TOP 5 KETTLEBELL EXERCISES FOR EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

By Sean Fagan

Perform the best kettlebell exercises like the kettlebell clean and press, kettlebell snatch and kettlebell swing to drastically increase your power, stamina and explosive strength in your Muay Thai or MMA training!

I’ve been doing kettlebell training and exercises for years now and have noticed major changes in the power of my punches, kicks, knees and elbows. My core and overall strength is the best it’s been largely because I do the best kettlebell exercises and workouts for explosive strength and conditioning.

Whether your into Muay Thai, MMA, boxing, or wrestling, you will take your fight game to the next level by implementing explosive kettle bell exercises to your workout routine!

Top 5 Best Kettlebell Exercises

#1. Kettlebell high pull

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...

MY PERSONAL STRENGTH & CONDITIONING ROUTINE FOR MUAY THAI TRAINING

By Sean Fagan

Strength and conditioning for Muay Thai can be a tricky bitch sometimes.

I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed with the amount of choices I have when it comes to strength and conditioning.

Should I use kettlebells? 

Or should I focus more on Olympic lifts? What about body weight circuits? 

Should I be doing interval sprints or are long distance runs better? 

Is Crossfit a good form of strength and conditioning?

What if I did plyometrics?

See what I mean? My brain hurts just thinking about the different forms of exercises and the various ways of structuring a proper strength and conditioning routine for Muay Thai.

Fortunately, there are guys like Don Heatrick who geek-out about this kind of stuff. All of Don’s posts on strength and conditioning for Muay Thai are top quality and always provide me with useful, practical information and exercises to...

INTENSE, HARD, TRADITIONAL MUAY THAI WORKOUT PLAN

By Sean Fagan

Almost all Muay Thai gyms in Thailand run basically the same type of workout routines because it’s intense, hard and focuses on the all the important aspects of Muay Thai that you should be working on day in and day out!

This type of training routine together with quality Muay Thai gears and equipment is used by some of the best fighters in Thailand and all around the world!

When I was in Thailand, it was pretty set in stone what my Muay Thai training routine would consist of:

• Skipping Rope
• Running
• Shadowboxing
• Thai Pad Work
• Heavy Bag Training
• Clinch Work
• Sparring
• Ab Work
• Stretching
• Meditation

Scroll down for a breakdown and descriptions of the best traditional Muay Thai workout routine!

Traditional Muay Thai Workout Routine:

Everyday in Thailand, my training program is basically this type of workout:

• Group run – 2-4 miles
• Skip Rope – 3 rounds
• Shadow Box...

GREAT PARTNERS BUILD BETTER FIGHTERS

By Emily Moore

No fighter, nak muay or otherwise stands alone against his or her opponent. An army waits at the ready behind them.

It takes a team of coaches, trainers, and (especially) training partners to successfully prepare for a fight.

My coach often repeats this idea before training sessions: “The most important person in this gym today is not you, it’s your partner.”

“Always take care of your partner.”

Let’s take a look at 7 ways to be a great Muay Thai training partner:

Train, don’t coach

At my last gym, there was this guy with whom I avoided sparring at all costs. He would interrupt and stop me after every single strike, trying to educate me on what I could do to improve.

In a three-minute round, I would end up spending 0:30 sparring and 2:30 trying to get him to shut up and work.

You and your partners are in the gym to learn from professionals. You don’t need...

More often times than not, gym hopping is used as derogatory term that people associate with someone who goes from gym to gym without any real home gym… this is NOT the way to go about training at different gyms.

In order to successfully and respectfully train at different gyms, Paul and I discuss the right and wrong way to go about doing so. In our discussion, we dive deep into the advantages and disadvantages of so called “gym hopping” including:

• Why you should train at a variety of gyms.
• How it can be limiting if you don’t step out of your comfort zone to spar/train with other fighters and coaches.
• The benefits of training at multiple gyms and how to bring up the idea to your coach and teammates.
• Why some coaches might not want you to go “gym hopping”...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS PODCAST: EPISODE #73

By Sean Fagan

There are some unwritten rules when it comes to stepping foot into a new gym. However, most people are unaware of these unwritten rules because, well – they’re unwritten.

Fortunately, MTG writer Angela Chang put together a great post a few weeks back on the 13 Rules For Proper Gym Etiquette, which gave Paul and I the idea to cover the same topic in podcast form… so that’s exactly what we did!

Click Here To Listen To TMTG 073: Muay Thai Gym Etiquette: Do’s and Dont’s

We cover the 13 aspects that Angela talk about but go into further detail about each area including:

• Don’t be late! Show up on time and show that you’re ready to put in the work.
• No shoes on the mat. Should be quite obvious, but people tend to neglect it.
• Get your own gear. Sometimes gyms have lender equipment, but you’re always better off using your own (for cleanliness...

WHY THE JUMP ROPE MATTERS

By Evan Lee

The highest aim of fighting is to hit and not get hit.

You want to knock your opponent’s face into the dirt while yours remains in pristine condition. But without good footwork, you’ll become a human punching bag. And being a human punching bag, surprise surprise, isn’t good for your health. Jumping rope will improve your footwork.

The lightness of your feet will be demonstrated in how you jump rope. If you’re slamming your heels down and jumping too high, how do you think your footwork is going to be? Not great. There are many mistakes people make when jumping rope that completely jeopardizes their training. If you’re uncertain how to use the jump rope to improve your footwork, we’ve got you covered:

The jump rope is a lovely tool that serves as the basis for all of your footwork training. It gives you the endurance and the coordination necessary for all of your movement inside the ring or cage....

THE DON’TS OF YOUR VERY FIRST FIGHT

By Angela Chang

In my last article on Muay Thai Guy, we talked about what you should do during your first fight. Frankly, there’s plenty of fight advice of what you should do during your first fight. You’ll hear it from teammates, friends, and may even read it online through self-research.

Your first fight can be daunting. There are several things you have to keep in mind through training and the fight and make sure you do. You can just as easily make mistakes that will cost you the fight. Here’s what not to do during your first fight.

DON’T: Worry About Using Perfect Technique

It’s extremely rare to see someone throw anything with flawless technique during their first several amateur fights. Your focus should be more on landing your shots rather than executing those shots perfectly. Waiting around for the perfect shot will only waste time you could be spending at least trying...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS PODCAST: EPISODE #32

By Sean Fagan

Everyone makes mistakes when they first make the voyage to Thailand to train Muay Thai, but you can avoid some of these common mistakes by learning from people who’ve already made them… like myself and Paul.

In this most recent podcast episode, Paul and I discuss the most common mistakes we made (and still continue to make) whenever we make the trip to Thailand. If you’re heading to Thailand in the near future, this podcast is a MUST listen to because it covers the top 10 mistakes including:

1. Not Doing It Sooner – Putting off your trip to Thailand can result in you NEVER making the trip. The sooner you go the better because it will open new doors of opportunity for you and open your eyes to new possibilities.
2. Not Planning Ahead – Although you want to do it as soon as possible, you do need to plan accordingly in order to make sure you have enough money and plan the proper itinerary for...