Using Muay Thai As a Workout

Muay Thai, literally Thai Boxing is a form of hard martial arts practiced in several Southeast Asian countries including Thailand. Muay Thai has a long history in Thailand and is the country's national sport. Traditional Muay Thai practised today varies significantly from the ancient art Muay Boran and uses kicks and punches in a ring with gloves similar to those used in Western boxing, training is specialised for fighting in the ring under rules prior to fights, however many gyms still practise techniques illegal in the ring. This shows the relationship between muay thai as a martial art and muay thai as a sport. Muay Thai is referred to as "The Science of Eight Limbs", as the hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art. A practitioner of Muay Thai thus has the ability to execute strikes using eight "points of contact," as opposed to "two points" (2 hands) in Western boxing and "four points" (hand and feet) used in the other sport-oriented forms of martial arts.

Using muay thai as a workout is a great way to get your body into shape and lose a little bit of weight. Muay Thai is a very intense workout and allows you to burn a lot of calories in a short period of time. This workout is good for anyone since you can start slow and work your way up as you get into better shape.

A typical Muay Thai workout usually includes a warm-up, some form resistance training, a base workout, and a cool down. Newcomers can begin with less resistance training and easier base workouts. The base workout usually consists of shadow boxing, pad strikes, and maybe even some sparring. The sparring is usually for more advanced martial artists.