What am I working on right now? What am I tweaking to be just that much better at Muay Thai?
I have gotten used to the boxing gloves, and the Thai pads. Both of which are large, bulky, and fluffy. You may be thinking what boxing gloves are large? Well yes they are, we use 12 oz to 16 oz boxing gloves to train with. If you have ever had boxing gloves on you will know that they look like balloons on your hands. When you put on a pair of MMA gloves, whoo boy your hands profile gets a lot smaller.
What happens when your hands profile gets a lot smaller?
Your guard area is smaller, the bulky gloves protect a lot of your face. Not so with MMA gloves. You have to remember to move, parry, catch, slip, and bob and weave. Boxing gloves you can pillar up and it will save help you out.
Your elbows can flare out with boxing gloves leaving a channel up your body for a great upper cut from your opponent. So when our hands profile gets smaller you elbows can come down and you have a tighter profile.
Your hands are less protected so you can’t be lazy about your hooks. When you get lazy with less protection, you can break your hands, or your wrists and that is no fun.
Your hands are smaller, so they can split the gloves, or your opponents guard much easier.
The major minor fixes that I am working on lately are:
- Using smaller gloves, to work making my guard tighter
- Using smaller gloves reminds me of my real area/distance for attack and defend
- Using smaller gloves, to work on me turning my hand raising my elbow so I hit the hook correctly.
- when you use MMA gloves you feel it, and you know if you hit right
- Punching from guard at my face, instead of dropping my hand, and cocking back to punch.
- when I drop my hand even a little bit and cock back,
- I am giving a tell to my opponent I am about to hit – they will then hit me
- I am losing seconds to hit.
- I am losing the surprise
- when I drop my hand even a little bit and cock back,
- Remembering to bring my hand back to my face instead of back to chest level.
- when I bring it back to chest level I am
- losing time (seconds really but it maters)
- I am leaving my guard open till I get my hand back to my face
- when I bring it back to chest level I am
Those are the minor things I have been working on fixing. What did I work on before. My foot work, or getting off the line. Will I have to tweak those again? Yeah I am sure I will. This art takes a lifetime of learning, I will always have something else I can make better. But right now this is what I am doing, time in training, and drilling will make me better.
At this point in my training, the drills are not new, the moves are things I have done a thousand thousand times.
I am making those minor tweaks. Just like in swimming, to take off seconds in timing. Those tiny tells/things that give away my intentions to strike.
Just like training for nationals in swim team, shaving off seconds in my 500 freestyle time took months of work. Months of tweaking:
- when I breath
- just how I turned
- my jump start
- how much water I pulled
- breath management
Muay Thai is no different in that regard. Fixing minor things, helped with my overall performance. Well there is one thing that is greatly you get punched and kicked a lot more in Muay Thai then at swim team. lol
Cutting Macros for the Week
Lets see… I did get closer to my protein levels on average. I have made sure to get my protein shakes in, and protein bars when I could not eat lunch at work right away. I can cut carbs and fat, ay
Went over on my carbs and my fats a little this week. But over all felt good. My training was good, and I am getting closer to being on point with my protein intake.
| MACRO AVERAGES | ||||||||||
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Average | Goal | Difference | |
| Protein | 123 | 120 | 91 | 154 | 89 | 145 | 108 | 118.571429 | 173 | 54.42857143 |
| Carbs | 290 | 165 | 193 | 276 | 180 | 203 | 257 | 223.428571 | 201 | -22.42857143 |
| Fat | 95 | 83 | 92 | 125 | 71 | 117 | 174 | 108.142857 | 90 | -18.14285714 |
| Calories | 2507 | 1887 | 1964 | 2845 | 1715 | 2445 | 3026 | 2341.28571 | 2306 | -35.28571429 |
Training Monday 5/17/2021: 45 minute run and weight lifting leg day
Today started out with a walk with my partner.
Then I went for a mile run after digesting breakfast.
Then it was on to first day of this weeks weight lifting workout. Which happens to be leg day again. Weee!
We can do anything we put our minds to. Anyone telling us we can’t are just showing us their limitations not yours!
Leg day with an emphasis on Quads and Glutes:
1) dumbbell squat – reps – 20, 20, 20, 20
2) standing leg extensions- reps – 12, 12, 12
Superset: do all exercises once through before rest
1) barbell hip thrust -reps – 12, 12, 12, 12
2) body weight floor glute bridges -reps – 12, 12, 12, 12
Superset: do all exercises once through before rest
1) resistance band abductor -reps- 15, 15, 15
2) dumbbell sumo squats -reps- 15, 15, 15
Training Tuesday 5/18/2021: 1 hour of Muay Thai
Some days you eat the kick to the ribs because you missed the subtle change in you opponents movement and then since they were nice enough to put their leg up there on your ribs you catch it to off balance them. Making lemonade out of lemons is helpful in my training.
