36 years old - possible to learn muay thai, or over the hill?

[dustman007]

Hi,

I guess I am past my prime... when I was about 20 I did some muay thai classes and it seemed easy... now I am 36... I tried muay thai for a couple months, 1-2 sessions a week, 2 hours per session (45min boxing, 1 hour muay thai), and honestly... I was screwed/exhausted after every session, one session I could barely stand up (after sparring and having to "check" a bunch of leg kicks)... I love it... was fun (the instructor actually told me to stop laughing as I was sparrring... and take it serious)... but then my back started hurting at end of Feb and had to take a break for most of march.

I'm after feedback. I cancelled my gym membership because I was planning to do muay thai... should I re-activate and try to get fitter, lose weight, first before doing muay thai? focus on my core? Or is it all about conditioning? Should I do a non-contact martial arts like kung fu or taekwondo instead?

I haven't done muay thai for about 3-4 weeks... and my back is feeling better... but worried I'll re-aggravate it if I start up again...

My stats:
- 6'5
- 127 kg

Thanks.

Cheers.

[shaneinga]

Losing weight would definitely help. 279 pounds at 6 foot 5 is pretty big. I know, I have been there. You could have a different build than me though, I grew up playing Basketball through high school/college.

Over all weight loss would be what I would aim for, and do what it took to get me there.

I have not done any martial arts, so I have no advice there. I do know that once I dropped weight everything became a lot easier. Running, jumping, tying my shoes, etc.

[scullin]

It's the weight, not the age.

[PiperBill]

Imagine yourself as a 20 year old and working out wearing a 50lb weighted vest :-)

[Mark1T]

OP, sorry for the blunt question, but do you usually quit on most challenges so easily?

[NYkarate]

Lift, do cardio and strip off 30-40lbs of fat, then go back to your martil art. It is definitely the weight and poor conditioning and not the age. You could certainly do more form based martial arts in the interim if you like. But your key issues will remain. You're in poor conditioning and overweight. You should be able to easily strip down 20-30lbs in the first six to eight months, that initial weight comes off easily with calorie reduction and exercise.

[dustman007]

OP, sorry for the blunt question, but do you usually quit on most challenges so easily?

Yeah... i also struggled with that... not only the contact and sore back... but the mental thing where i cant handle being so **** at muay thai as a beginner, and being criticised by instructor and training partners... and want to be the best asap...

Ive never been that athletic or coordinated.

[NYkarate]

Yeah... i also struggled with that... not only the contact and sore back... but the mental thing where i cant handle being so **** at muay thai as a beginner, and being criticised by instructor and training partners... and want to be the best asap...

Ive never been that athletic or coordinated.

Martial arts is like any worthwhile pursuit: It takes a long time, some pain and an intense effort to get good at it. It matters not what the martial art is. If you're not willing to put in the blood sweat and tears, you're never going to get good. If you do put it in, you will most certainly be much better in a year than you are today.

[Pokernutt]

If you enjoy it, you should practice and learn. You'll enjoy it even more. If you can't handle the physical demands then, lose weight and train train train. If you don't want to put in the work, then just quit. I am 44 and am an amateur boxer. It's tough physically, but I love the sport and will continue to put in the work requiredto be successful. What are you willing to do is the question?

[Robfitx]

I'm doing Tai Kwon Do and Krav Maga at age 45, so your issue is with your fitness level and not your age. As others have said, lose the weight and you'll be much better at it. Nutrition is the key there and there good stickies on this site to help with that.

In my experience, getting stronger also helped a lot. The starting strength novice program made a huge difference in my sparring performance and I would think any program that focuses on compound barbell movements (fierce 5, etc.) would as well. Just make sure you pay attention to your schedule: I found I could not squat or deadlift the morning of the same day that I had class without getting my ass kicked.

[Lynnlifts1]

It's definitely the weight. I started Martial arts about 6 months ago and I am in my 30's. I was so beat when I started. I realized I needed to lose weight to be quicker, and lose chub on my thighs to get more motion in my round kick. I am weightlifting 5 times a week and dieting down and I have lost a lot of body fat. My kicks are so high and strong now and I can last a lot longer. If you work on getting your weight down you will gain more confidence in your abilities, everything else will improve too.

[VIsland]

I'm an MMA trainer so I might be able to add something. Train your weight off, keep your activity level and reduce your volume on the weight training. You're in for the long game, so find your balance in your activities, they will compliment each other and add to bringing your weight down and stripping off the fat in the quickest way possible. Bang for your buck, boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai are some of the best sports for leaning you out and improving your body composition. Whatever you do please don't put a hold on your training with the goal of bringing your fitness level up first. I've seen this scenario dozens of times and 9 times out of 10 the martial arts loses to never be continued again.

