Tiger Muay Thai, Phuket

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Chinese New Year in Hong Kong means a nice long holiday, so this year I headed off to Thailand for my break...for most people this would sound nice and relaxing...however, my holiday was slightly alternative! I spent five days in Phuket at a Muay Thai training camp and it was awesome. Read on for the details!

I went with a fellow gym-nut and very good friend of mine who was just as keen to get some sunshine and a good workout somewhere alternative. We arrived late at night and threw ourselves into training the next day!

Day one at Tiger Muay Thai training camp: Body fit, MMA, Western boxing.

We arrived at around 7.45am and paid our fee for the day of 550 baht. Then we joined the "body fit" class at 8am which was run by a fitness trainer from Vancouver named Ocean. It was a circuits style class designed to improve fitness levels. We had one minute for each exercise and there were eight in total. Then we had to sprint to the end of the road and back and recorded our times. Next round of circuits and a run around the camp, and the final round of circuits before the final run round the camp and a cool down. We recorded our times and number of repetitions on a sheet of paper, the idea being if you were there for longer you could log your progress. It was a great way to start the day.

Straight from Body fit, we joined the MMA (mixed martial arts) class, imagining it would be a combination of karate, tae kwondo, muay thai, boxing etc, but it actually turned out to be heavily BJJ (Brazillian Jiu jitsu) based, which if you are familiar with the sport, involves a lot of rolling around on the floor. Being the newcomers, we got paired up with a couple of guys who knew what they were doing and very quickly found ourselves on top, underneath and basically all over each other - an interesting introduction! We decided it wasn't our forte, but hey we tried it!

After the two hour MMA class, we refuelled at the on-site cafe, and then it was time to relax! Quick shower in our bungalow down the road and we took a taxi to Chalong beach which admittedly isn't the nicest beach, but it was fine for our purpose of a bit of sun. We headed back to camp for the final class of the day, "western boxing" from 4-6.30pm. After a long warm up we began to practice short combinations in pairs and before each short break, we did ten push ups. After these drills, we split into groups and I was working with the trainer on the pads. The round after that, I was working on the punching bag, before heading into the real boxing ring for 'sparring'. Then at the end the challenge was three hundered sit-ups and one hundred push-ups. Hard enough, but then mid-sit ups, the trainer sitting next to me bashed my stomach with a boxing glove repeatedly! I'm not sure this method will take off in my gym at home! Certainly made me tense my abs though!

After an exciting and tiring first day, we relaxed and enjoyed dinner at Tony's restaurant nearby and went for a stroll to the small mart nearby. Very happy to climb into bed, ready to it all again tomorrow!



Day two - Yoga, Big Buddha run, private session, Muay Thai.
Day two began with 6.30am yoga, which is on every morning with Ocean. Body fit on Tuesday was the "Big Buddha run". Not being a runner I was unsure about this one, but went for it anyway...turned out not to be exactly a run after all....We got the bus to the base of the big Buddha hill, thinking we were going to run up it. However when we got there...we were given a pair of gloves...(confused), and then we had to get into teams of four and each team had a tyre on a rope...Yes...we had to drag this tyre up to the top in our teams. Along the way there were yellow flags at varying intervals, at which we all had to do ten push-ups and then swap the person holding the tyre. It was a challenge that's for sure!! It was great though, with views of the ocean and elephant farms along the way, good team work, new friends, sunshine and fresh air.

At the top there were monkeys hanging around - a complete outdoor workout! Once we had dragged this heavy tyre up the hill - which took about an hour and a half, we then had to do circuits at the top.


• Five sets of 10 high knees and 10 mountain climbers
• 5 sets of 10 knee lifts on the bench - each leg.
• 20 tricep dips
• 5 sets of ten squats with the tyre
• Lunges down the car park and back.



We did this circuit twice before taking the bus back to camp. After a tough morning we headed to the beautiful Kata beach - a fifteen minute taxi away. Amazing way to relax after a workout - sunshine, lunch and a swim in the ocean!

Back to camp for a private boxing lesson for an hour and then Muay Thai boxing 4-7pm. The general pattern of the Muay Thai classes was like this:


• 30 mins running drills to warm up
• Technique
• Combos
• Pad work - 3 rounds
• Sparring - 3 rounds
• Bag work - 3 rounds
• Run round camp (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
• 300 sit ups and 100 push ups


The Muay Thai class also involves the bashing stomach technique! During sit-ups, the trainers come around with a 7kg medicine ball or boxing pad and drop it/bash onto your stomach ten times so that you tense your stomach muscles.

Phew! We headed straight to Tony's for dinner! In the evening we took a taxi to Patong town to have a look around. It was basically just shops, bars, music and loads of people, as well as "special" shows being offered everywhere and people trying to get you into their bar.

Day three - Yoga, and double Muay Thai.

Yoga at 6.30 and then Muay Thai 7.30-10.30am. The pattern was similar but today there was no running around the camp - instead we had to do 200 running man knees into the bag, 100 kicks on the bag, and push up the bag above our heads as we leaned into it, for one minute (these bags are very heavy!)

