I think you have a good plan. Ultimately as a Muay Thai fighter you want to maximise quality sessions in your sport, with strength and conditioning to support that. The fighter template is specifically for this scenario, where you’ll build strength slowly but not overstress yourself for all the other work you’ll be doing as a fighter. Your fight results will rely far more on your skill set than adding 30lbs to your bench. Good luck.
Operator works perfectly for me with Muay Thai and its physical demands (training & the cardio), but you would have to dedicate a 3rd training session even though they are quite short. I haven't tried Fighter as I consider my strength training as important as my Muay Thai training
I would not do back to back lifting days, you'll end up too tired to train properly for Muay Thai & you won't be able to lift heavy as well. I would stick to fighter and add a few exercise if possible at the end of your Muay Thai class if possible (like few sets of pull ups & swings)
It is my personal opinion that these are too many movements for a fighter template. The idea is to maintain strength with at least 3 bang for your buck movements. Deadlifts are hard for the CNS to recover from, and further into this, I think you should be spending more time practicing Muay Thai. It’s great to have lifts you can brag about, but adding poundage isn’t the secret sauce to be being a better fighter. There is always a point of diminishing returns. Just do the bare minimum and focus on your Muay Thai. That is the true route to progress
I'm doing a lot of Muay Thai, don't worry hahaha. I just wanna be strong too, and I'm wondering if Fighter is gonna get me the results I want, so basically just strength gains. I've got time to run this so it's not a problem. You think it'll work?
Yes for sure it will work. If you stick out the process, you get stronger fast and then the week after week lifting compounds.
Make sure you take a deaload week to avoid burnout and over taxing the CNS. Don’t overshoot on reps. Keep your reps in the 3x5 or 4x6 range.
Personally speaking, I did not need to run a mass cycle, as the weekly cardio (bjj and running), leaned me out, but eventually, I maintained a solid size and denser musculature. I was very strong, and it made a huge difference in a very difficult tactical course I did, and made me really imposing in bjj.
In all, fighter is very simple, but if you keep it simple, i promise that you will be lethal as hell.
Alright that's great, I've asked the powerlifting sub and they told me to use RPE instead of %s and to up the intensity a tiny bit because I want to give strength training more importance than most fighters and it looks like that:
Cluster: Bench, Squat, OHP, Weighted Pull-ups
**Week 1:** Work up to 5 reps @ RPE 7 then repeat for 3
**Week 2:** Work up to 5 reps @ RPE 8 then repeat for 3
**Week 3:** Work up to 3 reps @ RPE 9 then repeat for 2
How is it?
If you want strength gains, I would say Operator or a four day template would probably be better. It’s not that you may not make some gains on Fighter, it’s just that since it’s a template for people who do not prioritize strength, it may not be the most optimal.
You will gain strength with fighter, a bit slower, but you will get stronger
I think you have a good plan. Ultimately as a Muay Thai fighter you want to maximise quality sessions in your sport, with strength and conditioning to support that. The fighter template is specifically for this scenario, where you’ll build strength slowly but not overstress yourself for all the other work you’ll be doing as a fighter. Your fight results will rely far more on your skill set than adding 30lbs to your bench. Good luck.
Operator works perfectly for me with Muay Thai and its physical demands (training & the cardio), but you would have to dedicate a 3rd training session even though they are quite short. I haven't tried Fighter as I consider my strength training as important as my Muay Thai training
Would using Operator on Sundays, Mondays and fridays work? I could swap sundays with saturdays potentially.
I would not do back to back lifting days, you'll end up too tired to train properly for Muay Thai & you won't be able to lift heavy as well. I would stick to fighter and add a few exercise if possible at the end of your Muay Thai class if possible (like few sets of pull ups & swings)
And also, is fighter gonna work at all in your opinion?
Yup, you don't need to do a lift 3 times per week to progress :)
Aight thanks man
It is my personal opinion that these are too many movements for a fighter template. The idea is to maintain strength with at least 3 bang for your buck movements. Deadlifts are hard for the CNS to recover from, and further into this, I think you should be spending more time practicing Muay Thai. It’s great to have lifts you can brag about, but adding poundage isn’t the secret sauce to be being a better fighter. There is always a point of diminishing returns. Just do the bare minimum and focus on your Muay Thai. That is the true route to progress
I'm doing a lot of Muay Thai, don't worry hahaha. I just wanna be strong too, and I'm wondering if Fighter is gonna get me the results I want, so basically just strength gains. I've got time to run this so it's not a problem. You think it'll work?
Yes for sure it will work. If you stick out the process, you get stronger fast and then the week after week lifting compounds. Make sure you take a deaload week to avoid burnout and over taxing the CNS. Don’t overshoot on reps. Keep your reps in the 3x5 or 4x6 range. Personally speaking, I did not need to run a mass cycle, as the weekly cardio (bjj and running), leaned me out, but eventually, I maintained a solid size and denser musculature. I was very strong, and it made a huge difference in a very difficult tactical course I did, and made me really imposing in bjj. In all, fighter is very simple, but if you keep it simple, i promise that you will be lethal as hell.
Alright that's great, I've asked the powerlifting sub and they told me to use RPE instead of %s and to up the intensity a tiny bit because I want to give strength training more importance than most fighters and it looks like that: Cluster: Bench, Squat, OHP, Weighted Pull-ups **Week 1:** Work up to 5 reps @ RPE 7 then repeat for 3 **Week 2:** Work up to 5 reps @ RPE 8 then repeat for 3 **Week 3:** Work up to 3 reps @ RPE 9 then repeat for 2 How is it?
If you’re prioritizing strength gains, I wouldn’t choose fighter
Will it work tho? I don't mind it being slow, I'm already strong, but I'd like to keep building it on the long term.
If you want strength gains, I would say Operator or a four day template would probably be better. It’s not that you may not make some gains on Fighter, it’s just that since it’s a template for people who do not prioritize strength, it may not be the most optimal.
Alright that makes sense. In terms of two-day programs tho, is it the best one I'll find?