The warm air of the Philippines is much more forgiving and I had almost forgot what if felt to “get hurt” but the rigors of training whether here or in the tropics are always real and we must always be aware of the conditions of our bodies before we take to all of our tasks.
A strain may seem like a small nuisance but the danger of such a small turning into a serious injury is very real. In my own personal training I tweaked my knee; it was nothing that wouldn’t heal with proper recovery; but it would take same time before I could safely began to train with my regular routine.
Recovery is essential in muay thai and other martial arts. But so is not letting ourselves become weak during our recovery training. So in the mists of allowing my knee to recovery fully I made a variation to my training that would keep my body strong without making the strain worst.
Here some of those variations:
Walk don’t run:
I replaced my usual 30 minute run with a 1 hour walk; this keeps the blood flowing, reduces recovery time, and keeps your heart strong. If the body permits always replace a run with a walk.
Body Weight Circuit:
This is a low intensity circuit so take your time with it.
- Push ups 1-10 reps
- Hindi Squats 1-10 reps
- Side Lunge 1-10 reps
- Sit-ups 1-20 reps
- Hindi Push ups 1-10 reps
- Hang 5-30 seconds
- Dips 1-10 reps
- Wall Squat 10 secs. – 1 minute
- Pull ups 1-10 reps
- Plank 10 secs – 1 minute
You can hit the timer and keep this kind of circuit up for a long time, the key is to take your time with the exercises; focus more on the form and your breath and allow the body to correctly perform the exercises and go with the flow.
Yoga/Stretch 5+ minutes:
The most important aspect of recovery is working on your flexibility and taking your time to work on that flexibility is the perfect way reduce recovery times and increase endurance, strength, agility and efficiency.
Since the first day I walked into the doors of OC Muay Thai David has always stressed the importance of varying your training during times when your body needs a little extra recovery.
Modifying your routines is the best way to insure that you stay strong and also allows your body to fully recover without putting it through too much stress. It takes energy to recover and if you’re body stressed, tired, injured, or sick it is best to conserve your energy and allow it to recover.
This doesn’t mean you have to stop training how ever; but a simple modification from your regular routine will suffice and keep your body strong and ready to start again once it has fully recovered.