Again we went to Kata beach and had lunch by the sea. I wish I could lay on the beach and swim in the sea after every time I exercise! Back to Tiger Muay Thai for training 3.30-6.30pm. Our main trainer was called Dong and he was tough. He yelled the orders and you pretty much did what he said! He said on Tuesdays and Fridays "have stick" and sure enough he did....you didn't want to go putting your heels down on the high knees! He was a tough trainer but good at what he did and there is no doubt you would get into shape and improve your Muay Thai by being at Tiger Muay Thai. The great thing was, there were options. If you were not interested in boxing at all, there was the yoga, body fit, spinning, crossfit and weights training as well.



Day four - Yoga, Beach body fit and Muay Thai.
6.30am yoga class, with gecko on the ceiling and a frog hopping along the edge of the room - a cool reminder that we were in Thailand! By the time class had finished the sun had risen. Time to grab a bite to eat before 8am body fit class. This morning it was "beach body fit".

We piled in the bus with tyres in the rear, and were handed gloves once again! We went to a view point which is usually a stop on the guided tour of Phuket because there was a nice view of the ocean. However, we were there not only for a nice view but also for the stairs leading up to it! Our warm up was going up and down the stairs five times, sideways and double steps. Then came the biggest challenge.. Climbing the stairs backwards....on our hands. Yes, I had my legs up on the steps and my hands two steps below and I had to get all the way to the top of the slope which was at the end of the two sets of stairs (four circuits). It was really really tough! It was certainly a mental and physical challenge.

One that was over, we split into teams of three and each team took a tyre. We had a relay system going up and down in our teams and each time we got to the bottom or top of the stairs we had to do squats with the tyre above our heads, starting at ten, all the way down to one.

Workout not yet over, we walked around the corner to the top of the road...the long road downhill to the beach. The path curved down to sea level, and in our teams we had to drag the tyre down to the bottom. Once there, twenty burpees and thirty mountain climbers before dragging the tyre back up, stopping halfway for twenty push-ups. Once we had been down and up the road twice, our work was done! Phew!

It was a beautiful place to work out, looking over the ocean towards the beach on a sunny day. I wish I could have taken photos but i was a little bit preoccupied and was carrying a tyre rather than a camera!

"Don't limit your challenges...challenge your limits" was the inspirational quote of the day from our trainer! They certainly were challenged.

The reward at the end was sweet. All of us sweaty beings piled into the van and drove the short distance to the beach which had been teasing us as we had been working out. Straight off the bus and into the clear blue ocean under the sunshine, just perfect and the most deserved ocean swim! It was so nice to share the experience with people from all over the world, all with common goals and common interests. There is something special about teamwork between strangers and the motivating words of others whom you have never met before, yet cheer you on as you do push ups on the side of a steep road in Thailand. We enjoyed relaxing in the ocean, and the taste of the sweet BBQ chicken that the lady at the beach was cooking, or the fresh sliced fruit. We took a bus back to Tiger Muay Thai together after a fantastic and challenging morning.

Once again we took a taxi to Kata beach together for our last afternoon in the sun. We soaked up some rays and had a delicious Thai lunch down at the seaside. The sun was so strong and hot, but there was a nice breeze down by the sea and it was the perfect tropical weather. A short taxi ride later and we were back in Chalong ready for out next round of training! We both had private muay Thai sessions at 2.30pm. This was a fantastic way to improve technique and fitness at the same time, and it was great fun. Our trainers enjoyed working with us too. My trainer was really helpful and was able to push me to work hard, and he was so good at knowing my weaknesses, and could tweak the small details of my technique. He was excellent and I learnt so much from him. After our private lesson, we had about twenty minutes to rest before the group lesson began! There is a cafe on site if you need to buy food/protein or a drink.

Training over and we all shook hands and our trainer warned us "tomorrow have stick!" If you arrive late for class, Dang will make you do push ups, or if you don't follow the instructions he will make you do push ups. It's no simple training and there is no skiving which is great because people really do get results. At every class, everyone has to stand up and introduce themselves, saying where they are from and how long they are there for. The more classes we attended, the more we enjoyed it as we got to know the trainers and them - us. After an epic day and a full on afternoon of training, we headed straight to dinner at Tony's and refuelled. Time for a massage! We found a place close by and had a one hour full body massage which was amazing! By the end of it we were both completely zoned out!



Day five - Private Muay Thai & Muay Thai class.
Our final day at camp and our bodies were really feeling it now because we had gone all out for the last four days, fitting in as many classes as we could. Our private training had been so good the day before that we booked one more session at 6.30am. Straight out of bed and into the boxing was a challenge, but once again it was a really good session with lots of punches thrown and sit-ups and kicks. A quick rest and the final Muay Thai class of our trip from 7.30 to 10.30. Our trainers really pushed us, and made us work very hard which was great. I would have loved to stay for longer!

We were sad that was our last session and felt like we had achieved a lot in a short space of time. We had worked on our techniques and general fitness as well. In a short space of time, we had packed so much in and enjoyed it all in such a good atmosphere with like minded class mates and teachers who pushed our limits.

JHG

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Comments

[Muay Thai Phuket]

http://www.sumaleeboxinggym.com/
Hey! Your post is just awesome.I really liked it very much.I am looking forward for more post of yours.

[JHG]

Thanks!
Thanks for your kind comments!