Hi guys, I have a dilemma going on and I would aprecciate any input you guys can give me.
I have almost 3 years of boxing experience, this year however I spent almost all of my excercise time on the gym doing weights. I was kind of bored with boxing and needed something different.
6 months of weight training are enough for me, I have achieved the results I was looking for and can’t complain.
This semester I am planning on starting Muay Thai at a local gym called “Muay Thai Argentina” (if you type in youtube ramon dekker muay thai argentina you can see him training at the gym, the head coach is a friend of him I think).
The thing is that this is my last semester at the University so I have a busy schedule, I can only train Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday’s. Unfortunately the muay thai gym doesn’t open Saturday’s so I have two options:
Going back to boxing on tuesdays, thursdays and saturdays.
Starting Muay Thai tuesdays and thursdays and doing a Hardcore Crossfit session on Saturdays with some guys I know and have already trained before.
I really want to start Muay Thai and am already pumped up for it, being something new I am more motivated to it than going back to boxing which I already did for 3 years. Don’t get me wrong, I love boxing, but I want to try new stuff.
However, do you guys also “feel” that only 2 day’s a week of Muay Thai might not be enough?
Never done Muai Thai, but I’ve been boxing all my life. For me, I don’t think you can get good enough training something 2 x per week. I feel 3 is the bare minimum. That is particularly true for fighting. I don’t think you can improve enough to not get discouraged from lack of progress (painful in fighting sports,obviously).
Personally I would say train boxing, both because it is the most awesome sport and the most awesome people do it, but also because you at least have a solid base to build on. Be honest with yourself, you may not have time to dedicate yourself properly to the lifestyle of a fighter. Another reason I would suggest just going back to boxing, where you are less likely to get discouraged, given your previous history. You can at least get a good workout, make a little progress, and get a good workout in.
LondonBoxer123 you are right I do not have the time to dedicate myself properly to the lifestyle of a fighter, but neither is that my intention. I train for the joy of it, I am not pursuing it in a professional manner.
I think we both think the same on this one, x2 a week is not much at all. The other option is to do Muay Thai 3 day’s in a row, tuesday, wednesday and thursday, but I don’t think that will do good either.
Ok, we’re on the same page there then. If you just enjoy it, then it might be worth seeing how Muai Thai goes. But personally, my love of boxing was so strong partly because I got pretty damn good at it. If you don’t need to compete/try and be the best to get joy out of it, then there is no reason that you can’t get that feeling out of going 2 x per week. That said, if you find you aren’t improving enough to avoid getting pasted in sparring, you might find yourself enjoying boxing more.
I am glad you have found a way to work training into your school schedule.
A couple points:
1.) Since you are learning a new skill set you may find it beneficial to run through the previous lesson’s techniques before the next training session. This can be done at half to quarter speed and still be useful.
This doesn’t have to be an honest workout as much as simply a way to get another dozen repetitions of learning in.
I think this could be especially beneficial for someone who is having to train and devote a large amount of time and mental energy to other studies.
2.) Since training hard for hours at a time, 4 days a week, will absolutely eat into your study time it is going to be important that you be efficient in your school work.
I do not know what you are studying but I have found board review materials to make excellent study guides for courses (so medical board review material is used for pathology, biochemistry, etc. and pre-med/MCAT guides work for undergrad classes in chem, bio, etc.).
I apprecciate your concern in regards to my study time. My major is in Psychology and it is a true passion of mine, I assure you it won’t stand in the way!
However I have found excercise to be a great stress reliever, and I don’t want to neglect my physical development. I believe that for a healthy mind a healthy body is needed.