Building Functional Muscle For Muay Thai

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Building Functional Muscle for Muay Thai

part 2
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Last week's post outlining my hypertrophy (muscle building) phase of training for
MuayThai generated a lot of interest, and warranted a follow-up providing extra detail.
I'll begin by clarifying the exercises in the programme.
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Session A Exercises
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Superset 1
a) Front squat knee dominant lower body

b) Rear foot elevated split squats (Bulgarian split squats) unilateral knee dominant
Superset 2
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a) Incline bench press horizontal push

b) Dumbbell chest press horizontal push
Superset 3
a) Pull-ups vertical pull

b) Dumbbell bent over rows horizontal pull
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Superset 1
Core Training
a) Deadlift lower body hip dominant

b) Single leg suspension squat unilateral knee dominant
Endurance
Superset 2
a) Standing over head press behind neck vertical push

b) Barbell push press vertical push
Superset 3
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a) Barbell bent over row horizontal pull

b) Suspended rows horizontal pull
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Each superset pair consists firstly of a

strength exercise (5-reps), followed
immediately by a hypertrophy finisher (8reps). This superset is repeated 4-times
before moving on to the next pair of
exercises.
metabolic
As far as programming the intensity, I use

low, medium, high and high+ (overload)
weeks.
Movement Training
Low weeks use a 9-rep max weight for

the 5-rep strength exercise, and a 12-rep
max weight for the 8-rep hypertrophy
exercise, i.e. 4-reps left in you, or a -4 rep
max loading
Periodisation
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Medium weeks use a 7-rep max weight for the 5-rep strength exercise, and a 10rep max weight for the 8-rep hypertrophy exercise, i.e. 2-reps left in you, or a -2 rep
max loading
High weeks use a 5-rep max weight for the 5-rep strength exercise, and an 8-rep
max weight for the 8-rep hypertrophy exercise, i.e. 0-reps left in you, or 0-rep max
loading maximum effort
High+ weeks use the same loads as the high week (0-rep max), but the
maximum number of full form reps are recorded (until technical failure)
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The high+ week is an overload week that also tests new strength levels to establish
appropriate loading for the following block of training.
When designing individual programmes, I test all the lifts, calculate % of 1-rep max
and specify target weights for all exercises of every session. But, when issuing general
templates, where fighters find their own weights, it's simpler to work with a target
number or reps (e.g. 5-reps) and a weight intensity (e.g. -4 rep max). Therefore in this
example, 5-reps completed with a weight you could lift a maximum of 9-times will feel
relatively easy (low week), as you should feel like you have 4-reps left in you.
That should fill in a few blanks and give you enough detail to structure your first block
of training. Please let me know what you think in the comments below.
If you'd like to know my thoughts behind the exercises I've selected in these two
routines, take a look at my Exercise Selection article.
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Posted on January 20th, by DonHeatrick in Core Training,

Hypertrophy, Strength, Training routine, Video Post.
movement patterns
Muay Thai
programming training
strength and conditioning
44 THOUGHTS ON BUILDING
BUILDING FUNCTIONAL
MUSCLE FOR MUAY THAI PART 2
2
Pablo Pena on February 3, 2013 at 9:59 pm said:
Im just wondering, do you feel it is necessary to include any rear-delt
isolation exercises to this routine/programme, perhaps on a
separate day?
Although you do include rowing movements, I assume you include

them to put more emphasis on the lats, or are the rear-delts
sufficiently stimulated in your opinion to grow alonside the front and
middle delts, to prevent any muscle imbalances?
Thanks,
Pablo
REPLY
DonHeatrick on February 4, 2013 at 8:04 pm said:

Hi Pablo,
Good question. Youll get all the rear deltoid development youll
need by working the rowing exercises with good form.
The key here is functional hypertrophy (muscle growth). By

training these movements youll only gain meat where you
need it, and maintain a robust balance of strength on both sides
of the joints.
Check out the following post Ive put together which goes a little
deeper.
http://heatrick.com/2013/02/04/fighter-weight-trainingsessions-in-a-nutshell/
REPLY
Pingback: Fighter Weight Training Sessions In a Nutshell | Heatrick Strength &
Conditioning for MuayThai
Simon PIccirillo on March 19, 2013 at 1:14 am said:

What an amazing website!
Ive just found this site and want to say how professional and
informative it is (and Ive only been on it for 5 mins!)
Great work
REPLY
DonHeatrick on March 19, 2013 at 2:51 pm said:

Thanks Simon, I appreciate you taking the time to leave me your
feedback. Ill keep at it :)
REPLY
Alden on July 4, 2013 at 6:21 pm said:

Yes, amazing site. Just the stuff ive been looking for. Thank
you very much for this great resource.
cheers from Vancouver, BC
REPLY
DonHeatrick on July 5, 2013 at 9:26 pm

said:
Cheers Alden :)
REPLY
LeeDent on April 1, 2013 at 1:22 pm said:

Great site, I have been trying to come up with a weights routine for
about the last 3 months specifically to enhance my Thai training but
almost every site is obsessed with mirror muscles or should I say
Hypertrophy (for the record I have nothing against that type of
training It is just not functional for what I want to achieve!), also
when you do find articles relating to sport specific training they are
either aimed at professionals that train for a living and have all day
everyday to do so or they are written by some geek with a degree in
sport science that has never really applied any of their knowledge to
the real world. I have developed a 2 day split which is almost
identical to yours but I will now be adding the supersets. Thankyou a
great informative site backed up by your personal experiances, I will
be spreading the word.
REPLY
DonHeatrick on April 1, 2013 at 6:15 pm said:

Thank you Lee, Im glad youre finding the site useful.
Your feedback regarding the content and the way I present it is

very valuable to me. It certainly helps validate my mission and will
shape the way I approach my writing in the future.
And please do spread the word! :D
REPLY
Colin on July 1, 2013 at 10:01 pm said:

Hi Don,
I would be intrigued to hear what your reply would be to the weight

training will add bulk/size/mass which makes it harder to make a
given weight and squeeze into a weight class.which Im sure your
aware many fighters do already.
Also, im curios how often you train muay thai, weights, run, others
forms of training you do per week and how it differs from the
traditional way in Thailandand of course what each session entails.
just an idea :)
REPLY
DonHeatrick on July 1, 2013 at 10:58 pm said:

Hi Colin,
Weight training neednt add unnecessary bulk, it depends on

the intensity and the volume of lifts that you use. The routine
above does add muscle mass, but it targets development of
functional mass that aids athletic performance with a
proportional increase in strength.
You can also develop strength WITHOUT increasing weight too.
Take a look at the following post for more detail:
http://heatrick.com/2012/09/30/why-must-thai-boxerstrain-with-weights/
How you programme all the various forms of training is a good
question and a difficult one to answer briefly. Ill put together a
post to shed some light.
REPLY
Colin on July 1, 2013 at 11:05 pm said:

Thanks Don. Think ive read all of the posts now so will try not
to ask a question uve already covered!
Keep up the good work. Thanks again
REPLY
DonHeatrick on July 1, 2013 at 11:14 pm

said:
Haha! No problem Colin. If you have a ques tion, jus t as k
mate.
REPLY
Anwar on July 8, 2013 at 9:48 pm said:

I was wondering if you do programs A and B on the same day?
REPLY
DonHeatrick on July 10, 2013 at 12:09 am said:

Hi Anwar,
The sessions are intended for two different non-consecutive
days. Both sessions work the whole body, and having a day
between each weight training session allows sufficient
neuromuscular recovery.
Regards,
Don
REPLY
Rico on July 21, 2013 at 7:12 am said:

Im not that much of a online reader to be honest but your
blogs really nice, keep it up! Ill go ahead and bookmark your site to
come back in the future. Cheers
REPLY
DonHeatrick on July 21, 2013 at 12:51 pm said:

Thanks Rico,
If you sign up to the free newsletter , youll be notified each
time I add some new content. :)
REPLY
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Conditioning for MuayThai
Paul on September 4, 2013 at 7:10 pm said:

First off very good blog. Ive been reading a few of your posts here and there
(forwarded here from r/muaythai) and want to thank you for your time and
effort.
A few questions.
1. Can I sub back squats for front squats? I feel my hamstrings are very weak
compared to my quads already.
2. Ive heard overhead presses behind the neck are bad for you (exterior
rotation vs interior rotation) would standing military press (bar in front) leave
any holes in the workout?
3. Also considering lateral dumbbell raises instead of the barbell push press.
Would this also put any holes in the workout?
4. You say you break your weeks into low, medium, high, high+. does this mean
you do 4 week rotations? low -> mid -> high -> high+ -> low -> mid -> etc
Ive done some basic strength training and it focused on linear progression and
am still pretty new in the gym (~6 months strength training / ~1 month MT
training). Any guidance would be helpful.
Again, great site! An invaluable resource for a MT noob like me.
REPLY
DonHeatrick on September 4, 2013 at 8:57 pm said:

Hi Paul, no problem and thanks for getting in touch. Good questions too. :)
Here are my quick answers:
1. Back squats can be substituted for front squats, there will just be more
hamstring/glute (hip) involvement. Front squats are my personal preference
as they target the knee dominant pattern and I target the hip dominant
pattern with the deadlift. My other reason to front squat, is as a progression
for the clean (olympic lift).
2. Military presses are ok. But, pressing behind the neck is only a problem if
you have injured or unusual shaped scapulae (shoulder blades). Most people
are fine. My reason for pressing from behind the neck is that this better trains
the muscles stabilising the scapular, that tend to become long and weak
from our fighting stance posture. It also acts a progression toward the
overhead squat and snatch (olympic lift).
3. Lateral dumbbell raises are shoulder isolation exercise and doesnt

develop a functional movement pattern. The push press is a much better
choice as it also adds power development to the routine.
4. Linear progression is fine initially, but youll soon reach plateaus in

performance. The cycling of 3 or 4 intensity levels (over 3 or 4 week
rotations) allows for recovery and progression especially when factoring in
all the other training Thai boxers subject themselves to! The lower intensity
sessions also allow you to craft your lifting technique too, rather than running
your lifting-pattern ragged and reinforcing bad habits.
Hope this helps ;)
REPLY

Don you are a man amongst boys. Thank you so much for your response.
Im going to leave your routine as-is and start today! Thanks again!!
REPLY

tried the workout last week am loving it on my off-days from muay thai
training. had one more question is the suspended single leg squat
essentially a stepping stone to pistol squats?
REPLY

Its great youre getting into the routine Paul. Yes , the s ingle-leg
s us pens ion s quats can work as a progres s ion toward pis tol s quats ,
and als o add (mus cle building) volume to the preceding deadlift
s trength exercis e. The s us pended s quat allows you to trim the amount
of as s is tance contributed from your arms to get the loading jus t right
for the number of reps required too.
REPLY
Paul on September 25, 2013 at 7:49 pm

said:
so ive been doing this routine, and am coming along nicely EXC EP T for
the candlesticks. my core must be too weak to do that quite yet. can
you suggest some other exercises i can do to build up to that? currently
i do planks and crunches (a variety of crunches).
DonHeatrick on September 25, 2013 at

10:24 pm said:
Hi P aul, great question
I dont know if youve seen my video specifically on candlesticks, it gives
a little more detail on how its performed:
http://heatrick.com/2012/10/15/candlesticksa-true-core-strength-exercise/
Retracting one leg will reduced the amount of leverage, and you can
reduce it further by bending both knees.
You could also just work the eccentric lowering phase only, bending at
the hips to allow you to return back to the start position.
There are some other ideas I have for building up core anti-extension
strength, Ill put together a blog post for you ;)
Randy on September 11, 2013 at 9:47 am said:

Hey Don
First of all thanks for the amazing post! Ive been looking for
something like this for a long time now. Really good job! :)
I have some questions though.
1. Can I substitute Bulgarian Split Squats with Walking Lunges? Just

because I love them.
2. Can I substitute either the overhead Press or the push press with
cuban presses? I feel like I get a lot more shoulder activation with the
cuban presses.
3. Im used to do pullups right after my deadlifts (to deload my

spine). Can I rearrange the workout so that I do pullups after my
deadlifts?
I really hope you can help me out.
Other than that, have a nice day.

Peace :)
REPLY

Hi Randy,
Thanks for the positive feedback. :)
1. Yes, just keep the number of walking lunge to 8 reps per leg,
and at the same intensity level (loading) specified.
2. Cuban presses are great for developing the muscles

stabilising the shoulder, but wont be particularly effective for
building functional muscle or movement. The overhead press
develops functional strength and the push press adds volume
for hypertrophy (growth) and adds some power development
too.
3. Yes, swap the pulling exercises (listed as superset 3)

between the two sessions, and re-order these pulling supersets
after the lower body exercises, then follow with the upperbody
pushing exercises (listed as superset 2) before finishing with the
core exercise.
Best regards,
Don
REPLY
Alex on November 3, 2013 at 2:49 pm said:

how long you should follow this strength-hypertrophy training block to

see benefits and before switching to another training method where
conditioning/power/explosiveness is the focus?
Is 8 weeks a good number?
REPLY
DonHeatrick on November 3, 2013 at 7:03 pm said:

To achieve any significant changes, a block should be at least 6weeks in length. 8-weeks will be even better. :) Id still train
power once a week during this block to maintain rate of force
development.
REPLY
Alex on November 4, 2013 at 12:30 pm said:

alright thank you! Which exercises for power (and reps/sets)
do you recommend to fit in there as a 3rd training session?
REPLY
Alex on November 4, 2013 at 12:49 pm

said:
..and another ques tion..
can I do box pis tol s quats ins tead of s ingle leg
s us pens ion s quat?
can I vary between different deadlift exercis es (s umo,
trap-bar, s tiff-leg etc.)?
thanks again
REPLY
DonHeatrick on November 4, 2013 at

1:57 pm said:
Id add a third s es s ion with s ome plyometric drills s uch
as box jumps , s ome med ball throws for the core and
s omething s imple like kettlebell s wings or pus h
pres s es .
If you follow the 3-to-5 principle: between 3 5 s ets of

between 3 5 reps for neuromus cular training (s trength
and power) you will get good res ults . Check out the
following pos t:
http://heatrick.com/2012/12/17/strengthtraining-simplified/
Box pis tol s quats are fine as long as you can control
the form s trictly for the given number of reps .
Any vers ion of a deadlift (hip dominant lift) is als o fine.

:)
Don
REPLY
Chris on January 25, 2014 at

12:23 am said:
Hi Don,
Firstly, fantastic article and great to hear ways to

counterbalance any potential injury.
I had 2 questions on this:
1) What would come after 6-8 weeks of following this

routine?
Will the benefits decrease, and should we consider to

an alternative 6-8 week program in order to shock
the muscles to see continuous gains?
2) My trapezius muscles can get very tight after

weights and Muay Thai. Is continued following of this
program likely to alleviate any imbalance and reduce
tightness?
Thanks,
C hris
DonHeatrick on January 26, 2014 at 2:41 pm said:

Hi Chris, Ive written a brief answer for you on the Q&A forum:
http://heatrick.com/forums/topic/6-8-weeks-on-time-to-changemy-programme/#post-3849
Best regards,
Don
REPLY
Raf on March 11, 2014 at 6:57 am said:

Hey Don,
Im ridiculously happy that i found your website! Everything Ive been

searching for!
hopefully you still write more on this website because i love learning
from your articles!
thanks,
Raf
REPLY
DonHeatrick on March 11, 2014 at 8:20 am said:

Hi Raf,
Thank you for getting in contact and giving me some feedback.
Much appreciated. :)
Cheers, Don
REPLY
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Matt on April 30, 2014 at 11:16 pm said:

Hey Don,
Ive been doing this routine for 4-5 weeks now, and have
progressively ramped up the intensity to the high+ range. What do
you think I should do for my next block of strength training? Should I
continue the same routine and readjust the intesities? Should I
change up some exercises?
I appreciate your help.

-Matt
REPLY
DonHeatrick on April 30, 2014 at 11:35 pm said:

Hi Matt,
You can re-run the same routine if you like, as youve said,
simply adjust the intensities relative to you new maximum loads.
You could also change some exercises too if you wish. Ill look at
producing a TeamMuayThai download with some further
progressions.
Cheers,
Don
REPLY
Azza on May 26, 2014 at 1:04 am said:

Hi Don,
Do you repeat each superset 4 times? For example Superset 1 x4,

Superset 2 x4 etc ?
REPLY
DonHeatrick on May 26, 2014 at 4:28 pm said:

Hi Azza, yes thats right. Repeat each superset 4-times before
moving onto the next superset pair.
REPLY
Sven Zimmermann on January 2, 2015 at 9:39 am said:

Nice blog, i would need a simple Routine for strength Building only.
Thank you
REPLY
DonHeatrick on January 10, 2015 at 9:13 am said:

Thanks Sven. Im putting together some more programmes
soon.
REPLY
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PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

Don Heatrick S&C

Don Heatrick S&C

Muay Thai Traditions that Westerners Practice (But Th

Muay Thai Traditions that Westerners Pr

Of course it's nice to uphold some of the muay Thai traditions

a) Front squat knee dominant lower body

Fac ebook soc ial plugin

a) Incline bench press horizontal push

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

a) Pull-ups vertical pull

Muay Thai Strength & Conditioning

Candlesticks core anti-extension

Plyos Before Muay Thai Skill Training?

a) Deadlift lower body hip dominant

a) Standing over head press behind neck vertical push

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

a) Barbell bent over row horizontal pull

Landmine (Coreplate) twists core anti-rotation

Each superset pair consists firstly of a

As far as programming the intensity, I use

Low weeks use a 9-rep max weight for

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

You may also like the following related posts

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

Anaerobic Alactic Power

Buakaw Strength &

Is Muay Thai Bad for

process carbs coaching

systems explosive Fairtex

MuayThai Jeckyll & Hyde

MuayThai Flow State

Muay Thai Lucky Day

strength curve supercompensation

visualisation weight cut

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

Fac ebook soc ial plugin

Posted on January 20th, by DonHeatrick in Core Training,

strength and conditioning

Although you do include rowing movements, I assume you include

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

DonHeatrick on February 4, 2013 at 8:04 pm said:

The key here is functional hypertrophy (muscle growth). By

Pingback: Fighter Weight Training Sessions In a Nutshell | Heatrick Strength &

Conditioning for MuayThai

Simon PIccirillo on March 19, 2013 at 1:14 am said:

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

informative it is (and Ive only been on it for 5 mins!)

DonHeatrick on March 19, 2013 at 2:51 pm said:

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

Alden on July 4, 2013 at 6:21 pm said:

cheers from Vancouver, BC

DonHeatrick on July 5, 2013 at 9:26 pm

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

LeeDent on April 1, 2013 at 1:22 pm said:

DonHeatrick on April 1, 2013 at 6:15 pm said:

Your feedback regarding the content and the way I present it is

PDF creado por htmlapdf.com a travs de la Interfaz de programacin

Colin on July 1, 2013 at 10:01 pm said: