Muay Thai Strength & Conditioning - The Complete Guide

Muay Thai Strength Training

Strength training generally isn’t part of the Muay Thai training culture. As much as skill is the number one factor for better Muay Thai, a strength training routine can aid in punching and kicking harder and help prevent injuries often associated with Muay Thai.

Strength training for Muay Thai should focus on improving reactive and explosive strength to enhance the ability to use the stretch-shortening cycle as it directly influences kicking and punching performance.

Performance is one aspect of strength training. The other is making sure that you mitigate common injuries from voluminous Thai boxing.

Muay Thai Injury Profile

Injuries in Muay Thai are bound to happen. It’s a combat sport. Much of the injury data from Muay Thai has been collected from questionnaires in amateur to professional fighters.

If we know the most common injuries in Muay Thai, we can try to reduce the risk of these injuries through strength training depending if they are soft tissue in nature.

A 2001 study investigated beginner, amateur, and professional Muay Thai fighters (self-identified) and their injury history [1]. They found that regardless of the level, contusions and cuts were the most common. Sadly, there’s not much that can be done about that.

The second most common injuries were sprains and strains in beginner and amateur Thai boxers while in professionals, it was fractures. This is likely due to professional fighters being well-conditioned to the sport and being able to hit harder.

In terms of the distribution of injury for beginners, the legs were the most commonly injured (75%), then the trunk, the arms, and finally the head only making up 2.3% of all injuries.

Amateurs and professionals however incurred the common injuries in the legs (64% for amateurs and 53% for professionals) but the second most common injury was head injuries. The trunk was the least commonly injured site.

Injury rates for beginners run at 59 injuries per 1000 participants, 7 injuries per 1000 participants in amateurs, and 21 injuries per 1000 participants in professionals.

However, only 7% of beginner injuries required time off training while only 4% and 6% of injuries in amateur and professional required time off.

A 2016 study showed that most injuries occurred during sparring in Muay Thai athletes of various levels [2]. It should be noted these athletes were mainly training for health benefits and the main injury mechanism were contusions.

Another 2016 epidemiological study looked specifically at injuries sustained during a fight in a group consisting of 50/50 professionals and amateurs [3].

55% reported sustaining an injury after the sampled fight which were predominantly contusions or cuts as per the 2001 study.

The primary cause of injury was being struck by an opponent (67%). About 10% of injuries were when striking the opponent.

The more fight experience an athlete had, the higher the frequency of injury which could be seen is contradictory to the study above.

Only one study tried to quantify injury rates by weight class in amateur Muay Thai competition [4]. Unfortunately, their sample size was very small for the heavier weight classes which skewed the injury data to the higher side.

Further, being amateur fights, full protection was worn which doesn’t provide a full representation of injuries in the sport which has been confirmed by the 2016 epidemiological study where protective gear was shown to reduce the risk of injury.

Sadly, due to the nature of common injuries in Muay Thai, it seems training to prevent these common injuries is to no effect. However, a 2015 study investigated foot and ankle problems in Muay Thai boxers from Thailand [5].

They found that the extensive barefoot training causes tight heel cords and gastrocnemius muscle tightness (one of the calf muscles).

If this isn’t addressed, it can cause problems through the arch of the foot and add further problems to the forefoot which is already overloaded from bouncing and kicking.

Now we have something that can influence our strength programming for Muay Thai.

Muay Thai Strength Profile

Sadly, there isn’t any research showing strength standards in elite Muay Thai athletes or comparing elite to non-elite Muay Thai athletes regarding strength.

So in order to gain a true understanding of how to strength train for Muay Thai, we must understand the Muay Thai actions.

Firstly, we know from my previous article “How To Punch Harder” that elite boxers and knock-out artists have greater contributions from the legs than less experienced boxers or “players” and “speedsters”.

However, we know that Muay Thai is the Art of 8 Limbs. This means punching is only one-quarter of the striking arsenal available to a Muay Thai fighter.

Enhancing the power of kicking may be heavily influenced by the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC).

For example, switch kicking or double kicks or knees [6].

Enhancing SSC efficiency is the name of the game. How do we do that? By training reactive and explosive strength (fast and slow SSC). Reactive strength occurs at speeds of <250ms which are the contraction times when punches are thrown.

Explosive strength occurs at speeds of >250ms which is where most of Muay Thai movements occur [6].

In doing so, not only can we increase muscle and tendon stiffness (more stiffness = greater elastic energy), but also enhance the excitatory effect of the muscle spindles which improves force output.

This increased stiffness doesn’t just enhance force and power output, but actually reduces the energy expenditure during continuous SSC activities [6].

Furthermore, reactive strength training as well as maximal strength training can desensitize the protective mechanism in the tendon that limits the muscular and tendinous stretch much too soon in untrained individuals.

All of this combined creates a huge stimulus for your body to adapt to and to become more powerful.

Strength Training Guidelines For Muay Thai

Most strength training programs only focus on one aspect of strength. Maximal strength. Do a quick search on the internet and you’ll see some Muay Thai strength training programs only focus on this one aspect.

They have high volumes of lower body strength exercises, exercises to failure, and a program too general to address injury issues and performance enhancements specific to Muay Thai.

Instead, I’m going to give you the blueprint for designing a proper Muay Thai strength training program to not only improve your Muay Thai performance, but to make sure you aren’t completely fatigued that you can’t train Muay Thai.

It is important to note that while being strong in the weight room has its role, it is not as important as it’s often led to be.

I’ve worked with many athletes that would be considered “weak” in the weight room but absolutely dominate their sport and can manhandle other human beings.

With that said, having a basic level of strength can help decrease the overall risk of injury while enhancing Muay Thai performance so it is a worthwhile investment.

Like with most martial arts, strength training is best performed twice a week to allow enough time and recovery to train Muay Thai multiple times a week.

I’ll split this into Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 is to prepare you for more intense work in Phase 2. It’s important to do this preparatory work first as starting with intense plyometric variations can cause injury problems quickly.

Phase 1

Day 1

Day 2

Phase 2

Day 1

Day 2

This program addresses performance enhancements specifically for Muay Thai by enhancing the SSC with appropriate preparation for more intense jumps and plyometrics.

Further, every session addresses typical foot and ankle problems associated with extensive Muay Thai. Shortened calves pulling on heel cords.

References

1. Gartland, S., Malik, M. H. A., & Lovell, M. E. (2001). Injury and injury rates in Muay Thai kick boxing. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 35(5), 308-313.

2. Sieńko-Awierianów, E., Orłowski, Ł., & Chudecka, M. (2016). Injuries In Thai Boxing. Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine, 15(3), 27-35.

3. Strotmeyer, S., Coben, J. H., Fabio, A., Songer, T., & Brooks, M. (2016). Epidemiology of Muay Thai fight-related injuries. Injury epidemiology, 3(1), 1-8.

4. Gartland, S., Malik, M. H., & Lovell, M. (2005). A prospective study of injuries sustained during competitive Muay Thai kickboxing. Clinical journal of sport medicine, 15(1), 34-36.

5. Vaseenon, T., Intharasompan, P., Wattanarojanapom, T., Theeraamphon, N., Auephanviriyakul, S., & Phisitkul, P. (2015). Foot and ankle problems in Muay Thai kickboxers. J Med Assoc Thai, 98(1), 65-70.

6. Turner, A. N. (2009). Strength and conditioning for Muay Thai athletes. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 31(6), 78-92.

Muay Thai Conditioning

Road running has a deep-rooted tradition when conditioning for Muay Thai especially in Thailand. Outside of their grueling pad or sparring sessions, it’s onto the road for long hill runs or sprints. This certainly works in Thailand with the vast talent they have.

But those in other parts of the world may want to take a more targeted approach to their conditioning especially if you’re not training full time.

Muay Thai requires large contributions from aerobic and anaerobic lactic processes with bouts being fought at heart rates above the anaerobic threshold. The effort-pause ratio is 2:3 where 9 seconds of high-intensity activity are interspersed with 12 seconds of break.

Unfortunately, the research investigating the conditioning requirements for Muay Thai is scarce. While there are a few studies looking at the demands of a Muay Thai fight, others have had to draw from similar combat sports to make inferences and conclusions.

However, we will focus on the research currently available.

Physiological Profile Of A Muay Thai Fighter

The first study to investigate the physiology of Muay Thai took ten Thai boxers who were regular competitors with 6 competing internationally and 4 competing nationally [1].

These Thai boxers had an average VO2max of 48.5 ml.kg–1min–1 which would be considered quite low compared to other striking combat sports such as amateur boxers and karateka.

However, this may have been due to mixing international and national level Thai boxers but the differences between the levels were not reported.

A later study took twenty Muay Thai fighters where 12 were competing internationally and 8 were competing nationally [2]. These Thai boxers had an average VO2max of 54 ml.kg–1min–1 showing a more well-developed aerobic energy system compared to the previous study.

Unfortunately, that is the extent of the research on the physiological profiles of Muay Thai fighters. Luckily, we can derive more information from the physiological demands of a Muay Thai bout.

Physiological Demands Of A Muay Thai Fight

The first study looked at the demands of a simulated Muay Thai fight [1].  They used the same 3 x 3-minute rounds with a 1-minute break but the rounds were performed on the pads. Each round consisted of 6 attacks and 6 defensive actions with each lasting 15 seconds. These were planned combinations.

They did this so they could have the Muay Thai athlete wear a gas analyzer to accurately measure aerobic contributions during the rounds.

They found VO2 and heart rate were above the anaerobic threshold throughout the whole simulation. The 1 minute recovery period was not enough to recover between rounds. Indicating a large contribution from the anaerobic lactic energy system.

As the rounds progressed, VO2 also increased showing the greater demand on the aerobic processes as the fight progressed.

It’s important to note that in this study, anaerobic threshold occurred at very, very low heart rates averaging 137.5 BPM which would be considered low-level aerobic exercise. This coincides with the lower VO2max seen in these fighters.

This may suggest that the level of conditioning of these Muay Thai fighters was not at a very high level.

The second study on the other hand took blood lactate and heart rate measurements during a real Muay Thai competition [2]. As previously mentioned, these Thai boxers had a better developed aerobic energy system.

They found blood lactate concentration increased with each round but the change in blood lactate between each round decreased as the fight progressed. Indicating that the aerobic processes become more prevalent as the fight progresses.

Like the previous study, heart rate was steadily maintained above the lactate threshold throughout each round. However, heart rate at lactate threshold in these Thai boxers average 168 BPM. Around 30 beats higher than the previous study!

We can conclude that Muay Thai requires high levels of anaerobic and aerobic contributions.

Activity Profile Of A Muay Thai Fight

Only two studies have investigated the activity profile of a Muay Thai fight. The first looked at amateur Muay Thai and categorized each phase of activity as [3]:

• •Observation – periods of little or no activity
• •Preparation – exchanges of blows at low intensity or strikes missing opponent
• •Interaction – high intensity, fast, powerful actions, and combinations.

They found Muay Thai had an effort-pause ratio of 2:3 where 9 seconds of interaction were interspersed with 12 seconds of observation and preparation.

The second study categorized the phases of activity and inactivity differently:

• •Study phase – not engaged in any attack or defense.
• •Distance phase – fighting at a distance including single and combined attacks, and counterattacks.
• •Struggle phase – clinch fighting.

40% of the time was spent in the study phase (inactive), 20% clinching, and the final 40% in the distance phase. Most of the activity at distance consisted of single attacks.

Unfortunately, no effort-pause ratio was determined but taking a 40:60% ratio of pause to effort coincides with the previous research of 2:3.

What Dictates Success In Muay Thai

Only one study has investigated the differences between winners and losers in Muay Thai [2]. They found that regardless of winning or losing, both fighters displayed the same physiological events of heart rates above anaerobic threshold and high blood lactate concentrations.

They also threw a similar number of attacking actions. However, winners were slightly more effective with their attacks compared to losers. Meaning that winners were not more physically “fit” than the losers, but had a much higher technical proficiency than losers.

This means that performing as much of your extra conditioning training within the sport of Muay Thai is preferable in order to spend more training time perfecting technique.

Conditioning For Muay Thai

With large contributions from the anaerobic lactic and aerobic energy systems, targeting both is of vital importance. Just sparring and roadwork won’t do the trick, unfortunately. Taking a more targeted approach can level up your Muay Thai conditioning.

Aerobic Capacity For Muay Thai

Cardiac Output

Cardiac output, aka long-duration, steady-state cardio, is often seen in a bad light. For example, an older study suggests that running is detrimental to Muay Thai performance because of its adaptations to the aerobic energy system [4].

I would strongly disagree with the idea that aerobic adaptations are detrimental. While aerobic adaptations oppose anaerobic adaptations, we know that high-intensity activity is underpinned by aerobic development.

Further, if targeting the aerobic energy system is out of the question, then extra conditioning will be solely targeted towards anaerobic energy system development. Training at constantly high blood lactate concentrations is not only hugely fatiguing, but the improvements start to slow down very quickly.

Lastly, as a Muay Thai fight progresses, the contribution from the aerobic processes increases.

