Shin Conditioning

So you want to start training in Muay Thai?  I have one word for you: Conditioning.

I’m on my 6th month of training in Muay Thai and I can tell you one thing for certain. I do not know if my shins will ever be conditioned enough.  At this point I’ve heard it and felt it almost every week since I’ve started. I have noticed some improvement. I’m probably at 20% in my journey for strong shins… and it’s going to be a long one.

Yes… this is my leg.

As I write this, both of my shins are so swollen I can feel the impact of walking vibrate up them. If you have no idea what I mean, you probably have not taken a Muay Thai class.  You see, in Muay Thai, every day is leg day and every day after leg day is recovery-from-hell day.  If you are training to fight or just taking Muay Thai for kicks I can offer some advice for surviving the swollen limbs.

1. Do not stop in your training. Do not get discouraged.  Do not stop during sparring, continue the fight.  If you are going to fight competitively you damn well better be ready to fight through the pain.
2. Elevate your legs. As soon as you get home, cleaned up and fed… get on your couch.  Get your legs up on the back of the couch far above your heart level and grab a nice book. Or watch TV. Or read blogs about Muay Thai advice.  Give yourself a night off and rest up before bedtime to help get the swelling out of your legs.
3. Ice. Ice those legs while you elevate. Ice them at work while you are stuck at a desk. Ice them when you can.  Ice will help increase blood flow to the area (in your bodies effort to warm you) and this will help break down the swelling.
4. Vitamin D. Take a daily vitamin D pill with at least 5,000 units.  Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption, which guess what? Helps rebuild bones.  Since your shins are getting microfractured every time you ‘condition’ them, you need to rebuild them. Vitamin D also helps with bruising and swelling, which is a bonus since it’s going to feel like that’s how your live your life anymore.
5. Get enough sleep.  The average adult requires between 7 or 8 hours of sleep per night. Sleep is imperative every night in order to keep your body functioning at it’s best. Sleep is also when your body has the most time to work on your aches, pains and bruises to heal you.  Sleep is the best weapon you have to keep you training and walking and is the most underappreciated time we spend on ourselves.

So there’s my recovery advice although to be honest some bruises seem to never recover. These are the deep tissue, a.k.a. ‘bone bruises’ that are common in Muay Thai. These hurt and they can last for months. I have one myself, on my right shin and I might as well name it at this point.  Just keep kicking, wince if you have to, and get through it. As they say; No Pain, No Gain.