Don't listen to anybody that says that mass makes you slow. That's not actually true. If you take steroids and start body building and grow muscle mass that is no longer efficient, THEN you will slow down. But if you weight train in a way that's smart and set realistic goals that fit with your Muay Thai training, then adding a bit of mass is not going to hurt you in any way. Your body will adapt to how you train. If you do a lot of slow lifting and work out like a body builder, you'll develop slow muscles. If you develop an explosive power lifting routine, you'll develop muscle mass that is efficient for Muay Thai or any other explosive activity without any loss in speed.
As clarification, I'm not saying that you can't get slower from lifting weights and building mass. You can. But weight training isn't going to ONLY make you slower. Weight training can be tailored to your goals. You can put together a power lifting program that builds muscular strength AND speed. If all you do is slow lift, then all you'll develop is slow twitch muscle. If you power lift, you will develop fast twitch muscle. The idea that trying to build mass inherently makes you slow with no if's, and's, or but's is stupid.
Good luck on gaining weight while in Asia. Most people lose weight while there if they eat what everybody else there does. It is usually a very healthy diet with lots of different veggies and rice or a bun. If you are 'lucky' (for you I guess, because I do like the good food) you will be in a big city and they just might have a Wendy's or McDonalds if you need to gain weight. Be warned though you will have much better energy if you share these people's food than if you try to fill yourself up on unhealthy junk and lots of greasy, grimy hamburgers. YUK!
As a Thai boxer, it is to your advantage to be lean. Any additional mass you gain will slow you down and compromise your endurance. Have you ever noticed how the lightest fighters have the most stamina? Muscle uses more oxygen than fat, so you don't want to put on any more muscle than you absolutely need. You should put a greater emphasis on training than you do on gaining weight. With enough training your body will bulk back up to your pre-injury size and strength level in no time.
I will be going to thailand this week to train muay thai. Training will be twice a day two hours per session. I am curious if it is practical or possible to try and mass gain while im there. I was injured months ago which resulted in me going from 160 pounds to 145. I will be in thailand for three months and I and I dont want to be so damn skinny any longer. What should my diet look like if I wish to gain body mass? Will I need to lift weights or will eating and training take care of it? Would it be better to lift before or after training? Thank you!