With these points in mind, I would not avoid performing extra conditioning emphasizing the aerobic energy system. But I wouldn’t use traditional cardio methods such as running. I prefer to use Muay Thai training due to the fact winners and losers are separated by technical proficiency.

Cardiac output should be performed with heart rates between 130-150 BPM using a heart rate monitor. Ideally, a chest strap monitor. I recommend the Polar H10 (link to Amazon) as it’s accurate and the best price. I still have the older model of this and works great.

This is a great example of how you can use the clinch as a ‘flow’ in order to drill the highly technical elements of the clinch while targeting the aerobic energy system. Not to mention the added benefit of conditioning the body to various blows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWAqCnGIAGw

Due to the low-intensity nature, it can be performed often and for long durations. It can even be placed within an aerobic capacity circuit along with skipping and shadowboxing.

This is an amazing example of how to use ‘flow’ as a way to develop aerobic conditioning and reap the benefits of sparring. Develop timing, technical proficiency, and agility while improving aerobic capacity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqx\_RPrmT4g

This kind of sparring can be done every day if you want to. Same thing as the clinch fighting above, you can put this into an aerobic training circuit with skipping, shadowboxing, or even alternating with flow clinching!

Your circuit could look like this:

That’s 40 minutes of high quality of work with 30 minutes specifically using Muay Thai techniques. No need to run the roads!

If you don’t have a partner, you can perform similar circuits using shadowboxing, bag work, medicine ball throws, and skipping.

Cardiac Power

Because Muay Thai is fought at such consistently high heart rates, we need to improve the heart’s ability to resist fatigue when working so hard. These would be best performed on the heavy bag with high-intensity combinations keeping the heart rate as high as possible throughout each rep.

Here is a simple 4 week progression:

Threshold Training

As heart rates remain above the anaerobic threshold throughout a Muay Thai fight, the further we can move the anaerobic threshold to higher heart rates, the less involved the anaerobic lactic energy system will need to be increasing the time to fatigue.

As mentioned earlier in the article, one study had Thai boxers with heart rates of 137 BPM at the anaerobic threshold while another group reached 168 BPM. The first group would dip into their anaerobic energy stores much earlier than the second group potentially gassing out earlier.

Performing threshold training can shift the point in which the anaerobic threshold occurs to higher heart rates delaying the time until the aerobic processes shift to predominately anaerobic processes.

Generally, the anaerobic threshold sits between 160-170 BPM so keeping your heart rate between those ranges is important if you are not able to test it.

Here is an example 4 week progression you can use:

Anaerobic Power & Capacity For Muay Thai

Lactic Capacity Intervals

Buffering (removing) the by-products due to anaerobic metabolism is an important feature to delay the onset of fatigue. Ideally, perform these intervals on a heavy bag. If your training volume is very high, then you can use off-feet cardio equipment.

Each interval should not be maximal, but near maximal. You should be able to maintain the intensity for each interval without losing intensity.

Here is an example 4 week progression:

Lactic Power Intervals

This is where you can throw your power combinations. Lactic power should be performed, like all other modalities, using Muay Thai techniques. Adaptations happen in the working muscles of the movements. So if you perform lactic power intervals on a stationary bike, adaptations will occur in the legs and not the upper body.

Increasing lactic power will increase the rate at which you can generate energy for your muscles to use. Each interval must be maximal.

Here is a 4 week progression:

Alactic Power & Capacity

No study to date has investigated alactic contributions to Muay Thai. Based on other striking research in boxing, we can assume that alactic contributions would be great due to the speed and power of various kicking combinations.

Alactic Power

Alactic power will primarily be developed through Muay Thai training itself throwing power combinations with plenty of rest. It will also be supplemented by getting stronger and faster in the gym.

Alactic Capacity

When further away from a fight, you may use alactic capacity protocols using various ballistic exercise variations such as jumps squats, or explosive push-ups.

Here is a 4 week progression:

Specific Muay Thai Intervals

Unfortunately, no study has given ranges regarding the duration of high-intensity efforts and pauses so providing general guidelines for worst-case scenario training is impossible. However, you could determine this yourself by watching footage of yourself or your competition fighting.

Instead, specific Muay Thai work intervals can be used on the bag or pads of 9 seconds high intensity striking with 12 seconds of observation or study.

Perform approximately 9 intervals to replicate a 3 minute round.

Summary

There is more to Muay Thai conditioning than hitting the pavement. While this is what is commonly done in Thailand, their system is much different with young athletes fighting their way out of poverty with the sport being the "survival of the fittest."

