MY #1 WAY TO KEEP WARMUPS FUN, ENGAGING & EFFECTIVE

By Sean Fagan

Before each and every training session, I do almost the same exact pre-workout routine. It involves foam rolling, skipping rope, dynamic movements, and some light static stretches.

I find that performing this dynamic warm-up routine before banging the heavy bag or doing any other type of Muay Thai training helps me get prepared in more ways than one.

Probably the most obvious benefit of having this pre-workout warmup is that it gets my body prepared for a hard training session. My muscles loosen up, the blood starts flowing through my veins, and the important areas of my body are ready to put in some work.

Besides being physically prepared to train, having my pre-workout routine gets me mentally focused and in the zone. This short 15-minute session gives me the right amount of time I need in order to get my mind zoned in on what I want to accomplish during my Muay Thai...

"NO DEFENSE, NO MUAY THAI!"

Having a solid defense is super important as a Muay Thai fighter, but, you already knew that...

Right?

Learning defensive techniques for Muay Thai like how to check a kick, parry punches or counter your opponent's kicks, are essential skills to have in order to be a dominate force in the ring.

If you are unable to defend yourself chances are you'll end up with more bumps, bruises and injuries than the intelligent, technical fighters who focus more on being elusive and having unbreakable defense.

To be honest, if I were to start my Muay Thai journey over again, DEFENSE would be the main thing I would focus on. When the first half of my career, my defense was mostly just blocking punches with my face... and it’s not as fun as it sounds.

The defensive Muay Thai technique videos below demonstrate some of the basic moves and techniques that are CRUCIAL to any fighters repertoire. Perfecting fundamental techniques like...

AVOID GETTING SMASHED IN YOUR FIRST FIGHT WITH THESE POINTERS!

By Sean Fagan

You’re nervous as hell.

You feel like throwing up.

You start doubting why you decided to step into the ring against someone who is trying to kill you.

You can’t get your mind off the fight.

I get it. I’ve been there. We all have! Every Muay Thai fighter goes through relatively the same process when they first step into the ring.

Doubt. Fear. Anxiety. Excitement. Adrenaline.

It’s all a part of the process. Learning how to control these emotions is key to winning your first Muay Thai fight. The first step is knowing what to expect and how to deal with the inevitable emotions and situations that are going to pop up. Follow these tips for your first  fight to be as prepared as possible once you step into that ring!

Best 5 Tips For Your First Muay Thai Fight

#1. Understand Your Opponent Is Human Too

Very rarely during my first few fights did I ever consider how my opponent was...

TOP 5 KETTLEBELL EXERCISES FOR EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

By Sean Fagan

Perform the best kettlebell exercises like the kettlebell clean and press, kettlebell snatch and kettlebell swing to drastically increase your power, stamina and explosive strength in your Muay Thai or MMA training!

I’ve been doing kettlebell training and exercises for years now and have noticed major changes in the power of my punches, kicks, knees and elbows. My core and overall strength is the best it’s been largely because I do the best kettlebell exercises and workouts for explosive strength and conditioning.

Whether your into Muay Thai, MMA, boxing, or wrestling, you will take your fight game to the next level by implementing explosive kettle bell exercises to your workout routine!

Top 5 Best Kettlebell Exercises

#1. Kettlebell high pull

Can you really improve your overall strength and conditioning by doing an intense bodyweight workout routine?

I can remember when I started to train for my Muay Thai fight in Thailand back in 2010.  Before I stared I was 195lbs and training with weights, kettlebells, sandbags, etc. But when my Kru told me I was going to fight at 175lbs and that I had to stop using weights, I was a bit reluctant and scared at first but I had a task and goal set so it was time to adjust my training.

I sculpted my body using mostly weight prior to this and I felt that strictly using bodyweight exercises over the next 8 months was going to kill everything I had worked hard for… or so I thought!

I started implementing the best bodyweight exercises to create intense bodyweight workouts and circuits to help with endurance, explosiveness, cardio, strength and fat burn while keeping my...

MY PERSONAL STRENGTH & CONDITIONING ROUTINE FOR MUAY THAI TRAINING

By Sean Fagan

Strength and conditioning for Muay Thai can be a tricky bitch sometimes.

