Any Muay Thai practitioner will tell you that conditioning your shins can help you withstand the blows that your opponents will throw at you. The reality is that you will develop tougher shins over time, but you will never have rock hard shins that can weather the powerful blows your opponents will throw without flinching. While many sites will tell you to use a rolling pin or a metal pole, you may want to reconsider your methods before you beat your shins up. There are safer and easier ways to toughen your shins up. Searching for taekwondo classes in Raleigh? Try Muay Thai instead. Call Gracie to learn more.

Kick the Heavy Bag
Kicking the heavy bag causes your shins to calcify and harden and it also helps you to develop your kick technique. Being able to deliver hard body kicks that can break your opponents’ ribs will take time, but it will be worth it. Spending a lot of time with the heavy bag will also improve your conditioning and overall kick technique. Using a standard heavy bag to strengthen your shins, regardless of skill level, is essential. When you first begin, your shins will most likely have a stinging sensation. This is a good thing. Over time, the nerves in your shins will begin to deaden and the pain will lessen. Your shins will also have microfractures which will rebuild themselves and become stronger than they were before. Doing 100 leg kicks per session should be a necessary part of your training routine.

Increase Your Vitamin D and Calcium Intake
Your bones are continually developing. Since regrowth and remodeling is always occurring, you’ll need to ensure that your body has the right type of nutrients to support this growth. Calcium is one of the most crucial nutrients your body needs, but without vitamin D your body won’t be able to absorb it and make full use of the calcium. If you consume a balanced diet that can help with your bone development, but adding some supplements to your diet isn’t a bad thing. Make sure that you are getting 1000mg of calcium each day.

Take Care of Your Shins
After your training sessions, take care of your shins. Don’t make the mistake that many fighters do and assume that they will heal on their own. While they will eventually improve, you’ll want to speed up the process so you can begin training them again. Check YouTube for videos on how to manage knots and bumps on your shins to help them heal.

For more shin conditioning tips head on over to our next post.

Alternative Taekwondo Classes in Raleigh

At Gracie Raleigh, we know it’s not enough to just train your shins and hope you’ll do well against opponents in the ring. You need a training team that can help you get the results you want. Call or come by the gym to meet our experienced staff and learn more about the martial arts class offerings at Gracie Raleigh. New students always get free classes, and we offer martial arts for the entire family. See why more people are choosing to do their Muay Thai training at Gracie Raleigh instead of taking taekwondo classes in Raleigh at other gyms.