Instead, vary your conditioning and use skills training to accrue more time practicing Muay Thai skills.

Running For Muay Thai

The Thai’s spend hours pounding the pavement to build their aerobic gas tank. It’s rooted in their training tradition. Since the best Thai boxers run, you should too. Right?

Running is not necessary to have great Muay Thai cardio. Hitting a bag, pads, and sparring provide the same adaptations. However, you can run for Muay Thai conditioning if you enjoy it.

Why is it that running isn’t necessary for Muay Thai?

Is Running Good For Muay Thai?

Running can be good or bad for Muay Thai, depending on how you use it. It is good that it can provide variety to your Muay Thai conditioning but bad for taking time away from Muay Thai. Running is a low-cost activity you can do just about anywhere to improve your overall cardiovascular fitness.

However, this does not mean you must run for Muay Thai. It is a strong tradition that many won’t stray from. One of the main arguments for running is the repeated impacts from running that help improve the bone density of the legs.

Sure. But kicking a bag, pads, and other humans also improves bone density. Not to mention jumping rope and other plyometric and weight training exercises that do this. Safe to say, while running may have some benefits, it is not necessary.

Benefits Of Running For Muay Thai

While running may not be necessary for Muay Thai, you can benefit from it if you enjoy doing it.

Targeted Energy System Development

Running is a simple way to control the intensity of your conditioning. It can be challenging to hit the bag lightly or continue to flow spar without the intensity increasing dramatically. On the other hand, you can maintain a constant pace when running to target the aerobic energy system or do high-intensity intervals to target higher outputs.

Get Away From Muay Thai

Graeme Morris on the Sweet Science of Fighting Podcast states the main benefit of going for a run is getting outside the gym's four walls and seeing the sun and getting fresh air.

https://youtu.be/jVLW58glwMI

There’s something to be said about the mental side of being out in nature and providing some variety outside of constant Muay Thai training.

Disadvantages Of Running For Muay Thai

Doesn't Match The Biodynamic Structure Of Muay Thai

This is the main reason why I deem running unnecessary for Muay Thai. Muay Thai is a full-body sport that requires striking with the upper and lower body along with isometric upper body strength when clinching.

No amount of running will prepare you for the rigors of the clinch and having to throw strikes afterward. That is why I recommend manipulating the intensity of your specific Muay Thai conditioning to get the desired adaptations you want.

For example, easy circuits of shadowboxing, jumping rope, and bag work are a simple way of replacing running and stimulating aerobic adaptations. Another option is to flow spar.

While this is more on the high-intensity end, clinching can be done as flow sparring:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DgRmC6YXZ8

Added Training Volume Away From Muay Thai

If you are training 5+ times per week of Muay Thai, then spending some time away from it by running makes sense. However, if you only train a few times a week, any extra conditioning should be geared towards getting better at Muay Thai.

That means shadowboxing, pad work, bag work, and flow sparring. These will develop and reinforce the skills you learn during class while providing a conditioning stimulus.

How Often Should You Run For Muay Thai?

If you are going to run for Muay Thai, I would recommend 1-3x maximum per week on top of your Muay Thai training. Because Muay Thai is already so intensive, adding more cardio eventually has diminishing returns.

Should You Run Before Or After Muay Thai?

Ideally, running will be a separate session at least 6 hours before or after your Muay Thai class depending on your schedule. If you must run directly before or after your Muay Thai session, I would advise doing it after so your skills are performed when you’re fresh.

Is Muay Thai Considered Cardio?

Muay Thai is considered cardio and is why I recommend spending most of your conditioning time doing Muay Thai. That means shadowboxing, hitting the bag, pads, and flow sparring. Your typical Muay Thai class is an hour-long form of cardio, so you don't need to do extra cardio if you are doing it for general health.

Summary

Running for Muay Thai is an accessible, low-cost conditioning modality. Still, it is not necessary if you don't enjoy the activity. Further, if you are only training a few times a week of Muay Thai, running is not the best use of your training time, and you're better off using Muay Thai drills in a continuous training format.

References

1. Crisafulli, A., Vitelli, S., Cappai, I., Milia, R., Tocco, F., Melis, F., & Concu, A. (2009). Physiological responses and energy cost during a simulation of a Muay Thai boxing match. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 34(2), 143-150.

