Hi, this is my first post so I will try to make it short and to the point. I may make a post in the “training log” section that would include a more detailed history and my personal experiments and the result.
I have been weight training consistently for 2 years, training Muay for 16 months. I have trained on and off for the last 15 years but never built up an advanced level of fitness. My concern, and the main focus of this post is that I am at an extremely low level of conditioning and am putting together a plan for improvement as efficiently as possible. I would like to compete in Amateur fights in Muay Thai in 1 to 2 years. My current thinking is almost like a “fight camp” type of schedule in that it starts with high volume of E and lean towards less E and more HIC at the end before restarting the cycle. My understanding is that Muay favors LSS running for endurance and base conditioning especially that the sport is very anaerobic in nature, but requires high amount of endurance. I would do blocks of green protocol (3E), followed by a black with and extra E (2E, 1 HIC), followed by a block of operator black for strength emphasis (2HIC). I would do 3 week blocks, followed by 1 week deload. I would repeat this cycle until I am satisfied with my conditioning level and then would use the TBGP Mike India concept to cycle blocks depending on what attributes need improved. I get fatigued during Muay sessions and usually struggle towards the middle or end of class. During sparring, I fatigue after about 3 rounds at 50% effort, and struggle after a single round at 80% effort. I gas out quickly, but do not lack the muscle endurance to actually perform the techniques. I rarely tire and drop my hands or fail to punch or kick, etc. These types of things make me want to prioritize aerobic development with a little anaerobic work to supplement. At this moment, I am not worried about SE work as I am not an operational or tactical in occupation. Strength is still a priority
I did a standard base building block last year and it did wonderful things for my performance during training. I unfortunately got sick and stopped my conditioning protocols during the Winter season. Since then my conditioning has plummeted so I am starting over from essentially scratch. This is good and bad I think.
During winter I tried progressive calisthenics to try to work to 1 arm pushup, 1 leg squat, etc. I usually did 4 days a week, 30 min sessions followed by 15 to 30 minutes of heavy bag work. I did this at night while also training Muay in the morning 4 mornings per week and did heavy bag work 2 mornings per week. Muay sessions are usually high to very high in intensity. Since my conditioning dropped I am under the impression that sports specific conditioning is absolutely insufficient.
I am currently doing the 8 week strength first base building block with a training max.
MS Cluster: Bench press, squat, deadlift, bodyweight pullups
Barbell SE Cluster: bench press, squat, overhead press, row, lying leg raise
35 years old
Male
170lbs bodyweight
5'8” height
Max:
BP: 165#
SQ: 185#(seems low, want full ROM, ass to floor)
DL: 245#
Pullups: x7
Pushups: 35
bodyweight squat: 50
situps: not 100% sure, around 35
1 mile: not sure
3 mile: 41 minutes comfortably. Probably wouldn't do much faster right now.
This is my current schedule and blocks following would look very similar in structure. This workload is doable for me even with my low level of fitness.
Monday AM: Muay Thai
PM: BJJ
Tuesday AM: Heavy bag/shadowboxing 30mins
PM: Strength
Wednesday AM: Muay Thai
PM: LSS run
Thursday AM: Heavy bag/shadowboxing 30mins
PM: LSS run (or HIC)
Friday AM: Muay Thai
PM: Strength
Saturday AM: Muay Thai, mostly sparring
PM: LSS run (or HIC)
Muay Thai sessions are 90 minutes and typically follow 2 to 3 formats. I count these in my weekly schedule, but not in my S&C plan
10-15m warmup, jog, skip rope, calisthenics / 15m heavy bag drills or shadowboxing/footwork / either 1 hour of pad work and drills or 30-45m padwork and 15-30m sparring
MS cluster: Bench press, Squat, Deadlift(1 work set per week), Pullups – would eventually do weighted pullups
LSS would be running
HIC sessions would probably be BOO, 600m resets, Meat eater II. I may sprinkle in fobbit intervals or sledge drill. Might utilize a fun run, fartlek, or hill runs.
I do not plan on using a training max for MS after the initial base building block.
Strength First Base Building 8 weeks
deload 1 week
Fighter green 3 weeks
deload 1 week
Fighter black pro, extra E (1HIC, 2 E) 3 weeks (BOO as HIC)
deload 1 week
Operator black 3 (2HIC) 3 weeks (600m reset, Meat eater 2 as HIC)
deload 1 week
Fighter green 3 weeks
deload 1 week
Fighter black pro, extra E (1HIC, 2 E) 3 weeks
deload 2 weeks (wedding)
Fighter green 3 weeks
deload 1 week
Operator black 3 weeks
Questions I have:
1: Would this format be an efficient protocol to advance my conditioning specifically for the sport of Muay Thai or would it be a better idea to do something like 6wk green, 3wk black, 6wk green, 3wk black or whatever?
2: Would it be worth starting with 6 week blocks immediately after BB to see what recovery is like and if I would even need frequent deload weeks or not?
3: If I did a 3 week operator black block, would that short time be enough to facilitate an adaptation, or would 6 weeks be suggested? 6Wk green, 6wk black, 6wk green, 6wk black
4: Would I even want to do any black protocol blocks since Muay leans heavy on E for conditioning outside of class and is more HIC during class?
I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to be as detailed as possible.