a result of my last video, 'Strength & Power... What's the difference?', it became apparent the root of the answers all stemmed from a better understanding of fight physics! So at the risk of putting you off with explanations that include reference to stuff you probably didn't enjoy at school, [...]
In this video I explain the difference between strength and power, and what this means specifically to Thai boxers. Do you have any questions? If so please let me know in the comments below and I'll answer them in my next article. Missed the previous video? You can view it here. Further Resources Strength [...]
Fighters must train to be explosive... And a little knowledge is needed to train in a way that taps into your true explosive potential. Strength, power and speed are three different (although dependent) physical qualities. And each must be targeted individually in your training in order to reach your full athletic [...]
This question comes up relatively frequently, and I thought I'd share some ideas regarding the use of resistance bands for sports performance training and of course MuayThai specifically. In theory you could achieve the same levels of resistance from both bands and weights, however the nature of the load is very different. Bands produce [...]
