Punching pretty

THAI WELTERWEIGHT muay thai boxer and double K-1 World MAX champion Buakaw Bunchamek is setting out to make ordinary gym rats every bit as fit as he is with a brand new 30-minute workout he’s designed for Fitness First. Dubbed the “Muay Fight Pro by Buakaw”, the new programme is part of the health club’s global rebranding initiative “Together, We Can Go Further”, which seeks to deliver a better fitness experience, offer greater challenges and motivate more of us to exercise.

“The training is a perfect blend of normal exercise. It’s designed around the body’s natural movement and works the body in progressive ways to improve strength, speed, endurance and flexibility,” says Buakaw. 

“And muay thai is so much fun that it’s popular all over the world.

“Muay Fight Pro by Buakaw” is part of Fitness First’s Dynamic Movement Training (DMT) philosophy, which has see the creation of several high-intensity, short exercise programmes including Hard Core Maxx and Hot Flow Yoga. These are more productive and effective than traditional training methods and provide maximum results in minimum time.

“Members exercise more when it’s fun so we’ve designed our freestyle zones as ‘fitness playgrounds’ making workouts more enjoyable,” says the chain’s managing director Mark Elliott Buchanan.

A survey conducted by Fitness First among 1,920 men and women between the ages of 18 and 49 in Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumper, Manila, Singapore, and Bangko, revealed that 61 per cent didn’t go to the gym or exercise due to a lack of time. Some 17 per cent said they did not see enough progress while another 17 per cent didn’t know how to use gym equipment properly and felt unwelcome in the gym.

The health club then partnered with Professor Stuart Biddle of Loughborough University in the UK to explore motivation for exercising. The research threw up three important factors in building motivation namely: Personal Growth (feeling competent, seeing signs that we are doing well, and feeling good afterwards), Autonomy (having a choice in what we do, rather than feeling pressured into doing it), and Belonging (feeling comfortable in our surroundings). 

“We are developing new platforms to respond to what customers want,” Buchanan says. “First is a certified fitness qualification in expertise for all 1,500 staff in Thailand and the second is a digital platform for apps that enable members to track progress and move, as well as new fitness tests and scientific tools to assess members’ biological age and training personalities, respectively. We are also investing Bt450 million in upgrading our 21 clubs renovation across the country.”

Muay Fight Pro by Buakaw, which will available from August, starts with a muscular warm-up that involves high-speed skipping then goes on to punching and kicking a sandbag, jumping up and down on different sized blocks, push-ups and ends with kickboxing in the ring. The programme is based on efficiency and speed, the entire body working as one to challenge the cardiovascular, muscular, and neural systems.

“As a professional boxer, I train least two to three hours a day but while my 30-minute workout is strenuous, it’s also enjoyable. Thai boxing requires determination, discipline and reaching beyond one’s limits. The reason why you are exercising isn’t that important: just be like a boxer,” he says.

 

 

IN THE RING

>>Muay Fight Pro by Buakaw will start in August at Fitness First’s 21 branches nationwide.

>>Find out more by calling (02) 789 9997 or log on to www.FitnessFirst.co.th.