How To: Middle-Aged Muay Thai

WHY YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST TRAIN MUAY THAI IF YOU'RE OVER 40

By Randy Pilares

You just found out about Muay Thai.

In your eyes, it seems like the coolest and most exciting martial art that you’ve ever seen.

The many techniques involved, the power in the strikes, the balance in the fighter’s movements... All of that appeals to you and makes you want to start training right NOW. 

There’s one problem though: you are well over 40 years-old and therefore "too old" to start training.

Or are you? Is there really such a thing as being too old to start training Muay Thai? 

Age Is Just A Number - Even For Muay Thai

Sure, you’ve often heard of the saying that "age is just a number." That age should not limit you from pursuing your interests, whatever they may be.

That’s what you think when debating with yourself to take the plunge or not.

But Muay Thai is a combat sport, after all. Does the saying still apply to a martial art that is also described as one of the most brutal and physically demanding?

Can you still train even if you are over 40... or over 50 or 60 for that matter?

Of course you can! You can still train regardless of your age.

How Old Is Too Old To Start Fighting?

Top Reasons to Train Muay Thai Regardless of Your Age

If you remain unconvinced, we will help you by listing some of the best reasons for you to train Muay Thai even at an advanced age.

Here are some of the top reasons:

#1: It's A Fun Way To Get Fit

Muay Thai is not just one of the best striking martial arts in the world. It is also a very high intensity sport.

That fact leads to its practitioners being among the fittest athletes in all of sports. If you want to practice an intense combat sport, then Muay Thai is definitely for you.

Plus, there is no risk of getting bored. That tends to happen with sports or any activity that features repetitive movements and routines. People might find it boring after a while.

There is no danger of that ever happening in Muay Thai. The comprehensive nature of the sport guarantees that the practitioner will always have something new to work on. You are bound to have a lot of fun while learning and getting fit.

#2: You Learn To Defend Yourself

A lot of people get into martial arts to learn how to defend themselves properly. Muay Thai is one of the best martial arts to learn for self-defense. 

The art of eight limbs gives you a complete and comprehensive set of tools that you could use to defend yourself and your loved ones.

Apart from giving you the basic tools, Muay Thai also prepares you for actual combat through sparring. That is one of the components that gives its practitioners a real and practical edge.

At least you get an idea of what it feels like to be hit while trying to hit the other person as well.

#3: You Build Up Your Muscles & Improve Your Flexibility

The intensity of the training in Muay Thai is not just going to build up your cardio, it’ll help build up your muscles and improve your flexibility as well.

This is particularly important because the older you get, the slower your metabolism becomes. You also start suffering from muscle mass deterioration.

The workouts and the drills that you do in Muay Thai will help make you more flexible. And the longer you do it, the more agile and flexible your body becomes.

#4: It Improves Your Mental Strength

Training in Muay Thai is not just going to benefit you physically, you will also gain from it mentally.

We all know that it is a very demanding sport. It requires you to be fully committed and have a high level of focus.

By achieving a high degree of mental strength, you will be able to overcome depression as well as stress. Maybe not right away, but as you practice the sport you will gradually notice improvements in those areas.

#5: You'll Look Younger

Muay Thai can even help you look younger. Yes, you read that right. This badass sport can benefit your looks because it can help improve your skin.

Since you sweat buckets when you train, your body will be rid of excess dirt that can cause long-time harm.

More nutrients will go to your skin and that means that wrinkles will also be reduced. Lastly, training will also cause more blood and oxygen to reach more parts of your body, improving overall health.

Train Now & Be Forever Grateful 

The only real question that you need to ask is if you are relatively fit and healthy. If you are then you simply need the right mindset to go for it.

You can go to the nearest Muay Thai gym and start learning right away. Just be sure to double check the gym to know if it’s legit so you’ll learn authentic Muay Thai. Since you already made the decision to train, then you might as well learn the right techniques.

But even if you can’t go to a gym soon - for whatever reason - you can still start making progress on your Muay Thai journey.

So train now and be forever grateful to yourself and to anyone who pushed you to finally live your martial arts dream.

You Don’t Need to be a Fighter - Or Do You?

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a fighter. 

Starting Muay Thai doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to end up in the ring and trade blows with an opponent.

While Muay Thai can be practiced and enjoyed by most people, fighting is an entirely different matter.

Fighting is not for everyone.

And if you are aged 40 and above, then you might have to think twice or thrice about actual fighting.

First of all, your reflexes are not the same. Say what you want, but your speed and reflexes are not the same at 45 as it was when you were 21.

Your body’s ability to recover and repair itself is not the same, either. The purely physical strength might still be there, but that would not suffice in a real fight.

There are those middle-aged individuals who might be capable of an amateur fight or two. Just to get it out of their system.

In fact, it is a good goal to have. Professional fighting is very different and should probably be left for those who are a little younger.

Muay Thai is Many Things to Different People

After all, Muay Thai is a very wide-ranging sport It’s an activity that goes way beyond striking an opponent that’s in front of you.

To a lot of people, it symbolizes their road to a better lifestyle... or even a better version of themselves.

For a few, it even goes way beyond that and becomes something akin to a spiritual experience. In those instances, age is indeed nothing more than a mere number.

So, while you might have a lot of time at your disposal right now, but that doesn’t mean you can waste even a single moment of it.

Hit the gym or your home workout area now. It’s one of the best uses of your time.

After all, slashing elbows and spear knees are waiting to be thrown...