[NYkarate]

I'm an MMA trainer so I might be able to add something. Train your weight off, keep your activity level and reduce your volume on the weight training. You're in for the long game, so find your balance in your activities, they will compliment each other and add to bringing your weight down and stripping off the fat in the quickest way possible. Bang for your buck, boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai are some of the best sports for leaning you out and improving your body composition. Whatever you do please don't put a hold on your training with the goal of bringing your fitness level up first. I've seen this scenario dozens of times and 9 times out of 10 the martial arts loses to never be continued again.

With respect, I totally disagree with you regarding keeping the weight training volume down. While this can be sound advice for someone's whose goal is to be better at MMA, he has a much bigger challenge at the moment, his excess fat. Moreover, you failed to mention diet, which is absolutely critical to his success. We have a man whose primary issue is being overweight. His primary goal next few month should be stripping fat from his body to be fitter and leaner and the fastest most effective route is heavy weight training and diet.

By the way, he should see a physician and figure out what's wrong with his back. I strongly suspect strengthening that is also critical before he resumes any sort of martial art. He must see a physician to determine what's going on even before weight training.

[dustman007]

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

I don't think I can do muay thai at the moment... my back gets sore even walking on the tread mill. But I have found, when it gets sore, if I go stretch it for 10 mins, the pain disappears for about an hour... then starts coming back, at which point I stretch again. I have seen physios... all they give me are stretches and push my back around and tell me it's too tight and I need to do their exercises/stretches to loosen it up. Maybe I need to see a sports doctor.

I've started a planned diet today. I want to lose at least 10 kg (and get down to 117kg, about the weight I was when I was 20 and doing muay thai "easily"), hopefully I can do that in a month or two... then I'll start training muay thai again.

I also have a fitbit, doing step challenges with friends... this week I've done:
- Monday: 2 hours treadmill (19,000 steps for the day)
- Tuesday: 3.5 hours treadmill (18,000)
- Wednesday: 2 hours treadmill (13,000)

I think I will keep doing lots of treadmill/cardio and just do deadlifts / rows to stretchen my back (I may throw in some body pump for overall body conditioning and endurance). In the past I've found deadlifts really helped with the back.

Thanks again.

[NYkarate]

Get your back checked out.

[VIsland]

Get your back checked out.

Agree. Your back injury sounds paramount for the immediate term. Could be a disc issue from what you're describing and trying to progress physically at this point will only exacerbate a potentially chronic situation.

[decz]

What is the deal with these 30-something men all calling themselves "over the hill"?

I know a guy that started Krav at 43, he's now in fantastic shape and just took his black belt exam last summer. No, you're not too old (seriously you're 36, bro!) to start martial arts.
However, I do think you should have your back examined before you begin anything!

[conoutlook]

Train the body

Train the mind

I rolled with a 23stone lad Wednesday night...

Train the mind dude.. good luck on your journey

[Flounderbout]

Train the body

Train the mind

I rolled with a 23stone lad Wednesday night...

Train the mind dude.. good luck on your journey

One of these things is not training...

[RhetMuse]

I'm an MMA trainer so I might be able to add something. Train your weight off, keep your activity level and reduce your volume on the weight training. You're in for the long game, so find your balance in your activities, they will compliment each other and add to bringing your weight down and stripping off the fat in the quickest way possible. Bang for your buck, boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai are some of the best sports for leaning you out and improving your body composition. Whatever you do please don't put a hold on your training with the goal of bringing your fitness level up first. I've seen this scenario dozens of times and 9 times out of 10 the martial arts loses to never be continued again.

This. As a long time martial artist, I have seen the same.

You're just doing too much. I know you're eager, and that's brilliant! But you need to work hard but pace yourself until you get into stronger condition. Then you can build on that strong base.

Listen and learn what your body is telling you.

And a good idea to let the trainers know about your back.

Good luck bud.





Age is not an issue.

[Wintondevil]

I don't think you're too old but I am not you. There are 20 year olds out there who have mindsets and bodies that are probably too old to play badmington.
Pace yourself a little better if you're not use to this type of training. Rule# 1: If you don't enjoy it you will not stick at it.
Train at first with one day a week and treat this session as 'game day' and the other 6 days would be a balance of 3/4 pace training and rest. After 3 or 4 sessions add another day a week.
Pro athletes such as NFL players who are recovering from an injury or extended break will use this. I think it is called progression training but somebody out there who is more familiar with this might be able to correct me on the name.

Laying off the sugar might also help too.