Beginning Workout?

[binski20]

I am preparing to join a muay thai class within about a months time. I was just wondering if you guys could offer some advice as to a workout program which I could begin now to help prepare me. Any sample workouts or tips would be appreciated. I have some free weights as well if there is any good use for them within muay thai training.

thanks in advance.

[OctaviousBP]

I'd recommend simply working on your cardio. Learn (or bone up) on your jump-rope skills. Many classes begin with a jump-rope warm up. I find a lot of new students really have trouble with that, and it gets them down right off the bat.

In many cases, the hardest thing for a new student is simply getting through the class. They aren't really used to a round intensive workout, and end up gassing halfway through. So hit the rope... if you don't currently jump-rope, try for 10 minutes (or whatever you can do) and add a minute a day. Hope this helps.

D

[binski20]

I do some skipping already. I boxed for a little while a few months back, but decided the club wasn't worth the money. Although that is a good point and I will brush up my skipping again. Anything as far as calisthenics etc goes? Pushups, chinups ? I am just curious if there are exercises unique to muay thai conditioning that I could begin now.

[OctaviousBP]

Well... jumping squats, or even stationary ones are good. To do stationary squats stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart and your hands on your head. To a slow bend in the knee keeping your back straight. Your bend in the knee should NOT exceed 90 degrees.

Jumping squats are done in sort of the same fashion except the hands do not need to be placed on the head. In fact you may need to use them for balance. You start in the same position as the stationary squat, and bend until 90 again. However, rather than doing a slow continous motion, you jump up in the air and rotate 180 degrees. When you land, you repeat the motion and rotate in the opposite direction. You should not rotate continuosly in the same direction as for you will get dizzy.

Of course there are situps or crunches, and leg raises. One exercise in particular that comes to mind is lying on your back with your arms at your sides, palms down. Tuck your chin to your chest and raise your right leg to a 45 degree angle and than down, as you do that, bring your left leg up. This is a simple leg scissors exercise that kills. For every three reps, count 1. There should be a slight bend in the knee at all times.

Medecine ball drills also work wonders for the abs, although some are worked best with a partner. One that you could work solo is lying on your back with your feet on the ground, and legs bent. Throw the ball from your abs, straight into the air, and let the ball bounce off your stomach, then repeat.

Just a side note: These are all exercises I've come across in my Muay Thai training. In no way am I any sort of fitness instructor, or expert in calisthetics. In fact, I'm not even sure if that's how you spell it... but these exercises have helped me. It's hard to explain them through text, but maybe this will help. Let me know if there's any other questions.

D

[Szczepankiewicz]

Check this out:

Scrapper Workout