Pre-Thailand Training Tips

Coming to train in Thailand is something every Muay Thai enthusiast wants to do at some point. It’s really the ultimate. The individual attention you get here and the training intensity is rarely matched by the Muay Thai gyms in our home countries.

Five minutes of skipping, some stretches, hitting the bag (while unsupervised) for a few rounds, some padwork with one of your fellow students holding the pads and some technique instruction in a class with a 20-1 student to trainer ratio – that about sum up a typical Muay Thai workout in a western country?

Well, as you might expect, the training in Thailand is a lot more intense. Having been to about 10 camps throughout the country (so far), I’m able to give you a pretty good idea of what to expect when you come.
I figure that by knowing what to expect when you get here, you can better prepare yourself in your home country before you catch that flight.

A typical day of Muay Thai training is broken down into two different sessions – a morning workout and an evening workout. Both training sessions usually begin with a run (although it’s always optional) and skipping. The runs are unbelievably long – usually between 10-15km in the mornings and around 5km in the afternoons.

To be honest, I personally think that’s way too much considering they’re training for a high intensity sport that implements 3 minute rounds. While low intensity, long distance training certainly has its place when it comes to training for high intensity sports, there are certainly more productive, more specific things that you can be doing instead of running 15 km per day.

So personally, I replace a lot of the runs with sport-specific resistance training later on in the evening. In addition to the excessive running, Thai boxers do a lot of skipping and you’ll be expected to do so as well. So naturally, before you come, you’ll want to invest in a skipping rope and skip at least 5 times per week. If you’re not used to skipping for long periods of time, you’ll find that your calves will fatigue rather quickly and oftentimes cramp up the next day.

The skipping is usually followed up by about 10 minutes or so of shadowboxing. From there, you’ll either hit the heavy bag for a few rounds or you’ll be called into the ring to do padwork with the trainer – where you go from here just depends on how busy it is.

Most camps will put you through 5 rounds of padwork. Fairtex and Tiger Muay Thai both use 4 minute rounds while most of the other camps use 3 minute rounds – which is how long the rounds in actual Muay Thai fights last.

To prepare yourself for the high intensity rounds, I recommend you break some of your workouts down into high intensity 5 minute intervals. Padwork, circuit training – there’s all sorts of things you can do. Padwork is pretty self explanatory but as for the circuit training, here’s an example of what I’m talking about..

• Barbell Squats
  Perform 15 repetitions
• Straight Leg Deadlifts
  Perform 15 repetitions
• Walking Knees (Muay Thai Style)
  Perform 40 repetitions (each leg)
• Skipping
  Skip for 1 minute straight
• Clapping Push Ups into Regular Reps
  Do as many as you can
• Pull Ups on Assisted Pull Up Machine
  Perform as many as you can, then increase the assistance and continue

This circuit should take you approximately 4-5 minutes to perform. You don’t take a rest period as you transition from exercise to exercise. Only once you’ve completed the entire circuit are you able to rest – and you’ll only be resting for about a minute before you repeat the circuit again ..and again! You’ll want to go through this circuit – or a similar circuit – a total of 3 to 5 times (as to prepare yourself for the high intensity rounds you’ll be doing when you get to Thailand).

In addition to the resistance training circuits, you’ll also want to do a few long jogs throughout the week. Go for about an hour or so – or however long you can go for – and try to mix up your running speed. Go at a medium pace for a while and then mix things up by incorporating some sprints.