[Tony Bologna]

Hey. I am gonna be joining a muay thai school next month or so. Now I am not in the best shape, and the instructors stressed that your current shape doesn't matter, but I still want to be able to keep up. Anyway, I'm bulky, got muscle mass, just want to get into good cardio shape and gain stamina, and burn off some fat while I'm at it.

My workout is usually around an hour or hour and a half. usually starts with multiple rounds of jump roping to warm up and get my heart going. like 5-7, 3 minute rounds or skipping. Then about 5-6 minutes of stretching. Warm up on the heavy bag for about 5-10 minutes. Then start the rounds: 3 minute rounds with 1 minute in between, usually 5 rounds of that. Not going hardcore, just trying to get used to throwing different body parts, knees, elbows..you know..

Now to my question: well number 1, is this a good start to get into relatively acceptable shape for muay thai? But should I look at this type of exercise as a weight lifting exercise, and have pre and pwo nutrition? Or strictly cardio, and focus more on the empty stomache technique? (though its not in the morning, but after work, usually pretty empty) I don't want to get into a catabolic state and lose what I have. Just burn some fat.

Stats: 6'1", 250lbs. 18% bf?

Any help would be appreciated! thanks!

[Freak]

It's a good start but hardcore muay thai guys run 5-10 miles per day (sometimes more). Get used to doing 500 sit-ups per day. Yes still keep your nutrition the same. Don't use empty stomach technique but don't eat directly before a run either..give it time to digest. Stretch post workout and work on your core. You also want to get strong shins (tibia) and forearms (ulna). I think LBJ was into muay thai or kickboxing. You will want to get your tibia and ulna used to hitting hard objects repeatedly.

[julio40]

cosign with wat freak said
and do core work martial arts really emphasize on core work.

[lightbolb]

yea im too styarting muay thia.
im fairly fit. i run mornings 5.5km
most morning.
so core shit is good?
oh and how would u improve like shin strength?

[YM123]

kick trees!!

[xMastersUkx]

Yeah, kick stuff and forearm strike stuff, it hurts like hell but soon your nerves will die and you'll be a mini hulk imprevious to pain.

[quigon]

Forget focusing on the distance running crap. It is ok to run some distance, but you are not going at a medium pace for 30 minutes when you are doing your bag rounds. You are going at a hard pace for 3-5 minutes with minimal rest between combination call outs. You need to run stadium stairs to prepare, short extreme bursts. Once you get this down, you can move on to some distance.

[BigPoppaSnake]

Im Thai and I do muay thai. Cardio is more important than the strikes themselves. If you are looking for conditioning its the probably the best martial that utilizes conditioning as its core. You will lose fat. You may need to increase your flexibility if you are a newbie. Typically Bodybuilding and muay thai dont mix since you need a thin lean body to perform the lightning kicks.

By the way for the uneducated:
We don't kick palm trees like in the movies, you will only f*ck up your leg and miss out on training. If you see someone kicking a tree in thailand its probably a banana tree which is really soft, probably softer than an actual bag.

If you are looking to condition kickboxing is just as good as muay thai. Muay thai is not for everyone, only do it if you PLAN on becoming a fighter. Sure repeated kicking can deaden the nerves on the shin as well as wolf's law which is the increased hardening of the bone due to repeated blows. But that ain't necessarily a good thing when you get older. It takes a toll on the body in the later years just like football.

My two cents

[BigPoppaSnake]

Originally Posted by xMastersUkx

Yeah, kick stuff and forearm strike stuff, it hurts like hell but soon your nerves will die and you'll be a mini hulk imprevious to pain.

If your technique is right, NOTHING should hurt.