Here at Fiji Muay Thai, self learning and training solo at home is the main focus – so its natural that setting up a muay thai home gym would become necessary.
The bare essentials for muay thai home training equipment covered in this article and really only consist of:
- i) a heavy bag (I recommend the 6ft Thai or Banana Bag)
- ii) a skipping rope
- iii) adequate space to train
But the bonus items covered later in this post can really help improve your solo home training.
Absolute Essentials for a Muay Thai Home Gym
The most essential muay thai home training equipment pieces really are just a heavy bag and some space to move around.
With a heavy bag alone you can make excellent progress training from home.
You can even turn yourself into a formidable fighter with a lot of focus and dedication and just bare minimum equipment.
Then, when you are confident enough to join a gym, essential muay thai gear such as gloves and shin guards would be recommended.
1. Heavy Bag
A good heavy bag is crucial to muay thai training especially training from home where you may mostly be training solo.
In this case the heavy bag is your most important training partner.
The heavy bag will always be there and can take a beating and never quit or let you down as a training partner.
So what is the best type of heavy bag and how to get good value for money for a heavy bag?
Training solo from home a lot – in my opinion the 6ft ‘Thai bag’ or ‘banana bag’ is a great option.
I got mine off Amazon unfilled which was much cheaper and filled it myself with old clothes and rags.
And it’s still going strong 8 years later. (See pic below)
The main reason being this bag is the only bag that will allow you to train low kicks effectively – solo at home.
The ‘Teardrop bag’ is excellent for training the clinch and especially for knees (but this can also be achieved with the 6 foot ‘Thai bag’).
The ‘standard’ heavy bag used commonly in Western boxing and acorss all muay thai gyms is another great option for your muay thai home gym.
These bags are usually 4 feet and weight 50-60 pounds.
However training your low kicks cannot be done with the same effectiveness training solo with a standard bag either.
Heavy Bag for Home – Cheapest options:
i) You can buy ‘unfilled’ bags online and pack and fill them yourself
This will save you a good chunk of money.
This is what I did with my Thai bag I ordered off Amazon back in 2014.
NB* packing a 6 feet bag takes time and a lot of material. Use old clothes, rags, rubber bits and the like.
ii) Make your own heavy bag from sacks
There are many videos online about how to make your own heavy bag.
You could use old rice, flour or potato sacks – a lot of supermarkets/bakeries give these sacks away for free to get rid of them.
iii) Make your own ‘heavy bag’ from old tires
Tire bags are pretty common in Thailand.
They are cheaper than buying ready made bags but are tough and good value for someone on a tight budget.
2. Skipping Rope
I prefer the thicker Thai style PVC skipping ropes.
These are the standard at gyms in Thailand.
But really any skipping rope is a essential piece for any muay thai home gym.
Though they are cheap, skipping really provides a lot of benefits for cardio, footwork, shoulder, wrist, forearm and calf strength.
The thicker muay thai skipping ropes are heavier so you wont be developing Floyd Mayweather type tricks using them.
But for anyone interested in training like the Thai’s then the thicker muay thai rope is a great option.
You could even have a couple of ropes.
One the thicker thai rope and the other a lighter speed rope.
3. Space to Move
Space to move around and workout and a heavy bag are probably the two most important and basic elements of a home muay thai gym that you would need to get started.
Being able to move around the heavy bag (i.e 360 degree access) is nice to have but not absolutely necessary.
Having front access to the bag to strike and about 3-4 feet to the flanks and to your rear would be sufficient to train effectively all of your muay thai techniques.
Setting up your ‘space’
The simplest option would be to hang a bag under a tree outside in your garden area where you would have a bit more space to move around freely.
Space is crucial to get your shadowboxing in, skipping and of course bag work.
However rain and bad weather could affect your training sometimes with an outdoor gym.
A ‘garage setup’ is ideal for most people.
A covered area with space for a vehicle to park is great for a muay thai home gym setup.
However you would need strong beams in order to hang your heavy bag up – or consider purchasing a ‘free standing’ bag which can be more expensive.
Check out my review of the best ‘free standing bags’ for striking.
It is also advisable, if you can afford it – to have some mats or some kind of padded surface to train on.
I like the ‘puzzle mats’ you can piece together which are easy to stack and put away after using.
Many people train on concrete and wear shoes which is also fine to do.
In Thailand many gyms lay down carpet to train on – but these can get dirty over time.
Mats are easier to clean after a training session in your home muay thai gym.
4. Strength & Conditioning
Strength and conditioning are major parts of muay thai training and should definitely be considered when setting up your home muay thai gym.
Sticking with the essentials you can get into excellent shape with minimum equipment.
Running, skipping, pushups, body weight squats and many many other body weight exercises are really all you need for your home training.
These can be performed in the ‘space’ you have set up for your home gym.
Pushups, squats or situps can be done at the end of rounds (as they do in Thailand i.e 10 pushups at the end of each round or shadow or bag work).
At the end of your technique and skill training you can add in burpees, squats, sit ups, pushups and pull ups if you have a bar or tree you can pull up off of.
For strength and conditioning in your home muay thai gym – space really is the major factor.
5. Extra Muay Thai Home Training Equipment Items
The bare essentials have been covered above and really only consist of:
- i) a heavy bag (I recommend the 6ft Thai or Banana Bag)
- ii) adequate space to move
However there are some bonus items that will definitely make your muay thai home gym more fun to use and that will keep your training fresh and interesting.
This is crucial when training solo a lot to keep your training fresh and keep you motivated.
Bonus Items for your Home Muay Thai gym:
1.Slip line
Great for drilling slipping punches, footwork and head movement.
All you really need is a thin rope i.e. clothes line and your imagination or slip line drills off YouTube.
2.Double-end bag
Relatively cheap and light and not requiring too much space.
The double-end bag is a great addition to your home gym to allow to work on punching a small target that move around a lot.
Accuracy is key with this smaller bag.
Muay Thai Home Training Equipment – Conclusion
Here I have tried to get across the point that a muay thai home gym can be as simple or complex as you like.
With the bare minimum muay thai home training equipment set up of just a heavy bag and some space to move around you can get in very effective and intense training on your own from home.
I would suggest a 6 foot Thai bag so you can train low kicks.
But there are many options in bags and you can even make your own to save money.
You can also buy unfilled bags and pack and fill them yourself to save money.
Some mats or a padded surface for training is nice to have but not absolutely essential either.
Space is essential and having space for a heavy bag and a few feet to move around your bag is crucial for effective training.
This space you set up will also serve you for muay thai strength and conditioning before/after training or on seperate days from your muay thai training.
The bonus home gym items of a slip line and double end bag are fairly ‘light’ additions but can keep your training fresh and fun well into your training journey.
