Not all of your supplemental training will transfer as directly to Muay Thai performance as others, but it also doesn’t need to. In fact, you’ll run into problems if all your training does.

So what’s the deal, should your training be Muay Thai specific or not?

In part 1 I discussed energy systems conditioning, so you’ve already got a handle on that. But let’s now look at exercise movements themselves.

Training specificity is a continuum, from general to highly specific. There’s a time and a place for all of it, but the trick is to understand what to do and when. It’s also important to understand what exercises and drills help, and which ones hinder your Muay Thai athletic development. Oh yes, some practices do more damage to your Muay Thai than they enhance!

Hindering Progress – When Specificity Hurts You & Your Skill

Using specific exercises at the right time can boost your athletic performance massively. But on the flip side, inappropriate exercise use can lead to problems. Here are a few points to consider, avoiding the pitfalls of training specificity.

Using Muay Thai specific exercises all the time will cause overuse injuries. All that wear and tear from Thai boxing training combined with extra training volume from exercises directly loading the same body tissues in the same way will break you! Trust me, I’ve learned this one personally the hard way.

Choose the right time to apply your Muay Thai specific exercises – when they’ll be like spraying jet-fuel onto a fire that’s already burning. Don’t use them to light the fire in the first place.

Don’t try to overload Muay Thai techniques with extra resistance. You’ll change how you pattern that skill and pollute your hard earned technique. Above all else, quality of movement should remain intact. Overloaded, crappy form is just crappy form. Do it enough and it’s your new (crappy) habit!