I love Muay Thai (or Thai Boxing.) It got me back into fitness and is the driving force behind a lot of my current activities. The irony is my outside activities limit the amount of time I can spend boxing, but the only way to get better at boxing is by boxing.
You don’t need to get hit in the face to benefit from boxing for fitness. There are a lot of cardio boxing and “UFC cardio” classes popping up all over the place now.
Movements like slips work your obliques (side abs), U and V slips work both the abs and the legs, punching works your entire body (you’re rotating at the hip to turn your body so the power is coming from the leg, through the hip, to the shoulder then the retraction of the punch comes from the shoulder), plus just holding your arms up for a few minutes gives you an additional workout.
Check out the posts I’ve tagged related to boxing, Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing to learn how to get yourself fit, improving your confidence, and having a good time.
Let’s start by giving credit where credit is do. The “Standard Four” combo is something I learned at Northwest Fighting Arts in Portland, OR. I don’t know its history, if other Thai academies teach it, if they call it the Standard Four, etc. I know it as the Standard Four Read more…
Many people do boxing to get into shape, build muscles, tone their bodies, and get stronger. But did you know that the benefits of boxing extend beyond improving your physique? A growing body of research suggests that boxing is good for your mental health too. Let us look at the Read more…
Back when the weather was nice I wanted to social distancing introduce people in the park to Muay Thai so I took some thai pads and tied them to a tree with some rope. Could you kick very hard on the tree? No. You’re still pretty much kicking a tree Read more…
In case you didn’t know, I’m a minor sponsor of Paul Banasiak, a pro thai fighter who also runs the Online Striking Academy. He knows a ton about Muay Thai and provides super easy to follow tutorials to improve your fight IQ and game. Here is part of 1 drill Read more…
Cardio kickboxing is going to work every muscle in your body. There are specific moves you can do that will help target particular muscles (or muscle groups.) The shield block (prevents people from kicking you in the ribs) and the slip (avoids getting punched in the face) are crazy good Read more…
I love using Muay Thai, geared towards fitness, in my fitness practice. There are over 80 Cardio Muay Thai combos in my Push Ups and Pizza program, and for good reason – it’s awesome for fitness. At the time of writing this (10/16/20) I’m about a week into being certified Read more…
Cardiac output training / LISS (low intensity steady state cardio) has become less popular over the years as HIIT (high intensity interval training) has become all the rave. HIIT is cool, I like HIIT, but realistically your body can’t handle and comfortably recover from more than 3 sessions a week. Read more…
I play around with creating combos ALOT. I’ve got 10 weeks of them plus another 25 or so “bonus” combos ready to go in Push Ups and Pizza. Here are two combos Muay Thai combos you can do at home with or without any gear. If you’re shadow boxing the Read more…
What’s the most important part of a good cardio kickboxing workout? The pre and post workout stretch. This honestly is the biggest part I seem to ignore. Even if I remember to stretch and roll out (or bust out the Pso Rite) beforehand, the hip flexors get pretty damn tight Read more…
I love the types of questions people ask the internet. “How old is too old to start kickboxing?” “How many times a week should I do kickboxing?” “How often should I do kickboxing if I’m recovering from an injury?” “Why didn’t I start doing kickboxing sooner?” I ask myself that Read more…