CROM’s Corner: Finding Your “CORE 8”

by Chris Romulo

The history of the kettle bell dates back to the 1700’s, primarily used by Russian farmers to weigh crops.  Those same farmers eventually evolved in to using them to show off their strength at local festivals.  Today, kettle bells are the ultimate tool for any combat/martial athlete, if used efficiently. 

I believe there are 8 key athletic attributes that every fighter has to some degree: agility, balance, endurance, flexibility, power, speed, stability and strength.  Every individual has different capacities with each attribute.  As fighters, our goal is to exploit as many weaknesses in as many of those attributes in our opposition as possible in hopes of dominating in a convincing fashion.  At the same time, we want to enhance our own “CORE 8” to increase our physical abilities. 

The kettle bell is one of the best ways to change the game in your training.

As I started my amateur Muay Thai journey in the mid 90’s I was only versed in minimal strength & conditioning methods that I picked up on my own as a kid.  Pull ups, pushups, benching, and biceps curls were my staples.  They were sufficient enough at the time I suppose, but as always “you don’t know what you don’t know”.

After years of dead end jobs after high school, at 27 years old, I ventured in to the world of personal training.  This opened up a whole new world of training and well being for me.  It wasn’t until 2006 when I turned PRO as a Muay Thai fighter that I understood the importance of having a complete team around to help prepare me for battle.  I sought out a strength & conditioning coach who specialized in athletic performance and as it turns out, was responsible for my love of this ancient tool.  I will never forget my “ah ha” moment when I realized that this was the way EVERY fighter should train.  It was after a 5 round scrap with an ultra tough dude from Nebraska.  I hit him with everything but the kitchen sink for 5 rounds.  I dropped him a couple of times for a standing 8 count and carefully placed a shin to the side of his head, but he still kept coming!  I stayed composed and won the fight, but after those 5 rounds I felt something I’d never felt in my previous 20+ fights…..swollen and aching fists for days. 

I believe through working with the kettle bell in a dynamic and ballistic manner, it kept my arsenal of weapons a huge threat in that fight.  I felt my opposition was off balance and kept at bay due to the quality of my attacks and counters.  Alongside power development, I was in better shape to deliver a heavier assault.

A great kettle bell complex that you can add in to your training regimen is a combination of 4 basic movements:

•    Dead Snatch

•    Windmill

•    Hang Snatch

•    Front Squat

Check out this instructional video of 4 movements and follow along at the end to enhance your “CORE 8”.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Gh6E_PnJ8

 *****Be sure to comment on what movements you would like to see in next week’s article!

Visit Shred by CROM on YouTube to receive a complete breakdown of each movement along with the full length work out to follow along with.

Chris Romulo is a retired Muay Thai champion, Muay Thai & Strength & Conditioning Coach, owner of CROM Physical Culture and Creator of SHREDbyCROM™. After a total of 32 years of trial and error through fitness, conditioning, martial arts, sports, and “play” Chris has taken what works, sculpted away what doesn’t and painted a different way to engage in Physical Culture.

Visit www.crompc.com for more info.

FB: Chris Romulo AKA CROM, IG: SHREDbyCROM

CROM’s Corner: Inside the Mind of a Nak Muay

by Chris Romulo

Do you have the right mindset to excel in Muay Thai?

Do you understand or even have a “why” for training?

Do you have a vision in your mind of where you want to go in your journey?

My motto, which is written on the wall of my gym, and has been a concrete thought for me since 2003 is “All it takes is heart”.  I do my best to pass this on to anyone and everyone I come across in a conscious or subconscious way.  Not just for fighting or training but in a lifestyle sense.  Not only for living with courage but also for living with love, passion, and spirit.  As Nak Muays I believe that we can all relate on this level.  None of us got involved in this sport/art to become millionaires.  What helped us find Muay Thai was a deep seeded desire for something different in our lives, to feed the unknown craving for a real sense of being, your “why”.  Without your “why” you will be lost, similarly to not having a GPS in this day and age.  Whether you rely on a GPS, map, or your own instincts, along your Muay Thai journey you will come across setbacks, challenges, stumbles or flat out failures.  Are you equipped with the right mindset to keep you moving forward when you are under a relentless attack from all angles?  Do you acknowledge your lessons learned as a true warrior or do you result to placing blame on people who have no control over your own thoughts and emotions?  Are you a “keyboard killa” with experiences of watching fights and not actually earning your battle scars in the arena while telling other people how it should be done?  If you have time to talk it’s because you have time to talk, put in your work and let your actions speak! 

A key mindset that I attempt to live by that might apply to you as well is “my actions speak so loud you can’t hear what I’m saying”.  Believe, accept and understand as a fighter, enthusiast or coach that disappointment will be a part of the process.  To think otherwise will only make getting through difficulty a much harder process.  This mindset will be a major tool in your Muay Thai path.  Through all of my injuries, losses, and life’s unexpected surprises, I took the time to go back to my “why”.  I believe my version of physical culture has been the number one factor in getting me through all of the major obstacles in my life.  In turn, my “why” is to help others understand that whatever interpretation of physical culture that you choose, it can and will be your main weapon in this fight of life.

**My version of Physical Culture is a lifestyle of dynamic thinking, eating and moving.

What I see for myself is being a practitioner of Muay Thai until the very end.  I fell in love with this art 20+ years ago and it has given me the life I never could have dreamed of.  I met my wife, who helped me raise my 1^st son at the height of my fight career.  We started a Muay Thai gym together in an old school little town where some people still mistake us as the karate people 7 years later ;-).  We added to our family with another son who has been growing up in our gym since 6 weeks old, starting his physical culture early.  Outside the gym I have faced many challenges such as being homeless with my family for 6 months after Hurricane Sandy destroyed our home and gym here in Rockaway Beach in 2012.  What kept me on the path was again, my fighting spirit that I honed through my career in the ring.  There are many things to be learned through the trials and tribulations through combat sports that will directly make life seem like a stroll in the park.

3 years post Sandy, having taken some solid shots to the chin, backed up in a corner, fighting off of the ropes, and taking a few standing 8 counts we have been blessed to be able to recover in the championship 5th round with a facility triple the size of what we lost in the storm, a membership which has quadrupled, and a community inspired to change their lives.  I am not writing any of this to impress you, my goal is to impress upon you in hopes you will take the time to answer the 3 questions we started with….

Do you have the right mindset to excel in Muay Thai?

Do you understand or even a have a “why” for training?

Do you have a vision in your mind of where you want to go in your journey?

Chris Romulo is a retired Muay Thai champion, Muay Thai & Strength & Conditioning Coach, owner of CROM Physical Culture and Creator of SHREDbyCROM™. After a total of 32 years of trial and error through fitness, conditioning, martial arts, sports, and “play” Chris has taken what works, sculpted away what doesn’t and painted a different way to engage in Physical Culture. Visit Shred by CROM on YouTube for free workouts and instructionals! 

Visit www.crompc.com for more info

FB: Chris Romulo AKA CROM, IG: SHREDbyCROM

CROM’s Corner: Muay Thai For Life

by Chris Romulo

I fell in love with the art of Muay Thai 20 years ago.  The way I was able to find the art was as violently effective as the sport itself.  As a young, lost soul with very little direction and aspirations in my life, I found myself in a street scrap that left me with a broken nose, fractured eye socket and a crushed ego.  Till this day I am grateful to have the ability to talk about the experience since I could have easily lost my life.  With a new appreciation for breathing I set out on a path to make sure I never came close to that kind of situation ever again!

I found Muay Thai in a Navy Seal hand-to-hand combat course on a full page ad in black belt magazine.  I scraped together some money, ordered the VHS box set and had it sent to my mom’s house, which is how my Muay Thai journey began over 20 years ago!

Through this entire journey what has kept me able to train and coach well after retiring from competition in 2011 has been my mobility/flexibility training.  This type of work is sometimes overlooked for various reasons.  For one, it may not be as exciting as landing a tricky round kick in sparring or making the heavy bag scream for mercy, however it is indeed necessary.  Throughout my career I diligently kept my recovery/stretching an important part of my fight camps.  Though I have dealt with some injuries and ailments my rehabilitation process was just as meticulous as my fight training.  The adage “Train hard, fight easy” sounds glorious and triumphant.  In my opinion “Train Smart” is a more desirable way to think.  I want to be able to train Muay Thai for a very long time and while ring fighting brought me lots of memories and accolades, I will always consider myself a “Muay Thai Lifer”.  I want to be known as a leader in the sport in one way or another and to accomplish that, it must be done by setting an example for our community.

One thing I learned that has always resonated with me is the concept “don’t train for a fight, train to fight”…on a daily basis that is.

I train my body in a variety of ways: skill training, strength & conditioning, and recovery.  This helps keep training exciting and prevents overuse injuries (IE: Baseball pitchers and shoulder issues) by keeping your body sharp in all ways.

One way I do this, and it will be beneficial for any Muay Thai practitioner is practical lower body mobility/strengthening exercises.  I developed what I call the “CROMwalk”.  It’s a combination of a lunge and a cossack squat performed while moving forward or in a stationary position.  Both these movements will enhance flexibility and strength in your hip flexors, hamstrings, quads, glutes and calves.  This is especially important for Muay Thai since these are most of your “kicking muscles”.

Perform the “CROMwalk” in a “pressure for time” manner to gain a cardiovascular benefit as well.  Balance all of your training between skill work, strength & conditioning, and recovery to make sure your Muay Thai journey lasts a lifetime.

#trainbecauseyourlifedependsonit

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2injVj4idI

Visit Shred by CROM on YouTube to receive a complete breakdown of each movement along with the full length work out to follow along with.

Chris Romulo is a retired Muay Thai champion, Muay Thai & Strength & Conditioning Coach, owner of CROM Physical Culture and Creator of SHREDbyCROM™. After a total of 32 years of trial and error through fitness, conditioning, martial arts, sports, and “play” Chris has taken what works, sculpted away what doesn’t and painted a different way to engage in Physical Culture.

Visit www.crompc.com for more info

FB: Chris Romulo AKA CROM, IG: SHREDbyCROM

CROM’s Corner: Developing One Shot Knock Out Power

by Chris Romulo

As we all know, the “one shot” knock out is the final word of a Muay Thai bout.  It is the pinnacle of any exchange where you render the opposition unable to continue their campaign.  As a newbie you watched highlight clips over and over again so you could analyze and cringe on the impact.When you first started training, whether you were hitting the bag, pads, or your fellow training partner, you were thinking“that what would have been a knock out in a fight”.  With the 8 weapons we have as Nak Muay’s, we can all imagine even one of those tools being able to stop our opponent dead in his/her tracks and not having your win or loss being decided by 3 people with differences of opinions.

So how do we ensure that you don’t leave the fight in the hands of the judges? In my 20 years of training, fighting and coaching, there is no sure fire way to stop your rival every time.  No matter how good you think your set-ups are, your feints that make every one flinch, or your look low/go high round kick that works like a charm in the gym… you need something else.  You want to have a few more tools in your bag to increase your chances of landing the “one-hitter quitter”.  These tools can be sharpened, not just on the heavy bags, pads and drills/sparring, but honed-in on with some extra-curricular work off of the mats.

Remember, “The harder you work, the luckier you get”!

Just like the 8 Limbs of Muay Thai, there are 8 attributes you want in order to enhance the possibility of landing that night ender!  Agility, balance, flexibility, endurance, power, speed, strength, and stability are going to get you where you want to be.  If you possess and sharpen all 8 of these attributes not only does it increase your ability to land the knock out shot, but it will increase your longevity in the sport.

Even though I don’t actively fight anymore, the preservation of my attributes over the last 20 years keeps enable me to train and learn on a daily basis.  As I turn 41 next month, I can safely say that I am a better athlete presently than I was when I first started training Muay Thai.  Back then I had age on my side, but now I train smarter and harder than the old me ever did.

Though there are multitudes of ways to enhance your 8 athletic attributes to make you a better Muay Thai fighter, I developed a movement that hitall 8like a sledgehammer!  Best of all you need no equipment as this move relies solely on bodyweight. I call it the CROMplex.  Whether you are a seasoned vet or a green newbie, the CROMplex will challenge any level of athleticism.  It consists of 4 dynamic bodyweight exercises performed one right after the other.  The CROMplex is best used as a burn out drill after a proper warm up and/or skill training.

-Knees to feet

-Reverse burpee (deck squat)

-Burpee

-Tuck jump

Start with 2 minutes on the clock, then repeat as many as you can with explosiveness, grace, and most of all controlled breathing.

Check out this video for a step by step CROMplex tutorial: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgOZOuciEfc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOEYimu-SGQ

Visit Shred by CROM on YouTube to receive a complete breakdown of each movement along with the full length work out to follow along with.

Chris Romulo is a retired Muay Thai champion, Muay Thai & Strength & Conditioning Coach, owner of CROM Physical Culture and Creator of SHREDbyCROM™. After a total of 32 years of trial and error through fitness, conditioning, martial arts, sports, and “play” Chris has taken what works, sculpted away what doesn’t and painted a different way to engage in Physical Culture.

Visit www.crompc.com for more info

FB: Chris Romulo AKA CROM, IG: SHREDbyCROM

CROM’S CORNER: Get A Grip For Your Muay Thai Clinch

by Chris Romulo

Do you train as if your life depends on it? One of the most primal skills in existence, climbing, will test your every being, much like ring combat.  Let’s learn this vital self-preservation skill, to keep you the dominant opposition.

Climbing a rope can and will improve a multitude of athletic attributes in your body, while enhancing your fighting capacity.  As you sharpen the “art of 8 limbs” I believe that there are 8 qualities that you want to build upon as a Nak Muay stylist.  Agility, balance, endurance, flexibility, power, speed, strength and stability will all be tested in a rope climbing trial.  As a Thai Boxer, all these facets will help you dominate in the clinch.

Rope climbing or “scrambling” a rope is an ancient endeavor that was not only a survival skill, it used to be an Olympic sport!  There are a variety of ways to scramble the rope but for the purpose of strength and conditioning for Muay Thai practitioners, we will be thinking about the full body method.  Before we get in to what to do and how to do it, lets talk about “the why”.

As we are all familiar, the practice and fighting of Muay Thai is ultra dynamic and challenges all 3 energy systems of the body.  With out going in to the science of it, they are called the Phosphagen, Glycolysis, and Aerobic systems.  As a Nak Muay it is important to address these 3 systems to ensure efficiency and/or victory.  Whether you are an amateur fighting at 3x2 minute rounds, a pro at 5x3 minute rounds, or brand new to the training of Muay Thai, learning or practicing the rope climb will get you to work the 3 systems.  If you’ve never climbed a rope, your first attempt will help you understand why it should be part of your regimen.  You will be breathing heavily as every single muscle and major joint will be dialed in to get you up and down the rope safely.

If and when you use the full body method to the scramble, you will utilize your feet/legs to lock and push you up, while your arms and hands pull you up.  Your torso/core will be the center point of how your limbs will be moving, just like in a fight.  As your hands and feet lock you on to the rope, your strength, speed, and agility will keep you moving.  Think of how this will be useful in the clinch as you jockey for control, position, and balance.  You will engage full power as you initiate the start of the climb and your endurancewill kick in as you perform a number of repetitions in a timely fashion.  Your stability and flexibilitywill be tested while you crunch and extend on your ascent, the same way you would as you fluctuate between offense and defense in a fight, extending to throw a punch or kick, crunching to check or cover an attack.

We will call our method the “Crunch and Break”, or the over/under scramble. First you want to learn to use your feet to brake on the rope with the over/under foot method.  Once you feel comfortable on the (brake) foot hold you’re going to practice the crunch, which will pull your lower body up the rope.  As you crunch you will apply the brakes with your feet to lock in to position.  As you stand with the brakes on, your hands will assist in completing your standing position.  You will repeat this process until you reach the top of your rope.  Remember, what goes up must come down…Slowly, release the breaks just enough while keeping your feet in the over/under position so that you can walk your hands down the rope.  Depending on the height of the rope or the height you can handle, lower yourself enough where you can jump off.  Rinse and repeat…

Whether you’ve scrambled or climbed a rope before or not, make it a part of your training routine to ensure that every muscle in your body is being put to work.  When you scramble, know that it will help you literally get a grip in the ring.

Follow this work out:

Amateur’s:

6-10 minute AMRAP (As many rounds as possible)

1 Rope Scramble

5- Hindu Push Ups

Pro’s:

15-20 minute AMRAP (As many rounds as possible)

1- Scramble

5- Hindu Push Ups

Link to CROM’s Rope Scramble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7VKLHE3rA8

Link to CROM’s Hindu Push ups:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pznl6wbPM28

Visit Shred by CROM on YouTube to receive a complete breakdown of each movement along with the full length work out to follow along with.

Chris Romulo is a retired Muay Thai champion, Muay Thai & Strength & Conditioning Coach, owner of CROM Physical Culture and Creator of SHREDbyCROM™. After a total of 32 years of trial and error through fitness, conditioning, martial arts, sports, and “play” Chris has taken what works, sculpted away what doesn’t and painted a different way to engage in Physical Culture.

Visit www.crompc.com for more info

FB: Chris Romulo AKA CROM, IG: SHREDbyCROM

CROM’S CORNER: Update Your Training Software

by Chris Romulo

If you are still doing bicep curls, leg extensions, and triceps push downs you are still playing Atari in an X Box world.

The world of combat sports: Muay Thai, MMA, Boxing, Wrestling and/or BJJ are some of the most dynamic and progressive means of competition around today. The thought of testing your combat abilities against another willing and able opponent is one of the most rigorous things you can put your body through and you’re training should reflect that. Muay Thai, “The Art of 8 Limbs”, “The King Of The Ring”, or “The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting” requires a practitioner to have agility, balance, endurance, flexibility, power, speed, strength and stability. All of this can be achieved through the practice of the art. Learning kicks, punches, knees and elbows will enhance all of your athletic attributes but if you want to take your training to the next level, one crucial way is to improve or integrate a strength& conditioning routine, especially if you are a competitor/fighter.

Here in the U.S. and in some other regions of the world Muay Thai is a recreational sport. Even the most successful Professional Muay Thai fighters in the U.S. must look for other avenues of income. Many look for sponsorship, coach entry level Muay Thai students, perhaps run their own gym, or hold down a full time job to pay the bills, which eats up a lot of training time to prepare for ring combat. Very few, if any, can rely solely on a Muay Thai purse to support themselves or their family.

Photo by Huffington Post

Conversely, in Thailand, most fighters start at an early age training like a professional. Young NakMuays train two times a day at the very least, six days a week, living at the training camps in hopes to make it to the big time. Keeping both lifestyles in mind, Thai fighterscan get away with their marathon skill training sessions and a rudimentary strength & conditioning routine. 

Here in the states, we don’t have the luxury to train from when we can walk and watch our elders (who might have been fighters) ringside as they compete/fight to feed their families. 

If you want to develop a competitive advantage, update your training software.

Muay Thai fighters are not body builders. Aesthetics have no function in the ring, so hitting off a set of bicep curls is a waste of time. Three sets of ten reps of bench pressing will not enhance one’s prowess in the ring. Strength & Conditioning for fighters should resemble how one engages in the ring. I call it “pressure for time” training and ring fight is exactly that.You are under pressure for a set amount of time (2-3 minute rounds depending) to be the faster, stronger and more dominate opposition.

Who wins in a fight?

Typically the busier, more active and conditioned athlete will prevail. Does your Strength & Conditioning routine address this kind of situation? Skills are useless if your heart and lungs tire out before you can really engage in the fight. The “pressure for time” principal is about pushing your body to its limit as a complete unit under regulated time periods, mirroring the pressure which occurs during each round of a fight. Whether you think in terms of 3-2 minute rounds, 5-3 minute rounds, or 3-5 minute rounds, structure your S&C efforts with full body dynamic movements to simulate what will happen during the course of your bout. For Muay Thai fighters, if you kick and punch properly, every muscle of your body, from toes to fingertips, are hitting your target: whether it’s your opponent, heavybag or Thai pads. Begin to use movements like kettlebell swings, dumbbell renegade rows, burpees and medicine ball slams to get your body moving right. 

There are a multitude of exercises to get you moving more dynamically so keep your mind open to this thought: Skills and talent are important but lets add fuel to the fire by making sure your heart and lungs not only keep you in the fight but push you to finish the fight.

The CROM Pressure Cooker

Warm-up: 5 Minutes on Rope followed by Dynamic Stretching Routine

A) Round 1

3 Minute AMRAP (As many reps as possible for 3 minutes)

- 4 Spiderman push ups

- 6 Medicine ball rainbow slams

- 8 KettlebellOverHead swings

***45-second rest

B) Round 2

3 Minute AMRAP

- 1 Burpee

- 3 Kettlebell Deadlift High Pull

- 5 Medicine Ball Thrusters

***45-second rest

C) Round 3

3 minute AMRAP

- 8 Hindu Pushups

- 8 Cossack Squats

- 8 Sit-throughs

***45-second rest

D) Round 4

3 minute AMRAP

- 2 alternating kettlebell snatches

- 4 kettlebell crossover lunge

- 6 goblet squats

***45-second rest

E). Round 5

3 minute AMRAP

CROMPLEX- Complete as many repetitions you can smoothly and efficiently as possible in the three-minute period.

Visit Shred by CROM on YouTube to receive a complete breakdown of each movement along with the full length work out to follow along with.

Chris Romulo is a retired Muay Thai champion, Muay Thai & Strength & Conditioning Coach, owner of CROM Physical Culture and Creator of SHREDbyCROM™. After a total of 32 years of trial and error through fitness, conditioning, martial arts, sports, and “play” Chris has taken what works, sculpted away what doesn’t and painted a different way to engage in Physical Culture.

Visit www.crompc.com for more info

FB: Chris Romulo AKA CROM, IG: SHREDbyCROM

Chris Romulo - A Muay Thai Lifer

Chris Romulo has been training Muay Thai for fifteen years. Being from New York, government policies have kept him from being able to utilize all of the weapons he has been training the fifteen years he has been a Muay Thai practitioner. On May 14th all of that will change as he will fight in the first full rules Muay Thai fight of his career. Romulo will face current WBC Muay Thai Light Heavyweight champion Shawn Yarborough in a fight scheduled for 168lbs.

Much debate has been made about New York Muay Thai, and if it should really be called Muay Thai due to the fact that no elbows are allowed. Talks turned into East vs. West soon enough, and coming from New York to face a fighter in Yarborough who is based in Las Vegas the talks continue to escalate. Despite being seen by many as the New York representative, the pressure that might come with that does nothing for Romulo.