Dutchmeister’s BodyBlog

Many people have heard me mention the fact that I train in Muay Thai, a form of kickboxing native to Thailand. Therefore, allow me to briefly explain what Muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing, is, and how it, along with weight training and a more sensible diet, helped to get me in the best shape of my life.
 

Throughout all of 2007, I was out of shape and unhealthy. In fact, based on the results of a physical exam from that year, I was on my way to developing diabetes if I didn’t change my lifestyle fast. I was working hard, but I wasn’t working out. On December 31, 2007, my wife and I joined a local gym, and I began weight training four days a week and modified my diet, eating 4-5 smaller healthy meals throughout the day. Although beneficial, I wanted to really jumpstart the fat-burning and heart-strengthening process.
 

This is where Muay Thai comes in.
 

While working in Washington, DC, I lived near a mixed martial arts and fitness academy in Arlington, VA. I am a huge fan of mixed martial arts, or MMA, which is a hybrid of boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, and ground fighting. One day, I decided to inquire about what this school had to offer. After discussing my personal fitness goals (burn body fat, build muscle, and increase my cardiovascular health) with an instructor, he suggested that I sign up for Muay Thai.
 

Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is the national sport of Thailand, and is an integral part of modern day mixed martial arts. Referred to as “The Art of Eight Limbs,” the hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art. A practitioner of Muay Thai can execute strikes using eight “points of contact,” as opposed to “two points” (fists) in Western boxing and “four points” (fists and feet) used in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts.
 

As with all classes at this martial arts school, the first fifteen minutes consist of intense conditioning drills to increase your heart rate and improve your “cardio.” By the end of the conditioning drills, I thought my heart was going to explode. But, oh, we were just getting warmed up! If I thought the warm-up was tough, the punching and kicking drills were beyond intense! It was without a doubt the most physically taxing experience I had ever endured in my life. By the end of the class, I was sucking wind, trying to heave as much oxygen into my lungs I possible, barely able to walk on my own power, experiencing hot flashes, minor heart palpitations, and seeing my life flash before my eyes.
 

I WAS HOOKED!!!
 

After discussing it with my wife, I decided in March 2008 to sign up for six months of Muay Thai. I started off by going to only 2 classes a week, which soon increased to three, then four, then five, and upwards of six days a week, work schedule permitting.  Before I knew it, if I wasn’t at the gym hitting the weights, I was learning killer Muay Thai striking combinations, and loving every minute of it. When at times it seemed physically impossible to finish certain striking or conditioning exercises (Burpies, or squat thrusts, for example, should be classified as a form of torture in my view), I could always count on the school’s in instructors to shout (literally!) words of encouragement to help get me through it.
 

Before long, the instructors were complimenting me on how much my striking skills and conditioning were steadily improving, and I began noticing increased muscle mass and significant body fat loss. In short, I was accomplishing my three main fitness goals.
 

To say that my health has improved drastically over the past year would be an understatement. I went from being a 264 lb. lethargic, out-of-shape, borderline diabetic, to 250 lbs. of lean muscle mass, increased stamina and energy, greater self-confidence in my ability to defend myself (if need be), and a level of cardiovascular conditioning that I could have only dreamed of suffering from childhood asthma many years ago. 
 

By the time my wife and I left Washington, DC, and after only six months of training, I had graduated to Level 2 Muay Thai at the martial arts school. I’m currently serving at an overseas post in West Africa, and I have been fortunate to find a local gym that teaches Muay Thai, and make it a point to train a few days a week if at all possible (I still lift weights in the morning before work).
 

Thanks to weight training and “The Art of Eight Limbs,” I am in the best shape of my life!

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 at 10:39 am and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.