Look I am not… I am still learning and have a lot to learn. But I have been noticing subtle changes in how I perceive my opponent.
I frankly see more now. Reaction time I am working on. 😂 lol
Muay Thai:
1) jump rope warm up
2) jab, catch, jab drill
3) cross, parry, cross drill
4) hook, high elbow cover, hook drill
5) respond to the jab cross hook, return a hook, cross, lead kick
6) fed pads for H
7) respond to jab cross hook, high elbow cover and return a jab/strike, cross, hook, rear kick
8 ) fed pads for H
9) respond to jab cross hook, you bob and weave on the hook, return a hook to torso, cross, lead knee
10) fed pads for H
11) pop the leather where we responded to the jab cross hook
12) same as previous round
Training Thursday 5/20/2021: 1 hour of Muay Thai
Who has two thumbs and had a long day at work? Yup that’s me. But I powered through my training. I did for a little bit contemplate just resting today, but I threw on my Beast Mode shirt and trained.
It was a balmy 97 degrees F in my gym today. Whew! When you are tired the heat can suck more energy out of you.
I am glad I went in. I am glad I trained.
Thank you Khun Kru Krysta for a great class again!
What did I focus on while I was so tired? Keeping my hands up, bringing them back to my face, getting out of the pocket after I completed the drill! Yay!
Training Saturday 5/22/2021:1 hour- 1 mile run, and weightlifting upper body
We took the morning and spent it with the kiddos. They needed time with mom and dad. Ordered breakfast out, and had a family picnic.
But I still had to get my run and weightlifting in. I have a schedule to keep. I waited till the kids had to do their daily chores to get away. So a little later in the day than I like to but it’s done woot!
1 mile run, with new better run time in steady state run. Woot!
Weightlifting: upper body – chest, back, biceps
Superset: do all exercises once through no rest till all are done in one set.
1) push ups- reps- 10, 10, 10
2) dumbbell chest fly – reps- 10, 10, 10
1) standing barbell row – reps- 10, 10, 10, 10
2) lay pull down wide grip- reps- used resistance bands- 15, 15, 15, 15
Superset: do all exercises once through no rest till all are done in one set.
1) resistance band chest flys – reps- 15, 15, 15, 15
2) dumbbell standing double arm bicep curls -reps- 12, 12, 12, 12
1) preachers dumbbell bicep curls – reps each side- 10, 10, 10
Training Sunday 5/23/2021: 2.5 hours- 1.5 hours of Muay Thai, and 1 hour of upper body weight lifting back, shoulders and abs
Today was a great day of training. I got to work with my training pod. We worked on pads and sparring.
I focused on keeping my tools in the box, keeping my arms, elbows, and punches tight.
I worked on making sure I don’t drop my hands from my face/guard then punching. When I do that it takes longer for my punches to come, and I send a huge signal that I am punching. A tell. When I say longer I mean a few seconds but those few seconds allows some one else to get a punch in when my guard is down. Really it’s a game of milliseconds and millimeters. You give one you get punched.
Thank you Khun Kru Krysta, Amanda Benson Early, and H for helping me tighten my game.
Then after lunch was eaten it was on to my weightlifting.
Weightlifting: back shoulders and abs day
1)inclined bench double-arm dumbbell rows – reps – 12, 12, 12, 12
2) seated wide grip cable rows (resistance band) – reps – 10, 10, 10, 10
3) bent over barbell high row- reps- 12, 12, 12, 12
4) Superset: do all exercises one after another in a set before rest
1) barbell front raise -reps – 12, 12, 12, 12
2) barbell upright row -reps – 12, 12, 12, 12
5) leaning one armed dumbbell lateral raises- reps each side- 12, 12, 12,
6) Superset: do all exercises one after another in a set before rest
1) laying leg raises – reps – 20
2) crunch to side tap -reps – 20
3) standing crunches – reps – 20
7) Superset: do all exercises one after another in a set before rest
1) laying leg raises – reps – 20
2) crunch to side tap -reps – 20
3) standing crunches – reps – 20
4) laying leg raises – reps – 20
5) crunch to side tap -reps – 20
6) standing crunches – reps – 20
What small things are you trying to tweak in your training?
I hope you are all happy and healthy. Thank you for reading my blog/s. If you liked this one, please hit the like button. If you want to follow my adventures feel free to subscribe. As always if you have a comment please feel free to chat. For day to day stuff you can find me @sharpcupcake on instagram.
As always, Don’t Photo Edit, Just Go Get It!
Thinks with Spinks 