Cardiovascular Workout
Thai Boxing focuses heavily on a good cardio workout, which includes both aerobic and anaerobic activities. Heavy bag work and pad work are much like interval training because you are throwing kicks and punches with a lot of power while working on your endurance.
Rope jumping is a mainstay of our classes, but you will also find students warming up on stationary bikes, ellipticals, stair climbers, or the treadmills. With two beautiful parks nearby, many of our students incorporate a 3-mile run into their workout, as well.
ShadowboxingShadowboxing is excellent for balance, cardiovascular conditioning, and fine-tuning techniques. The moves used in shadowboxing are the same moves used in bag work, pad work, and in the ring. Being able to practice these moves against an imaginary opponent is one of the most crucial ways of understanding your opponent. You have the opportunity to set up defensive and offensive techniques while "examining" your opponent's moves.
Bag WorkThere is nothing like a good heavy bag workout to build and tone muscles, increase endurance, and relieve stress. Working against a heavy bag gives you resistance to your contact, making your body stronger. Wearing hand wraps and bag gloves, you can unload on the 7-foot pole bags or shorter hanging bags, as well as uppercut bags and double-ended balls. Because Thai boxing involves the full use of the body, bag work includes how to throw a proper punch, elbow, knee, and Thai kick. Different combinations of these basic moves make the classes challenging and fun.
Pad Work
Doing Thai pad work in the ring is the closest you can come to fighting without actually fighting! Instructors use focus mitts, Thai pads and leg kick pads to simulate both defensive and offensive techniques used with an opponent. It's a chance to engage in full contact. You learn how to correctly use offensive techniques, defensive maneuvers, and counters in a fast full contact manner on an opponent. Pad work also teaches timing, distancing, weight transference, balance, and a fighter's attitude under a simulated combat situation.
Ab/ Trunk/ Back WorkoutTight abdominal muscles are a natural result of Thai boxing workouts, as are a strong back and an overall strengthening of the trunk. Bag work and pad work also contributes to a strong core. At the end of every scheduled class, you will find extensive exercises from standard crunches to medicine ball workouts. The emphasis on a strong core will result in a stronger body overall.
SparringSparring is the ultimate workout, but it's not for everyone. Although it's not a required part of a Thai boxing workout, most students do like to "mix it up" a little with light sparring. Protective gear is worn in the ring, and students can choose "light contact" to harder contact for fighters. Sparring allows you to fully use all the skills being developed through shadowboxing, bag work, and pad work. The mental aspect of getting hit and hitting back is crucial to understanding the heart of Thai Boxing.
"You can do anything for three minutes."The mental aspect of fight training, even for non-fighters, is based on that three-minute round. Most of a typical Thai boxing workout is focused on the fight bell, which goes off every three minutes, indicating a new round has begun. Realizing that no matter how tired you are, you can last for three minutes puts an intense workout into perspective.
"Anybody can fight fresh; you also have to learn how to fight when mentally and physically tired as well as in pain." says Craig Lamanna, owner and head trainer at MTI.