Best Bodyweight Workout Routines, Exercises and Circuits for Muay Thai

By Funk Roberts

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 lean muscle. After just over 8 months of using a bodyweight training program, along with Muay Thai, I could not believe how quickly I was able to get down to 175lbs, and even more shocking was I was stronger than before.

Not to mention I was now more explosive, had better muscular endurance, and I was faster and more agile all while getting absolutely ripped. This experience taught me a lot about the power and effectiveness of bodyweight training programs and why it’s so important to implement bodyweight workout routines for Muay Thai.

I learned that bodyweight workout routines are not only great for burning fat and building lean muscle but it’s also a legitimate way to get super strong and explosive. When you can start doing bodyweight training programs along with your Muay Thai, then you will have more control over your body especially when it comes to specific multiple joint and muscular movements.

Top 33 Best Bodyweight Exercises for Fighters

Bodyweight exercises are fundamentally different from most weight training exercises because they engage specific muscle groups, which are often ignored in the gym. These muscle groups can’t be neglected and are super important to improving your functional Muay Thai training.

Performing bodyweight workout routines helps teach you how to use your body as a ‘single kinetic chain’, which translates directly to Muay Thai.  You will also build much better pound for pound strength, real world functional strength, improved flexibility/range of motion and joints that are as strong as your muscles.

In any combat sport, you need to train to be explosive and powerful, increase your cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance and core strength.  Including bodyweight circuit training into your overall strength and conditioning program will make you a much better and stronger Muay Thai fighter.

I will always incorporate some of the best bodyweight exercises into my fighter workout programs. Your body is truly your greatest “piece of equipment,” and there is no membership fee required to use it.

Today I have a metabolic bodyweight conditioning circuit that you can do anywhere, anytime that will help build your overall endurance, cardio, explosive power and strength.

Metabolic Bodyweight Circuit Training for Muay Thai 

Perform as many reps as possible of each exercise one after the other for the prescribed intervals.

Rest for 2 minutes and repeat for 3 full rounds!

List Of The Best Bodyweight Exercises For Muay Thai

1. Burpees – (Full body exercise, metabolic and cardio)
2. Spiderman Push Ups – (Upper body strength and endurance, core, obliques, shoulder strength, hip flexibility)
3. Jumping Lunges – (Plyometrics, explosive, leg strength, muscular endurance, cardio)
4. Seated Floor Abs Circles – (Core, abs and balance)
5. Running Press Ups – (Cardio, Shoulder Endurance)
6. Everest Climbers – (Core, hip flexibility, cardio)
7. Jump Squats – (Plyometric, explosive lower body strength, glutes, legs, cardio)
8. Pike Push Ups – (Upper Body, shoulder strength and Endurance)
9. Thai Crucifix – (Core, abs, obliques, anti-rotational movement)
10. Ali Shuffle Punches – (Cardio, agility, shoulder endurance, speed)

Workout Note: Abs Circles ( Rd 1 – clockwise, Rd 2 Counter Clockwise, Rd 3 – 5 per side continuous)

Thai Crucifix (Rd 1 – Right, Rd 2 – Left, Rd 3 Alternating)

If you liked this bodyweight workout and would like to drastically improve your overall strength and conditioning as a Muay Thai fighter, then click here to grab a copy of Funk’s BeastMode Bodyweight 4 Week Program for Fighters.

This is a 4-week strength and conditioning bodyweight workout program that comes with a Training (eBook), list of workouts and a detailed schedule. It also comes with 5 demo videos of the workouts which you can download straight to your computer.

There are 5 days of intense body weight workouts including strength workouts, hybrid supersets, animal flow circuits, metabolic conditioning, density training, abs/core workouts and cardio finisher.

Who is Marc “Funk” Roberts?

Funk Roberts is President and Owner of Funk Roberts Fitness and FunkMMA.com. He is a former Professional Beach Volleyball player turned MMA Conditioning Coach, Certified Metabolic Training, Kettlebell Specialist and online Fat Loss Expert that helps thousands of combat fighters, trainers and coaches improve their performance through strength and conditioning.

He has over 30 years training experience and has even stepped in the Muay Thai ring in Thailand for a fight.  Funk has helped fighters in most of the major MMA and Combat promotions including UFC, Bellator, WMC, Glory, K1, ADCC, Grapplers Quest among other and currently reaches over 150,000 combat athletes on a weekly basis through his website and social media.

You can connect with Funk through his http://www.funkmma.com blog which has over 300 workout and nutrition videos and training advice all targeted to MMA, martial arts and combat athletes around the world.