Are you ready to unleash the true potential of your Muay Thai prowess? Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or a budding enthusiast, one thing remains certain – enhancing your strength is the key to unlocking explosive power and dominating the ring.
Improving your strength will contribute to your explosiveness, punching power, and fighting skills. Therefore, working on your strength and improving it is a worthwhile goal to aim for in Muay Thai. In fact, all professional Muay Thai fighters work on their strength to become better, more capable, fighters.
So here we are; you want to improve your strength through training and I’m here to list out the best exercises you want to focus on. You’re definitely at the right place if that’s your goal, as we’ll begin by listing the absolute best, most beneficial, strength exercises for Muay Thai.
By implementing and performing them, you’ll boost your fighting skills through power, speed, and explosiveness. I’ve made sure that all the movements in this article are also suitable for improving explosiveness, as that’s a key factor in how capable of a fighter you’ll be.
So without further ado, let’s dive in!
#1 – Squat
The first exercise we’ll review is the squat. Many others and myself like to refer to it as the mother of all exercises, which is why it’s listed as #1. You’ll see who is the father of all exercises in the next section. Anyways, I’ll assume you’re familiar with how a squat looks, as it’s one of the most popular strengthening exercises on the globe.
Squats are a fundamental compound exercise that targets your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and core. They improve lower body strength, which is crucial for generating powerful kicks and stability during movement.
There are quite a few ways you can go wrong with the squats. Any, they can be quite harmful if you end up making them, so it’ll be worth it to take more time into honing your technique.
In Muay Thai, perfecting your technique before adding power and speed—will determine your growth as a fighter. The same applies here. Before you begin adding weight, you must perfect your technique. This means that regardless of how comfortable and confident you feel with squatting unless you’ve performed this exercise before, my recommendation is to start with just body weight. Although not ideal for strength, it’s an excellent way to begin.
I injured myself a few years back by squatting with improper technique. That’s why I’ll remind you to work on your technique and perfect it before you consider adding weight.
According to one study, the squat is an ideal exercise to strengthen your entire leg, as one large muscle group. You won’t be able to achieve that with almost any other exercise, so I want you to deepen your appreciation for this flawless exercise.
The squat is an ideal exercise to strengthen the entire lower limb for both sporting and ADLs. For example, increased squatting strength is strongly linked to sports performance.
SOURCE
#2 – Deadlift
As squats are the mother of all exercises, the deadlift is the husband. You can gain so much strength in your entire body just by squatting and deadlifting. However, it’s, of course, not going to provide a full-body workout, which is what we’ll discuss in the following section.
Deadlifts primarily work on your posterior chain, including your hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and grip strength. A strong posterior chain is essential for powerful punches and maintaining balance during clinches
Deadlifts also strengthen your legs and core, which will definitely help you generate more power with your punches. You’ll notice how you’re suddenly more capable of generating more force and inflicting more damage with a stronger body.
Similar to the squat, you can make many mistakes along the way with your form. And again, they’ll be severely harmful to your health. So make sure to watch the following video, as it explains most of the severe detriments that can go wrong, which will help you avoid them in the future.
#3 – Bench Press
The next exercise we’ll review is the bench press, which is one of the best for the chest, triceps, and shoulders. It’s the primary exercise I do whenever I’m targeting my chest. In fact, I love it so much that I do more than six sets of it, which I know is too much, but I’ve found it to be the most beneficial.
The bench press targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps, enhancing upper body strength for stronger punches and guard stability.
If you want to learn tips that’ll improve your punching power in Muay Thai, follow this link. Implementing even just a few of them will guarantee growth and stronger punches over time.
Like the squat and deadlift, you must be careful when bench pressing. You’ll be more likely to hurt yourself if you don’t focus on proper technique at first. I’m not suggesting you keep a low weight until the end of time. But, what I am suggesting is that you start slowly, which is a rule of thumb for Muay Thai as well.
What is a bench press good for? Bench presses can be used to increase strength, improve endurance, and tone the muscles of the upper body, including the chest, arms, and shoulders.
SOURCE
Regardless, it’s one of the most effective exercises for Muay Thai, as it’ll help you increase your strength and get a stronger, more capable body.
#4 – Weighted Pull-Ups
The 4th exercise we’ll review is the weighted pull-up. It’s one of the most effective strength exercises that you can do regardless if you’re a fighter or just want to improve your strength. It’s suitable for Muay Thai because it allows you to improve your overall strength and explosiveness.
Bodyweight exercises are fantastic in any shape or form, whether it’s to your strength or your explosiveness and speed. When you add weight on weight, they’ll be much more beneficial to your strength, as your body is now under more stress, which is what you want for growth.
Weighted Pull-Ups are effective for strengthening your back, biceps, and grip. A strong back is crucial for maintaining proper posture and generating power in strikes. Adding weight on top of your body weight is going to benefit you that much more, especially if you’re capable of performing a few with added weight.
Overall, if you can’t pull this one off with weight, start clean and add weight once you’re stronger. I guarantee that if you do pull-ups whenever you’re doing strength training, you’ll be able to improve them over time. That I can guarantee.
#5 – Overhead Press
The fifth exercise we’ll review is the overhead press. This is the ultimate exercise for shoulders, as it targets the entire muscle group, which is ideal for growth. So, like all the exercises we’ve reviewed thus far, it’s a compound movement, which is, once again, ideal for growth.
The overhead press targets the shoulders and triceps, improving your ability to throw powerful elbows and maintain a strong guard. Having stronger shoulders will also assist in developing your punching power, which is something you want to know, as that’ll make you more likely to do the actual exercise itself.
Overhead pressing can increase:
- strength and size of the shoulder muscles.
