You walk into the gym. Perform 2-3 of your favorite stretches. Skip rope for couple of minutes with the heavy thai ropes. You shadow box a few rounds then jump straight into class.
Does this sound like you?
The traditional Muay Thai warm-up that many fighters comfortably default to leaves a lot of stones unturned when it comes to getting the most out of your Muay Thai training.
Primo Fightwear, Fight by Science and I have teamed up again to bring you the training solution - a comprehensive 3-phase Muay Thai warm-up based on the RAMP protocol commonly used in strength & conditioning circles.
Our objective was to create a time-efficient, streamlined warm-up that prepares fighters for the training demands of Muay Thai training, drilling and sparring.
This is video shows snippets of each exercises, in each warm-up phase. For details on warm-up duration, read further.
The RAMP Protocol
The RAMP protocol is a principle-based warm-up method to prepare athletes for any training sessions. The acronyms are as follows:
(R)AISE BODY TEMPERATURE
(A)CTIVATE MUSCLES
(M)OBILIZE JOINTS
(P)OTENTIATE TO REACH INTENSITIES SEEN IN THE TRAINING PROGRAM
While there is a lack of data showing that warm-ups reduce the risk of injury, many coaches and athletes understand that by gradually increasing exercise/training intensity, we give our body and mind time to acclimate to the training environment. Anecdotally, fighters perform better mentally and physically following a comprehensive warm-up.
For this Muay Thai warm-up, we’ve separated it into 3 different phases.
Phase 1 - raise temperature & mobilise
The main objective of Phase 1 is to raise the core body temperature and simultaneously mobilise the joints. Exercises and movements in phase 1 are considered lower intensity. We’ve selected exercises in the order of head-to-toe - first warming up the neck as well as eyes, moving on to the shoulders, hips and lower legs.
Phase 2 - Activation
Phase 2 involves exercises that stimluate the muscles involved in striking, clinching and stabilisation. Single leg stabilisation is paramount to kick and kneeing performance in Muay Thai, this is addressed by one of our favorite exercises, the single leg kick outs into hip airplane. The cork screw push ups and mountain climbers develops many of the same shoulder and core muscles used in clinch training.
Phase 3 - Potentiation
Potentiation refers to the excitatory response of the neuromuscular systems following a high-intensity training stimulus. By “waking up” the nervous system prior to training, athletes are expected to show a higher degree of power and reactivity in their padwork, drilling and sparring. In our warm-up, this is addressed by the use of plyometric exercises - progressing from plyo pogo jumps in various stances to a plyo pogo flying knee exercise.
warm-up duration and exercise selection
This RAMP protocol slowly introduces exercise intensity and is a streamlined way to ensure you’re performing at your best within any given training session. Depending on your familiarity with the exercises, each phase should take anywhere from 4-6 minutes to perform. For Phase 1, perform exercises for 20-30 seconds per variation. For Phase 2, perform anywhere from 8-15 repetitions, and lastly for Phase 3, perform 1 set of plyometric pogo jumps in each direction. Aim to finish this RAMP protocol warm-up routine in 15 minutes.
This RAMP Muay Thai warm-up is a blueprint, its open to adjustments and different exercise selection, feel free to add in some of your mobility, core or plyometric exercises - just follow the principles of the RAMP protocol.
Perform this warm-up consisently throughout the training week and you’ll see improvements in your physical and mental readiness during your Muay Thai Kickboxing pad work, drills and sparring.
FREE EBOOK CHAPTER DOWNLOAD
Want to learn more about exercise selection for combat sports?
Chapter 7 of my Strength & Conditioning for combat sports eBook, “The Sport-Specific Trap - Revisiting Dynamic Correspondence for Combat Sports” talks about key concepts to consider when selecting exercises to enhance combat sports performance and some common mistakes coaches make.