2. Cappai, I., Pierantozzi, E., Tam, E., Tocco, F., Angius, L., Milia, R., … & Crisafulli, A. (2012). Physiological responses and match analysis of Muay Thai fighting. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 12(3), 507-516.

3. Silva, J. J. R., Del Vecchio, F. B., Picanço, L. M., Takito, M. Y., & Franchini, E. (2011). Time-motion analysis in Muay-Thai and kick-boxing amateur matches. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 6(3), 490-496.

4. Turner, A. N. (2009). Strength and conditioning for Muay Thai athletes. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 31(6), 78-92.

Strength & Conditioning For Kickboxing

Kickboxing and Muay Thai share most of their physical demands, so the strength program and conditioning methods above apply to kickboxers too. This section covers what the research says about kickboxers specifically.

Kickboxers require high levels of lower-body speed and power. Strength training can be performed on the same day as kickboxing training, preferably after kickboxing separated by at least 6 hours.

Conditioning for kickboxing requires well-developed aerobic and anaerobic capacity to sustain high-intensity offensive and defensive actions. Successful kickboxers can perform more offensive and defensive actions compared to losing fighters.

Kickboxing Strength And Injury Profile

Kickboxing Injury Profile

In striking-based combat sports like kickboxing, injuries are bound to happen. The vast majority of these injuries occur to the head (51%) and the lower limbs (40%) [1]. This is the most comprehensive injury study to date that spans over 16 years of injuries.

The large number of injuries to the legs and head are likely due to the fact the legs are used to both deliver forceful strikes, but also defend against leg attacks.

One way that has been recommended to reduce the rate of injury is to decrease the amount of full-contact sparring and replace it with sport-specific interval training [5].

Kickboxing Strength Profile

There is very little research investigating the strength profile of high-level kickboxers. In two studies, elite professional kickboxers of Canada and Portugal displayed peak torque (rotational force) of the quadriceps during knee extension at fast and slow speeds much greater than elite wrestlers and college football players but slightly lower than sprinters and jumpers [2,3].

In regional and national level kickboxers, an average jump height of 39 cm has been found [4]. There seems to be higher than Olympic wrestlers and Judo athletes but on par with BJJ athletes.

Unfortunately, this is all of the current evidence relating to the strength profile of kickboxers. It suggests that kickboxers possess the ability to produce a lot of force quickly with the lower body.

Should Kickboxers Lift Weights?

Kickboxers should lift weights to enhance their kickboxing performance in the ring. Gone are the days where lifting weights was seen as making you slow. When a strength training program is designed with the idea of improving reactive ability and high-velocity strength, you will get faster.

When weight lifting is done with a bodybuilding emphasis, that is where problems start to arise. In fact, chronic bodybuilding style training will indeed make you slower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWZFrde7hSY

Is Kickboxing Considered Strength Training?

Kickboxing itself is not considered strength training. Strength training requires generating high levels of force against external resistance. Kickboxing involves throwing and defending strikes with no external resistance.

Some rulesets may allow for a clinch similar to Muay Thai. While training the clinch can develop strength in the clinch, lifting weights will help you develop general strength that can carry over to the clinch.

Why Do Kickboxers Have Skinny Legs?

Big legs don’t do kickboxers any favors. Bigger legs require more oxygen to fuel performance. Meaning bigger legs will generally fatigue quicker. Further, bigger legs don’t move as fast as skinnier legs when throwing kicks.

Kickboxers also won't spend a lot of weight training volume training the legs. Why? Because a lot of leg volume in the gym will negatively affect kickboxing training through fatigue and soreness.

Kickboxing And Weight Training On The Same Day?

You can perform kickboxing and weight training on the same day. This is a form of consolidating your stressors where you place all of your higher stress activity on one day (e.g. sparring, heavy strength training) and your lower stress activities on your lower day (e.g. technical pads).

By doing this, you have built-in recovery days so you can train at a very high intensity on high days, and recover on your low days but still drill your technical kickboxing.

However, you don’t have to weight train on the same days you have kickboxing. If you are only kickboxing two to three times a week, then you can strength train on your days off.

Weight Training Before Or After Kickboxing?

When you perform your weight training is going to depend on the session itself. The general rule is that kickboxing training is the most important so it should be done first in the day. Strength training should then be done later in the afternoon after at least a 6-hour break.

This isn’t always possible. If you work a full-time job and can only make a class in the evening, you will have to reverse this.

But this is only a general rule. Some weight training sessions are highly beneficial for your kickboxing training. For example, low volume, pure power-based weight training sessions can be done before kickboxing – even immediately before and provide performance-enhancing benefit without lingering fatigue.

