Train for Weight Loss in Thailand at Tiger Muay Thai

Welcome to Tiger Muay Thai’s weight loss and fitness blog. I’m your host, Aaron Rowland. I’m a 27-year-old writer from Los Angeles, California. I’m at Tiger to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here eight months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Tire flips, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

Trudging Along

Another successful week down, I didn’t have much to think about or any new changes to implement. If something is working, why tinker with it? It can be a bit boring or tiresome to stick with the same diet and exercise routine, but I hadn’t really been feeling stagnant yet in my daily habits. Little did I know, that’s not always a decision you get to make yourself. Things were about to change…

Super Small Staph Setback

While I was casual chatting with camp director Will Elliot at the Tiger Grill, he noticed a couple small scabs on my arm. Concerned at the possibility it might be Staph (or at least some minor bacterial infection), Will recommended that I not train for a few days until it healed up. If your concerned you might have anything that could be contagious, better to play it safe. So the last few days of this week, I was relegated to jogging and walking instead of the intense fitness regimen I’m used to.  The good news is that after a short time on antibiotics, the minor infection has now cleared. Staph can be quite serious, so its important to catch it and treat it early.

Snacking Healthy

When you’re not in a position to get lots of exercise, its important that you focus on what you’re eating. If you have unhealthy snacks around your home, they probably aren’t going to last long. The more healthy snacks you keep around yourself, the better. That way, even if you overindulge one night, the damage won’t be too bad (or at least as bad as it could have been).

The End Of Week Six

Stepping on the scale, I felt optimistic about what my week’s results would be. Everything had been going well up to now, why wouldn’t this week be the same? OMG. I gained half a kilo. Obviously, I’m disappointed in the results. No one likes to see a gain on the scale, when you’re trying to do the exact opposite. After I calm myself down, though, I think things through. In six weeks, I’ve lost 11.5 KGS (25 LBS). Not to toot my own horn, but that’s pretty damn good. In weight loss (as in life), you’re going to have high weeks and low weeks. You could do everything perfectly and due to water retention or other factors, your weight could stay the same. That’s not to say you sure ignore a gain on the scale, you absolutely should examine your food journal and exercise habits for the week to identify contributing factors. That having been said, it’s important to not obsess on daily or weekly weigh-ins and instead pay attention to general weight trends and working toward developing healthy lifestyle habits.

What’s Up Next?

If I thought last week was tough, I’ve got another thing coming to me. I’ll be in Laos for four days this week, sorting out a new visa for Thailand. I’ll be staying at a cool little casino, eating buffet food three times a day. And no, they don’t have a fitness center. This week will be a great test. I’ll need to find ways to eat healthy and exercise in the real world, where there isn’t a program and food options designed to get the job done. Wish me well and I’ll check in with you all next week.

Have a great week of weight loss! If you set your mind on it, I know you can do it!

A thirty-three-year old from Kuwait, Abdulrahman Alebrahim (Or Ebrahim as he goes by at Tiger) is spending his next five weeks training at Tiger. Having picked up some bad food and exercise habits while working as a banker, Ebrahim is determined to change that. So here he is at Tiger working with celebrity fitness trainer Ocean Bloom to create a new healthier man. Having been at Tiger for the last ten days, Ebrahim has been taking a variety of classes and has been pushing his limits daily. His favorites exercise has been the Beach session during the Thursday morning body fit class and he says he struggles the most with tough upper body exercises.

How did you first hear about Tiger?

I was looking for a boot camp, and one of the countries I was looking at was Thailand. I found Ocean’s boot camp and I decided to come.

How do you feel about it so far?

It’s great. I’m so happy because now I’m at an area where all the people come to train. There’s always someone training and that pushes you to train here.

Have you set any goals for yourself to work toward while you’re training?

Sure. I want to lose weight, but the main thing I want to do, is to be able to do this in my country when I’m home. I have to work from the morning to the evening, so I want to be able to work out when I get home. In five weeks I want to shift my ability to do that.

How do you feel about that goal now that you’ve started training?

I’ve already seen a big difference. On my first two days, I felt like I was done after only five minutes of the warm up. Now I can finish the class and do another class after. I don’t know what will happen the rest of my time here, but I think it will be good.

What classes have you been taking?

I’ve been doing lots of different classes. Yoga, body fit, cross training, boxing and working with weights.

Has anything surprised you about Tiger?

I’m coming for a boot camp, so I was expecting it would be a closed-in area with a very small group, but when I came here I found out there were many people and things around to do. Lots of people living here doing very different things. I’m enjoying that very much.

Would you recommend Tiger to someone thinking about coming?

Yes. I’m so happy here. I want to thank everyone here for pushing me all the time.

Tiger Muay Thai offers Krabi Krabong every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30AM to 11:00AM. No previous experience is needed and the classes are held on the cross training mats past the MMA cage. No special equipment is needed to participate, Krabi Krabong sticks are provided for use during the class. Tiger’s instructor, Kru Oh, explains Krabi Krabong below.

What is Krabi Krabong?

Normally, Krabi Krabong is about using weapons. First, you learn to fight hand and hand. After that if you get in war, it can be difficult to only fight hand to hand. That is why they try to find weapons. In the beginning it was just a stick, then they developed a system for training which became Krabi Krabong. Krabi is a thin slim quick sword. Krabong is a stick. Usually a long stick. When the people call it together, it’s Krabi Krabong. Sword and stick.

How do classes start?

Normally everyone starts with the same warm up, even if they’re on different levels. We start with stretching because it’s important. Then it’s basic use with the sticks. After that, we separate the class into two groups of people. They are on different levels, so they get separated to practice. In the beginning we have ten Mai you have to learn. Every day we learn a different Mai (movement). For example, today was Mai 1. The next class we will train in Mai 2. Everyone learns them together in one large group to start.

What happens when the groups are separated?

We train the same area, but the technique to practice will be different. Those who have just started can see where they will progress to, and if they are confident in basic skills. Also those who can train on a high level can train advanced and help to teach the new students.

Those groups last until the end of class?

Normally it stays in two groups, but sometime we all train together. Then the senior students can teach the class to see if they really understand.

How do classes typically end?

We practice the techniques we’ve learned and explain more. Also, I show them how to use what we learned.

Is Krabi Krabong good for weight loss?

Not much cardio in the beginning until you become intermediate, when you have learned the movements. Because it’s a small group right now, we haven’t set up cardio yet. We normally have little cardio. Right now it’s more strength. You still need to train your muscles and make them stronger. Once intermediate, then it’s conditioning and you get cardio when you are sparring.

Welcome to Tiger Muay Thai’s weight loss and fitness blog. I’m your host, Aaron Rowland. I’m a 27-year-old writer from Los Angeles, California. I’m at Tiger to lose weight, improve my fitness and have the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve been here eight months so far and I’m staying indefinitely. My favorite exercises are the bicycle crunch and the medicine ball slam. Tire flips, suicide planks and burpees give me nightmares.

Continuing On

Another week of small but steady weight loss behind me, I decided to spend a nice relaxing weekend on the street. No partying in Patong, just some light training with a slightly more flexible food plan. You’ve got to be careful, though. Lying in bed watching movies is a dangerous way to start mindlessly snacking. Suddenly a handful of cashews might turn into a bagful of quick calories. Keeping healthy snacks on stand-by and unhealthy ones out of reach is a surefire way to prevent too poor a decision on a rainy afternoon in.

Staying Healthy

Another important thing to keep in mind while training in Thailand are the unique health challenges this climate presents. Sun block, mosquito spray and anti-biotic soap are absolute necessities to stay in tip-top shape while training. Whether you’re at the beach or hiking Big Buddha, the sun can cause sever sunburn if you aren’t careful and prepared. If you aren’t vigilant, mosquitoes can transmit viruses like Dengue fever, which could leave you out of training for weeks. Also of concern are bacterial infections like Staph, which are transmitted through the sweat of an infected party either through the mats, bags or direct contact. Tiger takes careful steps to wash the bags and mats between classes, but showering immediately after classes using an anti-biotic soap can help reduce the risk even further. Taking these basic steps can help prevent injury or illness and will assist you in making the most of your time at Tiger!

Train Hard, Play Hard, Relax

Some guests who come to Tiger are only here for a short amount of time. As a result, they try to squeeze a lot of training and a lot of partying into a short amount of time. If you want to really maximize your training, though, it’s important to really allow your body the time to recover between training sessions and on the weekend. If you tear your body up on weekdays during training and then continue to abuse it on weekends with partying and alcohol, your muscles won’t have the time to properly recover and will leave you training at less that one hundred percent.

The End Of Week Five

Another full week of training and healthy eating behind me, I was excited to see what this weeks results would be. I stepped on the scale, and was thrilled to see that my new weight was 114.1 KG, for a weekly loss of 1.9 KG. That meant in the last five weeks, I had lost a total of 12.1 KG (26.6 LBS!). In only 35 days, I’ve made a great amount of progress toward a healthier existence and I am well on the way to my goal weight of 85KG (187 LBS).

What’s Up Next?

It was another quiet weekend on the road for me. Even though some of my friends decided to hit Patong on Friday night, I stood firm and got a great night’s sleep. Next week we’ll talk more about the power of saying no and how it can help you on your journey. On WeightLossThailand this week, we’ll be exploring Krabi Krabong and meeting another guest who has arrived at Tiger to lose weight and improve his life.

Have a great week of weight loss! If you set your mind on it, I know you can do it!

A thirty-three-year-old from Scotland via Madrid, James Macfarlane has become shredded and cut a fantastic 15KG (33 pounds) during his three months at Tiger. Having spent the last two years working in the video game industry, James saw his fitness decline and his weight grow. He has been at Tiger for three months and will be heading home in a few weeks. His least favorite exercise is the burpee and his favorite exercise is doing pad work with his Muay Thai trainer.

How did you hear about Tiger?

It was the internet. I just did a Google search and Tiger was the first Muay Thai gym to come up.

Why Muay Thai?

I had trained Muay Thai for a year back in Madrid, but I let it slip for the last two years. I wanted to do something exercise-wise that I knew and wasn’t just a regular gym. Obviously the home of Muay Thai is Thailand and Tiger appealed to me the most.

When you arrived at Tiger did you set any goals for yourself?

No specific numbers, just a goal of achieving weight loss and getting better at Muay Thai. I did a fight in the BBQ Beatdown but I hadn’t really set that as a goal.

Feel successful in your time at Tiger?

Definitely. My weight loss is 15 KG at the moment and hopefully a few more KGs will come off in my last few weeks.

What accomplishment at Tiger are you most proud of?

Winning a fight in the BBQ Beatdown. I wasn’t really keen to do a fight with a stranger, but on of my mates wanted to fight and we decided to go against each other. I thought our skill levels matched up and both of us were good enough to compete for the win.

What kinds of challenges did you face along the way?

Luckily, I didn’t have too many setbacks. I just stuck to my guns and trained hard. I got food poisoning a couple times, but it wasn’t too bad.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about coming to Tiger?

Just get off your butt and do it. The best thing about training at Tiger is that there is no excuse not to get up and start working. You don’t have the distractions of home.

What classes did you take?

I stuck pretty exclusively to Muay Thai. I was pretty happy to be moved up from Beginners to Intermediate. It’s been a challenge from beginning to end. Even as you get fitter, it still stays hard to keep motivated.

Any advice for someone getting ready to come to Tiger?

If you have the time, just start doing stuff to improve your fitness, but the main thing is to just get out here!

Tell me about one fun memorable thing that happened at Tiger?

Again, I’d have to say it was beating my mate Andy at the BBQ Beatdown. It was a pretty messy fight for both of us, but it was a great experience. Getting the decision at the end was a great feeling.