- strength and size of the triceps muscles.
- strength and size of the trapezius muscle.
- strength in the core muscles, such as your obliques, transverse abdominal muscles, lower back, and spinal stabilizers, when performing the exercise while standing.
These are all fantastic for Muay Thai or any other martial art you’re currently doing.
#6 – Push-Ups
The next exercise we’ll review is push-ups. In this case, you’re 100% familiar with what it is and what it looks like, so let’s skip ahead to the juicy details.
Push-ups are a fantastic bodyweight exercise that targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Building strength in these muscles improves your ability to throw powerful punches and maintain a strong guard during training and fights.
Push-ups also improve your explosiveness, particularly when you do them quickly. So when you lower your body with your arms to do the actual push-up, you want to raise your body quickly and explosively. This will, indirectly, influence your explosiveness and power in Muay Thai.
Here’s how to do a push-up correctly:
I did write an entire article to guard types in Muay Thai and how each one benefits you, so make sure to read it if you want to learn more about guards and how to utilize them flawlessly.
Men who could do 40 push-ups had a significantly lower risk of heart problems over the next 10 years than those who could only do 10 push-ups or fewer.
SOURCE
#7 – Kettlebell Swings
The next exercise we’ll review is kettle swing. I’ll be honest, I didn’t initially include this one in my list. Nonetheless, once I thought about it for a few more seconds, I was able to come to the conclusion that this is the perfect exercise for Muay Thai, to increase power, explosiveness, and speed.
Kettlebell swings are excellent for developing explosive hip power, which translates well into Muay Thai movements like knees and teeps. It also translates well to any Muay Thai strike, including the:
- jab
- overhand punch
- hook
- uppercut
- roundhouse kick
- switch kick
- low kick
- cross
- diagonal kick
- spinning kick
- spinning elbow
- knee strike
- teep
- straight elbow
So yes, increasing your hip explosiveness and power will definitely benefit you in Muay Thai, especially if you’re looking to increase your punching and kicking power.
If you want to improve your kicking power in Muay Thai, follow the link. The link leads to an article that’ll provide you with a step-by-step guide to doing so, including drills and tips to improve it quicker.
You can do this exercise anywhere if you have a kettlebell. I encourage you to buy one for your home for easy access, which is one of the best things you can do to work out more often. Follow this link to see the latest deals on Amazon for the kettlebell I currently own, which is the one I encourage you to get!
#8 – Box Jumps
The next exercise also translates well into Muay Thai, and all martial arts out there, whether you do Taekwondo, Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing, MMA, or Kung fu, and these are just from the top of my head.
Box jumps are an excellent plyometric exercise that improves lower body power, explosiveness, and agility. They simulate the explosive movements required for jumping knees and quick footwork in Muay Thai.
Indeed, the best Muay Thai exercises are those that translate well into the fighting world. For instance, when you do kettlebell swings, you’re working on your ability to generate momentum and power with your hips. Likewise, when you do box jumps, you’re working on your footwork and on your hip explosiveness, which is more than critical to your overall fighting skills.
To learn more about drills to help you improve your Muay Thai footwork (these are the best to optimize your progression), follow the link.
Anyways, box jumps are awesome for improving your leg strength and power, which will translate both to punching and kicking. Your legs drive most of the force for all your strikes, including your elbows, knees, punches, and kicks.
So both squats and box jumps are important to Muay Thai and all other martial arts.
#9 – Battle Ropes
Next up on our list are the battle ropes. You probably have seen many people use them to increase their cardiovascular shape, which is one of the benefits. However, what they mostly do is work on your entire body, which is crazy good. It also develops a solid level of explosiveness with that, which is fantastic.
Battle ropes work on your shoulders, arms, and core. They help improve endurance, grip strength, and overall conditioning, which can benefit your performance during long rounds of sparring and clinch work.
Like them or not, they’ll make you suffer and do it regardless of your current physical shape, whether you’re jacked, muscular, or in elite cardiovascular shape, you’ll find these very difficult to keep up with.
They improve your overall strength and explosiveness, which is something that’s critical for Muay Thai. How would you feel if you could punch and kick harder while being faster? That’s something the battle ropes will give you.
#10 – Lunges
The last exercise we’ll review is lunges, which target the legs. And once again, when you understand that your legs drive most of the force in ALL your strikes, including the ones you think they don’t, you’ll be eager to train them more often.
There’s this repeating joke about skipping leg days, as they’re the hardest workout out of all the muscle groups. Do you know why leg days are the hardest? Because the legs are a massive portion of your body, which you use when you isolate and work them out. Therefore, it’s going to be much harder, leading to more calories burned and stronger legs.
Lunges primarily target the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, which are essential muscle groups for generating power in kicks and providing stability during movements like roundhouse kicks and teeps.
Final Words
These are the best exercises you want to incorporate into your weekly training routine. If you take something away from this article it is that even if you only add a single exercise from this list and start doing it, then I achieved my aim with this article, which was to open your mind to new options that can make you a much better and stronger fighter.
So I wish you all the best in your journey—and remember—Rome wasn’t built in a day and so your fighting skills will take time to develop. Make sure to stay consistent and keep up with your training schedule, and I guarantee—yes, I guarantee that you’ll see results.
Here are other articles you’d benefit from reading if this article was of interest to you:
Will Boxing Give You Abs? 6 Boxing Exercises for Abs
5 Muay Thai Heavy Bag Drills That’ll Boost Your Fighting Skills
Is Muay Thai and Kickboxing the Same?
How to Catch Kicks in Muay Thai – It’s Actually Simple!
Muay Thai Basic Head Movement – Techniques, Drills, and Tips