Kickboxing Conditioning Profile

Physiological Profile Of A Kickboxer

4 elite level kickboxers from Canada (one was the current ISKA and PKA professional world welterweight champion) had an average VO2max­­ of 62.7 ml.kg-1.min-1 which ranged from 54-69 ml.kg-1.min-1 between all four kickboxers [1].

This would be considered VERY high and similar to the aerobic capacities of elite-level boxers and wrestlers and approaching elite endurance athlete levels.

30-second anaerobic power in these kickboxers averaged 761 W for the lower body and 392 W for the upper body.

Similar values were found in 10 top Portuguese kickboxers showing an average VO2max of 62.5 ml.kg-1.min-1 and lower body anaerobic power of 608 W [2].

These power values are similar to high-level wrestlers.

Conversely, 20 kickboxers from the highest level of K-1 were put through a range of tests which were analyzed against technical and tactical actions during kickboxing matches [3]. They found these athletes had an average VO2max of 47.6 ml.kg-1.min-1 which is much lower than the previous two studies.

This was likely due to the testing procedures where the previous two studies used direct measurement during cycling and running while this study estimated VO2max during a step-up test which may have underestimated it.

What was interesting about this study was that kickboxers with higher VO2max levels had higher indicators of activeness, effectiveness, and efficiency of attacks during combat.

Activeness was defined as the number of registered offensive actions divided by the number of bouts fought.

Effectiveness was defined as the number of effective attacks divided by the number of all attacks. Essentially a percentage of strikes landed. The efficiency of attacks was defined as the number of attacks awarded 1 point divided by the number of bouts.

10 national Turkish national and international kickboxers had VO2max values of 48.5 ml.kg-1.min-1 which was also predicted [4].

These data suggest that both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems must be maximized for high-level kickboxing performance.

Physiological Demands Of Kickboxing

During simulated light contact combat (with slightly longer between round rest times) of Turkish national and international kickboxers, the average heart rate corresponded to 87% of maximum heart rate [4].

This would be considered zone 4 regarding heart rate zones and very, very close to zone 5 which would be the red zone. This percentage of heart rate maximum increased from approximately 84% in the first round to 90% in the third round indicating the increased cardiovascular demands as the fight progresses.

This was also seen in blood lactate concentrations increasing from approximately 6 mmol.L-1 to 12 mmol.L-1 suggesting large contributions from the anaerobic lactic energy system.

Another study in amateur kickboxers participating in simulated kickboxing competition found blood lactate values to increase from approximately 8 mmol.L-1 to 15 mmol.L-1 with heart rate increasing from 141 BPM to 182 BPM [9].

In 8 semi-professional Italian K-1 fighters, blood lactate concentrations reached approximately 15 mmol.L-1 after official competition showing similar increases in anaerobic processes between simulated and official bouts [10].

The researchers state that K-1 fighters need to improve their ability to tolerate lactate accumulation to perform a greater number of attacking and defensive actions.

Blood lactate levels >10 mmol.L-1 are considered highly anaerobic. Overall, we can see that kickboxing elicits high aerobic and anaerobic demands.

Activity Profile Of Kickboxing

In amateur kickboxing, the effort to pause ratio was found to be 1:2 consisting of 6 seconds activity with 12 seconds of preparation and observation [6]. In regional and national level kickboxers from Tunisia, a 1:4 to 1:5 effort to pause ratio was found in simulated combat [7].

When analyzing international kickboxing competitions of different styles (point fighting, light contact, and full contact), Tunisian kickboxers were found to have an effort to pause ratio of 1:4 for point fighting, 1:3 for light contact, and 1:2 for full contact [8].

This was broken down to approximately 2 seconds of high-intensity effort interspersed with the pause period. The greater effort to pause ratio for point fighting rulesets is likely due to the referee stoppages.

Based on these data, full-contact kickboxing requires greater aerobic demands than point-fighting rulesets. However, high levels of aerobic development are needed in all rulesets to optimize recovery between high-intensity efforts and rounds.

Winners vs. Losers: What Dictates Success In Kickboxing

This is always my favorite section in these conditioning breakdowns. Differentiating between winners and losers, or elite and non-elite, provides us with the most important information for success in kickboxing.

It seems regarding physical and physiological variables, no differences are seen between winners and losers meaning both fighters are exposed to similar outputs [4]. 

