5 Ways to Improve Muaythai (that doesn’t involve training more Muaythai)
How my one very real and frustrating problem in Muay Thai got me started in 5 other activities..
How do I stand on one leg?
This very real problem of mine inspired me to start multiple external training activities other than Muay Thai!
I find Muay Thai very challenging. I have always admired people who are strong, athletic, graceful and coordinated. And that was far from my reality. At the start of my Muay Thai journey, I was made aware of many weaknesses in my physical body. Though yes, putting consistent hours into training Muay Thai helped in my growth, there were a few other key activities that accelerated my improvements. Really all this started when I finally had enough of falling over every time I was on one leg when my kick was caught! I would have zero muscle control to not fall over.. the journey to stay standing begun..
1) Pilates - What and where is my pelvic floor..?
Pilates is great full body training and I particularly find the core exercises very useful for my Muay Thai. Before Pilates, I had no idea how to engage my pelvic floor. I don’t even think I was doing core work correctly! I credit Pilates on improving my teeps, checks and core strength. Mat pilates was my go to once a week extra training - I took PT sessions to customise the class to my weaknesses.
I also focused more on Pilates whenever I got injured. Pilates has great exercises targeting the smaller muscle groups. Some of the movements are simple, just body weight but still very effective - great for when I needed to slow down and do less explosive movements with a limb. Eg. When I had a SLAP tear, Pilates was a great way to rehab my shoulder back to full health.
Me at ballet hugging Frankie the studio pup <3
2) Ballet - Yes I’d like to stand on one leg without falling over please…
What I love about ballet is the graceful movements with control and strength. Even though my ballet training was only at a beginner level, I still felt the benefits! Honestly, the basics and details that I’ve learnt in ballet, I return to every day at Muay Thai training. Posture, where to position your weight when on one leg, which part of the calf to engage when lifting… there’s so much detail in ballet that is transferable to Muay Thai.
A side benefit is that ballet uses a lot of the opposite muscles to Muay Thai. Many movements are the opposite to what we normally do in Muay Thai. For instance, a roundhouse kick. We rotate inwards for the kick whereas ballet focuses on external rotation - think of a Plié. For me, this helped in keeping my body in balance and also prevented overuse injuries (which I had at the start of my Muay Thai training).
3) Running
Yes, we’re all told to run in Muay Thai and for good reasons! For me, running most importantly helps with “toughening up” my legs. The pounding on the pavement helps condition my legs and feet. For me especially at the start, any development in my legs was a win.
Recently, I’ve found a lot of benefit in practicing nasal breathing on my runs (thanks Coach Ben!). In turn that' has been helping in my endurance and ability to stay calm in Muay Thai (and life..).
4) Yoga
The most recent addition to the activities - yoga! I only picked it up a year ago following my persistent friend’s invites and rants on how beneficial it was to him. Shout out to Tim Nguyen haha. But yes, he was right. I was so terrible at it at the start. The years of training and no stretching definitely showed. Besides increased flexibility, yoga actually has strength and balance benefits as well. The postures are HARD to hold with proper form! Also with the twisting and “opening of the chest” in Yoga, I’ve found that a huge benefit to my Muay Thai. The awareness of turning my chest and shoulders for kicks and punches have definitely improved since. Sometimes we’re unaware of our range of motion (or lack of) in these rotational techniques. Training in yoga has released more movement and awareness to those areas. Yoga also serves as my recovery day activity. It’s a nice way to move and tune in to myself on a Sunday.
5) Strength and Conditioning - no one talk to me about pull-ups lol
One of the biggest helps I’ve had is training functional strength. Again, all these external activities were all inspired by my one ongoing problem - “How do I stand on one leg” lol. And I brought this exact issue to my first and still only strength coach, Coach Ben of Combat Strength.
It’s taken many years to build muscle and strength. I still feel like a beginner in getting the most strength and power out of my body. The process has been fun though!
These are a few of the external activities I practiced or started to help with my Muay Thai training. I enjoyed them and would recommend them to anyone looking for extra training. The variety in training has helped keep my body in balance and also given me fun, insightful ways of moving my body. Throughout the years, these activities have helped me understand my body better.
Whatever you choose to do, have fun and enjoy the process. Good luck!
