Muay Thai Workout From Home – How to Survive the Quarantine

In the past month, businesses around the world have closed down due to the coronavirus. With most local governments doing everything possible to promote social distancing, training at a gym is nearly impossible.

Even though you might not have access to a pad holder, heavy bag or even training equipment, there is no reason why you can’t keep up your training while you are in lockdown. The only thing you need for a good Muay Thai workout is enough space to throw kicks and ideally a mirror so you can see see your technique.

The living room usually is the best place to set up a home gym because you can move the couch around and try to create a training area. Additionally, you can order training mats online that will give you cushioning so you have the same padded area when you are moving around.

In addition to floor mats and a mirror, you can also order a pull-up bar from Amazon.com that will fit on your door frame. This will give you the ability to mix in some strength training exercises into your routine so you stay strong while training at home.

This training routine does not include heavy bag workouts because most people don’t have access to a heavy bag. If you do have a heavy bag, you can add a whole set of workouts to incorporate that training into your routine.

A Basic Muay Thai Workout at Home

#1. Running/Skipping Schedule (5-10 km)

The first thing you need to do when training at home is start your training off with a run. Most cities around the world allow their citizens to go outdoors and do some form of physical activity.

To stay in shape during the quarantine, you need to start your workout off with a 30-60 minute run. If you are not able to run, you can replace running with skipping. The purpose of this cardio workout is to maintain your level of fitness or even improve it.

If you don’t have a skipping rope at home and can’t order one from Amazon.com, you can do jumping jacks in place of skipping. This workout focuses on building your endurance over 30-60 minutes of low intensity cardio. That improved cardio will help your recovery time between rounds and increase your energy systems.

#2. Stretching Dynamic (15 minutes)

After you complete your run the next step is stretching. Stretching will help you loosen your muscles and warm them up so you do not suffer any injuries when you train. Stretching is by far the most effective way to prevent injuries in Muay Thai.

Your stretching routine should be a complete body stretch, starting with the neck and upper body and ending with your calves. You can look up a basic stretching routine on YouTube or you can do what works for you.

Dynamic stretching is the best type of stretching to do before you are about to work out. Dynamic stretching is used to improve mobility often through active stretching that is similar to the movements you do in Muay Thai.

Exercises like leg swings, knee raises, walking kicks and arm swings are all forms of stretching that require movement that can help loosen the muscles.

Here is a good video that showcases 21 dynamic stretching exercises that you can use for your stretching routine.

#3. Shadow Boxing (20 minutes)

Once you are finished stretching and feel loose, you can then work on shadow boxing in front of a mirror. Shadow boxing is where you are going to work on improving different aspects of your game. From your offense to defense, good shadow boxing incorporates all aspects of your Muay Thai.

The key to shadow boxing is start of simple and slowly add different elements into your shadow box. Start off with the basics like your footwork, balance, and rhythm, and slowly add more techniques are you become more comfortable.

Shadow boxing is an excellent way to work on new techniques that you might want to use in sparring and also refresh old techniques that you might not use often. Have fun when you shadow box, and remember it is your moment to learn and incorporate different aspects in your game.

#4. Muay Thai Drills

While you might not have a heavy bag or a pad holder at home, you can still work on drills while you are stuck in self quarantine.

Walking drills are good for developing technique and building endurance. These drills require a little bit of space, so if you are working out in a small area you might need to modify the drills so you can fit in the space.

The knee walking drill is a basic drill that requires you to throw left and right knees as you step forward. You will continue to throw knees for 1 minute, then break for 20 seconds and repeat for 6 rounds. After you have finished the knee drill then you can do the teep drill. This is the same drill except you throw left and right teeps.

After you have finished your knees and teeps, you can work on defensive drills. These drills require you to work on your kick defense in front of a mirror by raising up your legs to check. Make sure you raise the leg high enough and you will be tired after a few rounds.

Movement Drills

In addition to your knees and teeps, you can also do movement drills at home. If you need to, you can put down some tape on the ground and practice walking forward, backward and to the side in front of a mirror.

Movement is an important aspect of Muay Thai and you need to work on it. It is important to remember that your Muay Thai rhythm and pace are incorporated into your movement drills. As you move around the mat, focus on staying balanced and trying to keep a steady rhythm.

Good balance will allow you to block and attack when there is an opening on your opponent.

#5. Strength Training Exercises

Once you are finished with the last Muay Thai drill now it is time to get your final workout in. Download a Tabata app and choose 8 exercises to do 4 minutes each. These exercises are going to burn you, but they will ensure that you stay strong during the quarantine.

What is a Tabata workout? Tabata is a system of training that involves doing 20 seconds of exercise, following by 10 seconds of rest. This process is repeated for 4 minutes on a single exercise. So if you are doing squats, you would squat for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, squat again, rest, squat, and rest until the 4 minutes is up. After that, you would move on to your second exercise and repeat the process.

Here is an example Tabata Workout to use:

1. Jumping Jacks ( Use variations to increase difficulty)
2. Jumping Squats
3. Leg Raises (abs)
4. Pushups (Variations to increase difficulty)
5. Lunges
6. Pull Ups
7. Burpees
8. Plank

The total amount of time for this workout would be 32 minutes, including the rests. Each exercises is 4 minutes and you will find the last few rounds of each exercise will burn you out.

This is a great way to finish your training.

Final Thoughts.

Just because you are locked inside your home, doesn’t mean you can’t stay in shape while you wait for the coronvirus pandemic to subside. Staying inside and working out at home, will help drastically reduce the spread of the virus and allow you to stay in shape while things get better.

By following this workout, you will be able to maintain your fitness and improve your technique without going to the gym. This is going to give you a big head start when things start resetting and the gyms open up again.

Good luck.