Muay Thai training ???'s

[Iron Monkey]

Im wondering peoples opinions on how many hours per week you should attend MT classes to be making progress. I mean obviously, if your only doing 1 hour a week then its gonna take a LONG time before you can compete in the ring and start getting cut. Also, how many hours per week gym time, actually lifting weights, or is that even nescessary? Do any of you attend muay thai AND lift? Or do you get enough of that during class? This school im looking at attending has only 1 hour classes 3 times per week, and a hour and a half class on saturday. Are one hour classes about the norm? Im guessing in 1 hour theres 10 minutes of warm ups, 30 minutes of actually learning MT and then 20 minutes of physical training? Please help me with this cause I know NOTHING about this stuff. Thanks much

[roccoincaliforn]

In my view, the American schools that teach MT are more about money and self promotion and the structure of the training reflects that.

In Thailand, people train a couple of hours in the morning and again in the afternoon every day except Sunday. The Thai training model produces excellent fighters so maybe you could assume that the more that your training plan mirrors their training the better you will get. You would find it helpful to have a heavy bag at home for the days when your school does not have a class.

[bewing77]

I train every day, but not just MT. My standard training week is:
Monday: Run 15 km (just under 10 miles) in the morning, Gym, weighlifting for 3 hours in the afternoon
Tuesday: MT 4 hours in the afternoon
Wednesday: Run 15 km morning, Gym in the afternoon 3 hrs, Judo 2 hrs after this.
Thuresday: MT 4 hours and general MMA training 2 hrs
Friday: Run 15 km morning, MT 4 hours, Boxing 2 hrs (if I'm not going to the pub )
Saturday: MMA training 4 hrs, Judo 3 hrs
Sunday: Run 15 km, Boxing 4 hours, weightlifting 3 hours

So that's basicly 12 hours of MT/week. I'd like to increase this, but can't seem to find the time... gotta take care of my daytime work aswell...

[Evo119]

My Muay Thai school, has 1 1/2 hours of instruction. So 3 times a week equates to 4 1/2 hours, and I'm trying to start going on Saturday's now which is an 1 hour. Hope that helps

[Damian Mavis]

You can learn just fine at a North American school, some are good and some are not. It's not the same as training in Thailand at a good camp or privately with a pro fighter but it can be good.

Every school is different, so hard to say how much time is spent on doing what.

Training 3 hours a week or so is a good start for a begginer in my opinion... every begginer is different too.....

I personally do weights as well as train. If you are looking to get cut from just training then you would need to train everyday for a few hours and watch what you eat. Muay thai alone a couple times a week is not going to burn off all your body fat and make you muscular.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

[Sifutiger]

Some comments

As a martial arts and personal strength trainer of both recreational and high level athletes, I'd like to comment. Training time is all relative to the format of the workout, the age and fitness level of the individual and his/her goals.
Going to a class will give you some of the necessary skills and technical knowledge, however in order to apply this you need to commit to self-study training. That's where it all happens, inside as we process and improve through repetition and evolution of skill and the ability to apply our skill. Many times people tend to train improperly (in format) and wonder why they are not making the improvements or getting injuries. There is also a lot of contrary training and overtraining. Although there is value in training more often, training hard all the time is counter productive. Aerobic and anaerobic conditioning is crucial, and some strength training is as well, but, don't overdo it guys. Yes, the Thai's definately have got the system down for fight training and you can learn a amazing things from their methods. Bare in mind that there is an age factor involved in the training of Thai Fighters in Thailand (peak is 14 to 19 years old). Also, although it may appear that schools over here are more money focused than in Thailand. Thai camps are all about $ and self-promotion. That's the whole focus of being a camp owner, how your boys perform in the stadium. That's where the money is, and if you have been to the stadiums you know it's all about betting, and the odds and the money is flying in from hand to hand the stands. It's not good or bad, it's the reality of training Thai Champions in that environment.

[PAMAStudent]

To really get in shape it's important to train several hours a day at least 4-5 times a week. Of course this doesn't necessarily mean you have to train in only Thai boxing. Does the school you train at offer anything besides Muay Thai? I have gotten into the habit of training 3-4 hours a day in different disciplines, JKD, Muai Thai, and Kali,each one helps to develop different muscles. By cross training you'll be able to shock your muscles into shape by working them in different ways. Training outside of classes is always helpful, light jogging and weightlifting; especially on days when your not training helps a lot. Bruce Lee always said that after 2 days of inactivity you start to lose some of the progress you made from the last time you trained.