I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed with the amount of choices I have when it comes to strength and conditioning.

Should I use kettlebells? 

Or should I focus more on Olympic lifts? What about body weight circuits? 

Should I be doing interval sprints or are long distance runs better? 

Is Crossfit a good form of strength and conditioning?

What if I did plyometrics?

See what I mean? My brain hurts just thinking about the different forms of exercises and the various ways of structuring a proper strength and conditioning routine for Muay Thai.

Fortunately, there are guys like Don Heatrick who geek-out about this kind of stuff. All of Don’s posts on strength and conditioning for Muay Thai are top quality and always provide me with useful, practical information and exercises to...

INTENSE, HARD, TRADITIONAL MUAY THAI WORKOUT PLAN

By Sean Fagan

Almost all Muay Thai gyms in Thailand run basically the same type of workout routines because it’s intense, hard and focuses on the all the important aspects of Muay Thai that you should be working on day in and day out!

This type of  training routine is used by some of the best  fighters in Thailand and all around the world!

When I was in Thailand, it was pretty set in stone what my Muay Thai training routine would consist of:

• Skipping Rope
• Running
• Shadowboxing
• Thai Pad Work
• Heavy Bag Training
• Clinch Work
• Sparring
• Ab Work
• Stretching
• Meditation

Scroll down for a breakdown and descriptions of the best traditional Muay Thai workout routine!

Traditional Muay Thai Workout Routine:

Everyday in Thailand, my training program is basically this type of workout:

• Group run – 2-4 miles
• Skip Rope – 3 rounds
• Shadow Box – 2 rounds
• Pad Work or Sparring...

GREAT PARTNERS BUILD BETTER FIGHTERS

By Emily Moore

No fighter, nak muay or otherwise stands alone against his or her opponent. An army waits at the ready behind them.

It takes a team of coaches, trainers, and (especially) training partners to successfully prepare for a fight.

My coach often repeats this idea before training sessions: “The most important person in this gym today is not you, it’s your partner.”

“Always take care of your partner.”

Let’s take a look at 7 ways to be a great Muay Thai training partner:

Train, don’t coach

At my last gym, there was this guy with whom I avoided sparring at all costs. He would interrupt and stop me after every single strike, trying to educate me on what I could do to improve.

In a three-minute round, I would end up spending 0:30 sparring and 2:30 trying to get him to shut up and work.

You and your partners are in the gym to learn from professionals. You don’t need to...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS PODCAST: EPISODE #21

By Sean Fagan

One of the most controversial topics in the Muay Thai and MMA community is that of “gym hopping”.

More often times than not, gym hopping is used as derogatory term that people associate with someone who goes from gym to gym without any real home gym… this is NOT the way to go about training at different gyms.

In order to successfully and respectfully train at different gyms, Paul and I discuss the right and wrong way to go about doing so. In our discussion, we dive deep into the advantages and disadvantages of so called “gym hopping” including:

• Why you should train at a variety of gyms.
• How it can be limiting if you don’t step out of your comfort zone to spar/train with other fighters and coaches.
• The benefits of training at multiple gyms and how to bring up the idea to your coach and teammates.
• Why some coaches might not want you to go “gym hopping”...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS PODCAST: EPISODE #73

By Sean Fagan

There are some unwritten rules when it comes to stepping foot into a new gym. However, most people are unaware of these unwritten rules because, well – they’re unwritten.

Fortunately, MTG writer Angela Chang put together a great post a few weeks back on the 13 Rules For Proper Gym Etiquette, which gave Paul and I the idea to cover the same topic in podcast form… so that’s exactly what we did!

Click Here To Listen To TMTG 073: Muay Thai Gym Etiquette: Do’s and Dont’s

We cover the 13 aspects that Angela talk about but go into further detail about each area including:

• Don’t be late! Show up on time and show that you’re ready to put in the work.
• No shoes on the mat. Should be quite obvious, but people tend to neglect it.
• Get your own gear. Sometimes gyms have lender equipment, but you’re always better off using your own (for cleanliness purposes)
• ...