Fighting fit

Khannie

Just wondering what kind of exercise people would recommend to be "fight fit"? (specifically for Muay Thai, though I'm sure it's similar for a lot of sports / MA's)

Is there a decent book / vid I could get?

Dragan

www.crossfit.com

sparta

http://www.rosstraining.com

Millionaire

I d say, and I am not an expert like Dragan as he knows his stuff....

If you want to get fit for Muay Thai....do more Muay Thai, train harder, do more pad work with the pad man working the bollox out of you, and spar more!

Thats what the Thais do! I see them daily as I live and train in Thailand !

I remember once in Mens Health mag years back reading an interview with Chris Eubanks about his training routine....they went down to his home gym in brighton where he trains. Interview was asking Eubanks what sort of weight training he did...Eubank said None!!!!! I am a boxer....not a weight lifter...so I train for boxing as a boxer! shadow, pads, sparring, running, skipping, sit ups and I think he said he only did 80 push ups a day!

It was a great article.

any of you good google techies able to find this online....article was in mid to late 90s in Mens Health??? If you find it, can you post or PM me a link....I am a thicko with IT stuff.

Khannie

Thanks for the replies lads. Both of those websites look decent. Cheers.

Well....I was at my muay thai class last night (3rd one only) and spoke to one of the trainers after. I asked him if at 30 I was to old to reasonably consider fighting at a competitive level. He told me that I'm not too old, but that I'd want to be coming to the classes already fit so that I can focus on technique instead of being bollixed.

I'm not unfit, but I'm definitely not fit. I was gonna start some jogging tomorrow to get aerobically fit, but I'm sure there are other exercises I should be doing to build stomach for a pounding, stamina in my arms, lose the last of the flab, etc.

Dragan

Jogging is all well and good, and for my money most people looking to be able to compete in a combat sport should be able to complete a boxers run ( 5km in 30mins ) but the real crux of the matter will be recovery times. Interval training is key. Protocols like Crossfit work in the fact that in any activity there will normally be flurries of action, then a few moments calm, then flurries of action. Your ability to last goes hand in hand with your ability to recover within those short calm periods.

Remember when we were all in school and we used to play GAA or Soccer or Rugby and we would run endless laps of the field. Anyone every remember them helping during the games? Man, by 5 year I was a world champion lap runner, and yet 15 mins into a game my lungs would be burning.

When starting training it is not a good idea to do things like sprintervals or increased duration sprints too often, but following the crossfit protocol daily will go a long way towards bring you quickly, safely and healthily to a nice point with your fitness that you can then add to and become more than 99% of people will ever be.

Sprints can be as simple or as complex as you like. A personal favourite of mine is running the steps at Leopardstown race course, that will give you a nice Gut Check!!!

All in all, while I'm sure you are very enthusiastic I would recommend a slow immersion into whatever protocol you choose, and also remember that diet and exercise so hand in hand. One cannot compensate for the other. Without a good nutrition plan in place any attempt to improve you health and fitness will be lame from the starting point.

Dragan

Millionaire wrote:

Interview was asking Eubanks what sort of weight training he did...Eubank said None!!!!! I am a boxer....not a weight lifter...so I train for boxing as a boxer! shadow, pads, sparring, running, skipping, sit ups and I think he said he only did 80 push ups a day!

Indeed. For some reason boxing has been a sport that shyed away from resistance training for a long time, but now I see it starting to sneak in there. I was recently reading an article and interview with Ricky Hatton where he was describing his resistance training and the advantages it was brining him.

I can fully understand the importance of emphasis the actual actions of the given sport itself…but the benefits of a good resistance training plan are there for pretty much any sport.

Khannie

Great post. Thanks Dragan.

I've started improving my diet already, though I'll focus on it a bit more. It needs to fit in with the family regime too.

I hear what you're saying about immersing myself slowly. I'm conscious that although I'm enthusiastic, I need to be tempered in my initial training. I'll certainly give crossfit a go. Thanks again.

Khannie

Millionaire wrote:

any of you good google techies able to find this online....article was in mid to late 90s in Mens Health??? If you find it, can you post or PM me a link....I am a thicko with IT stuff.

As the resident uber-geek on this forum I thought I'd have a lash....couldn't find it though. The late 90's was pretty early for a lot of internet stuff, or else maybe it's behind closed doors (i.e. pay to see) on the mens health website. Either way, I couldn't find it.

Millionaire

Thanks for looking for that article....maybe I will email them and see . Its a great read.

So a boxers run is 5km in 30 mins...great I am 35 and just about can do 5km in 30 mins. and I know I can improve on this. I usually run on a slight elevation..I use thread mill, as the road bollox me knees real bad.

So if I can do this, then i must be on the right track to reasonable fitness?

Usually I do the run, after morning Muay Thai workout.

I also read on ross fit that a good level of an amateur boxer is to run 2 miles in 12 mins.....is that true?

Its good to have these bench marks.

Since I do alot of my training alone, I sort of prefer the running, as doing push ups, squats, burpees etc circuits alone is kind of hard!!!

Black Swan

Millionaire wrote:

If you want to get fit for Muay Thai....do more Muay Thai, train harder, do more pad work with the pad man working the bollox out of you, and spar more!

Grand advice, no matter what MA you are into!

JohnMc1

ttt

Khannie

JohnMc1 wrote:

ttt

Can you elaborate a bit on that?

cowzerp

I also read on ross fit that a good level of an amateur boxer is to run 2 miles in 12 mins.....is that true?

This would be about right but can be carried on for about 20 mins for better results..i used to do 2 miles in 10 mins in my boxing peak.

paddyc

Khannie


A mate of mine is training in a gym up in north thailand near the border with Burma


this is his training routine

8k run
15 mins skipping
100 kicks each leg over bamboo pole
400 knees on the ropes
4 rnds on bag
4 rnds on pads
4 rnds clinching

each of these rnds is 5 mins long

light sparring
press ups and sit ups

TWICE A DAY .... EVERY DAY


hes fighting on the 4th November at the loei kratong festival... and is sure to so us proud



paddy

Khannie

paddyc wrote:

TWICE A DAY .... EVERY DAY

Holy SH*T!

Well....I've bumped up my own regime a bit, but that puts me in my place.

I'll probably keep to the crossfit for now. It seems like a decent combination of strength, speed and agility, though I may not do it on nights I do the MT as I only get home at 10 those nights and the MT class is a decent workout anyway.