The typical muay thai physique is very lean with good muscle tone and a tight waist.
This physique is advantrageous to training and fighting muay thai with unecessary fat burned up through rigorous training and a healthy diet.
Important aspects of a good muay thai physique that are more ‘invisible’ include:
- a strong heart and good endurance
- hard abdominals and a strong core
- good hip, ankle and shoulder mobility and flexibility
- sturdy legs with a strong fighting stance
- supple and powerful muscles
This post will look at how anyone can develop the muay thai physique, why Thai fighters develop the best type of physique for muay thai and how your natural physique (due to genetics) can also influence your muay thai style.
Why Thai Fighters often look really Thin
The typical Thai fighter who is active is very, very lean.
Even to the point of looking a little skinny even.
So how is this physique developed? And is it the best for muay thai?
The main reason Thai fighters and really anyone looks the way they do is amount and intensity of physical movement and diet or caloric intake.
Most pro fighters begin training at a very young age in comprison to muay thai fighters outside of Thailand.
From as young as 3-6 years of age, mostly boys (but some girls also) begin learning at fighting gyms and camps.
1. Very High Volume of Training
By 8-11 years of age muay thai fighters can be training hard twice a day 6 days a week.
The regular training includes a lot of cardio; running, skipping and shadow boxing as well as power training with thai pads and the heavy bag.
Speed and technique is developed also through a lot of light sparring.
Running before a 2 hour training session is very common and the warm up run can be up to an hour.
A shorter run may be done for the second training session but running for 1 hour or more before training – six days a week is quite common.
2. Healthy Diet
Together with a healthy diet of mostly Thai food and done consistently over many months and years – the lean typical muay thai physique is developed.
Many gyms in Thailand are based in very poor provinces and regions where protein is quite expensive. So often healthy carb sources such as rice, noodles, fruit and veg are the focus.
But also the relatively cheap protein resources of eggs and fresh caught fish are also common even in poor regions.
3. Weight Training is Limited
Weight training is not a big focus of muay thai training. You may find dumbells and barbells or weight machines at a lot of Thai gyms – these exercises are often done after training with bodybuilding not the focus but more strength.
The mentality of too much muscle and weight training negatively impacting fight performance and especially endurance and speed – is a major reason why the very lean muay thai pysique if more favoured by most in Thailand.
Weight classes and being your most powerful and strong at the lightest weight you can healthily reach is another reason why many thai fighters look quite skinny as they try to compete against ‘smaller’ opponents who they would be stronger than.
How To Develop the Muay Thai Phyqise
Essentially developing a very lean physique with good muscle tone is probably the goal of most people who are into exercise and fitness. Or who want to lose weight and get in shape.
If you are able to train twice a day si days a week as the Thais do in Thailand you will naturally achieve the muay thai physique.
But training solo at home or 3-5 times a week at a muay thai gym, a typical person can still achieve the muay thai physique – and probably an even more aesethitically pleasing phyqise with a little more muscle size.
We have a few advantages to achieveing an aesthitically pleasing phyqiue than even pro fighters.
1. More Time for Resistance Training to Build and Shape the Physique
By having more time to train and recover from effective ersistance training sessions a non pro Thai fighter who isnt required to train muay thai twice a day, can build more muscle than a trypical Thai fighter.
By including 2-3 resistance training sessions outside of your normal 3-5 muay thai sessions per week you can develop an excellent muay thai phyqisue.
2. Less Running
By not running as much as pro Thai fighters you have more of an opportunity to recover from hard weight training and allow muscle recovery for size and strength.
3. More Protein and Supplements
Those in more affluent nations outside of Thailand probably have greater access to muscle building protein and recovery adding supplements.
These can further help develop a great phyqise for muay thai without having to train like a pro fighter.
Muay Thai Physique Routine
A very simple routine executed consistently with a solid nutrition plan will get you where you want to go intermis of achieving a muay thai phyqisue.
If you are attending regular muay thai training and classes each week then those sessions are probably alreayd plugged into your weekly schedule – keep doing those.
If you are training mostly solo at home focus on getting your training to 5 sessions per week focused on muay thai.
Add in another 2 sessions for resistance training.
| Muay Thai | Strength and Conditioning | |
| MON | AM | PM |
| TUE | PM | |
| WED | AM | |
| THU | AM | |
| FRI | PM | |
| SAT | AM |
What Kind of Specific Program to Follow?
There is a lot of free information out there on good programs to follow for both muay thai solo training and strength and conditioning specifically for muay thai.
As stated if you are training at a gym 3-5 times per week then you are good and can add in 2 S&C sessions per week.
For an excellent muay thai strength and conditioning resources that works together with your hard muay thai training I would definitely check out Don Heatrick at heatrick.com
If you are not training at a gym but mostly with a heavy bag at home or at fitness gym then I would highly recommend the Heavy Bag Blueprint by pro fighter Sean Fagan.
With a 24 week structured heavy bag program that is suitable for beginners and more advance nak muay, the Heavy Bag Blueprint is a great resource to improve your muay thai at home.
