The Warm-Up: Strength and Conditioning

A standard Muay Thai fundamentals group warm-up consists of three parts: skipping, workout and partner ab finishers. The warm-up is formatted to prepare beginners for the blue short test, while building on the foundations of senior-level students.

  • FORMAT: 30-60 sec./1 min. per footwork

    Alternate footwork (e.g. regular, single leg, single leg high knee, fast high knees, orthodox/southpaw stance, alternating knees, jacks, switches)

    PURPOSE: Get students warmed-up and build their hand and feet coordination.

  • FORMAT: 30-60 sec./20-30 reps per exercise or weapon combination

    Exercises

    • Stand-Up: Jumping Jacks, Switches, Twists, Lunges, Squats, High Knees, Jump, Fast Feet

    • Ground: Half/Full Sit-ups, Crunches, Side Sit-Up, Plank (High, Low, and Side), Push-Up, Rock Climbers, Duck Walk, Monkey Crawl, Crab Walk, Leg Raises, Flutters, Scissors

    •Hybrid: Burpee, Sprawl

    Combinations

    • Single Weapon: punch, kick, knee, elbow variations

    • Two/Three Hit Weapons: vary in range (long to long, short to short, long to short), in levels (head to body/leg, body to head/leg, leg to head/body) or type (punches + kick, elbows + knee)

    PURPOSE: Build students’ strength, skill and athleticism

  • FORMATS:

    • Exercises: Sit-ups (Half/Full), Crunches (Reverse), Side Sit-Up, Plank (Reverse/Hollow Hold, High, Low, and Side), Push-Up, Rock Climbers, Leg Raises, Flutters, Scissors, Russian Twists, Toe/Shin Touch

    • Work Division: 1 partner active rest + 1 partner active work, or both partners working and resting at the same time

    • Rep/Sets: 50-100 total reps split between 3-5 sets, divided into pyramids

    PURPOSE: Build camaraderie between classmates through shared challenge and support.

HOMEWORK: create a class plan for a full warm-up (45 min. total).

Katrina Velasquez