However, in both simulated and official competition, winning kickboxers used more offensive and defensive actions, and punch combinations compared to losers [4][11].

This increased activity by winners seems to reduce handgrip strength after a fight which may indicate higher neuromuscular fatigue which can’t be tolerated to the same extent in losers [13].

The most effective offensive techniques to win fights by knockout were found to be the hook and roundhouse kick to the head and this was the same between amateur and professional fighters [12].

Being able to throw more offensive and defensive techniques, and tolerate the build-up of lactate while doing so, seems to be the key to kickboxing success.

Kickboxing strength references

1. Zazryn, T. R., Finch, C. F., & McCrory, P. (2003). A 16 year study of injuries to professional kickboxers in the state of Victoria, Australia. British journal of sports medicine, 37(5), 448-451.

2. Zabukovec, Randy, and Peter M. Tiidus. "Physiological and anthropometric profile of elite kickboxers." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 9.4 (1995): 240-242.

3. Silva, P., Silva, M., Duarte, J., Ahmed, A., Tavares, O., Valente-Dos-Santos, J., ... & Coelho-E-Silva, M. J. (2016). Physical, physiological characteristics and sport goal orientation of top Portuguese kickboxing athletes. Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas, 11(2s), 34-35.

4. Ouergui, I., Davis, P., Houcine, N., Marzouki, H., Zaouali, M., Franchini, E., ... & Bouhlel, E. (2016). Hormonal, physiological, and physical performance during simulated kickboxing combat: Differences between winners and losers. International journal of sports physiology and performance, 11(4), 425-431.

5. Buse, G. J., & Santana, J. C. (2008). Conditioning strategies for competitive kickboxing. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 30(4), 42-48.

Kickboxing conditioning references

1. Zabukovec, R., & Tiidus, P. M. (1995). Physiological and anthropometric profile of elite kickboxers. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 9(4), 240-242.

2. Silva, P., Silva, M., Duarte, J., Ahmed, A., Tavares, O., Valente-Dos-Santos, J., ... & Coelho-E-Silva, M. J. (2016). Physical, physiological characteristics and sport goal orientation of top Portuguese kickboxing athletes. Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas, 11(2s), 34-35.

3. Rydzik, Ł., & Ambroży, T. (2021). Physical fitness and the level of technical and tactical training of kickboxers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 3088.

4. Salci, Y. (2015). The metabolic demands and ability to sustain work outputs during kickboxing competitions. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 15(1), 39-52.

5. Slimani, M., Chaabene, H., Miarka, B., Franchini, E., Chamari, K., & Cheour, F. (2017). Kickboxing review: anthropometric, psychophysiological and activity profiles and injury epidemiology. Biology of sport, 34(2), 185.

6. Silva, J. J. R., Del Vecchio, F. B., Picanço, L. M., Takito, M. Y., & Franchini, E. (2011). Time-motion analysis in Muay-Thai and kick-boxing amateur matches. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 6(3), 490-496.

7. Ouergui, I., Davis, P., Houcine, N., Marzouki, H., Zaouali, M., Franchini, E., ... & Bouhlel, E. (2016). Hormonal, physiological, and physical performance during simulated kickboxing combat: Differences between winners and losers. International journal of sports physiology and performance, 11(4), 425-431.

8. Ouergui, I., Benyoussef, A., Houcine, N., Abedelmalek, S., Franchini, E., Gmada, N., ... & Bouassida, A. (2019). Physiological Responses and Time-Motion Analysis of Kickboxing: Differences Between Full Contact, Light Contact, and Point Fighting Contests. Journal of strength and conditioning research.

9. du Système Nerveux, C. H. U. (2013). Anaerobic upper and lower body power measurements and perception of fatigue during a kick boxing match. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 53, 455-60.

10. Cimadoro, G. (2017). Acute neuromuscular, cognitive and physiological responses to a Japanese kickboxing competition in semi-professional fighters. The journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 58(12), 1720-1727.

11. Ouergui, I., Hssin, N., Franchini, E., Gmada, N., & Bouhlel, E. (2013). Technical and tactical analysis of high level kickboxing matches. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 13(2), 294-309.

12. Ambroży, T., Rydzik, Ł., & Kędra, A. (2020). The effectiveness of kickboxing techniques and its relation to fights won by knockout.

13. Tassiopoulos, I., & Nikolaidis, P. T. (2013). Acute effect of official kickboxing game on handgrip muscle strength: winners vs. losers. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 13(2), 266.