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12-Week Program

The Lethwei Bible Beginner Plan

This plan assumes three to four hours per week for the first six weeks and five to six hours per week from week seven onward. It is built around a solo home setup (heavy bag, jump rope, body-weight strength) with partner work added where available. It is not a replacement for coaching — it is a structure that keeps you honest until you find a coach. Sparring (from week 6) and any headbutt work should happen only with a coach present, and this plan is not medical advice: stop and see a doctor for hand pain, swelling or deformity, or for any headache, dizziness, confusion or nausea after a blow to the head. The week numbers are ceilings, not targets; if two pages on this site ever differ on when contact work starts, use the later date.

Week 1

Focus: Orientation & baseline conditioning
  1. Mon — 30 min jog, 3×10 push-ups, 3×15 body squats, stance & footwork 20 min.
  2. Tue — Shadow-boxing 3×3 min, jab/cross drills 20 min, core circuit 15 min.
  3. Wed — Rest or 45 min walk.
  4. Thu — Jump rope 3×3 min, bag work (jab/cross only) 4×3 min, cool-down stretch.
  5. Fri — Mobility 20 min, teep and round-kick mechanics 25 min, core.
  6. Sat — 45 min jog at conversational pace.
  7. Sun — Full rest.

Week 2

Focus: Stance integrity & basic strikes
  1. Mon — Shadow-box 3×3 min, add lead hook, bag work 4×3 min.
  2. Tue — Bodyweight strength 30 min, jump rope 4×2 min, footwork ladder.
  3. Wed — Rest or easy cycling.
  4. Thu — Pad work (if available) 3×3 min, heavy bag 4×3 min.
  5. Fri — Clinch stance intro (no partner: posture drill 15 min), kicks 20 min.
  6. Sat — 50 min jog, hill sprints 6×20 sec.
  7. Sun — Rest.

Week 3

Focus: Introducing elbows and knees
  1. Mon — Shadow-box w/ elbows 3×3 min, bag 4×3 min, core.
  2. Tue — Strength (push-ups, squats, rows) 40 min.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Knee drill series, bag 5×3 min, light neck conditioning.
  5. Fri — Pad work, elbow variations, cool-down yoga.
  6. Sat — 60 min run.
  7. Sun — Rest.

Week 4

Focus: Defence & parrying
  1. Mon — Slip/parry drills (partner or mirror), shadow 3×3 min, bag 4×3 min.
  2. Tue — Strength 40 min, jump rope 4×3 min.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Counter combinations on bag, teep defence drill.
  5. Fri — Kick defence, checking, cool-down.
  6. Sat — 6 km run.
  7. Sun — Rest.

Week 5

Focus: Clinch fundamentals
  1. Mon — Shadow-box w/ clinch entries, bag 4×3 min.
  2. Tue — Strength 45 min, conditioning circuit.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Clinch drills (solo posture; partner if available) 20 min, knees on bag.
  5. Fri — Pad work, elbow-from-clinch drills.
  6. Sat — 6 km run, plyometric box jumps 4×10.
  7. Sun — Rest.

Week 6

Focus: Light technical sparring
  1. Mon — Warm-up, technical spar 3×2 min (punches only), bag 4×3 min.
  2. Tue — Strength 45 min.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Kick-boxing spar 3×2 min (light, controlled), bag 4×3 min.
  5. Fri — Mobility + pad work, clinch flow drill.
  6. Sat — 7 km run, sprint ladder.
  7. Sun — Rest.

Week 7

Focus: Power development
  1. Mon — Heavy bag power rounds 5×3 min, plyometrics.
  2. Tue — Strength (compound lifts or bodyweight progressions) 50 min.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Pad work + combos, knee-on-bag 4×3 min.
  5. Fri — Sparring 4×2 min technical, cool-down.
  6. Sat — Hill sprints 8×30 sec, long cool-down.
  7. Sun — Rest.

Week 8

Focus: Clinch sparring intro
  1. Mon — Clinch spar (partner, light) 4×2 min, bag work.
  2. Tue — Strength + mobility 45 min.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Pad work, elbow flow, knee bag 5×3 min.
  5. Fri — Technical spar 5×2 min, stretch.
  6. Sat — 8 km run.
  7. Sun — Rest.

Week 9

Focus: Hand conditioning (bag gloves on)
  1. Mon — Bag work 3×2 min (full wraps and bag gloves), core.
  2. Tue — Strength 45 min, neck conditioning.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Pad work, light spar 4×2 min, bag.
  5. Fri — Clinch spar 4×2 min, stretch.
  6. Sat — 8 km run, sprints.
  7. Sun — Rest. Stop and see a doctor for hand pain, swelling or deformity.

Week 10

Focus: Integrated sparring
  1. Mon — Full-rules technical spar 5×2 min (no headbutts), bag.
  2. Tue — Strength 45 min.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Pad work, bag, first short wraps-only bag session 3×2 min (no bag gloves, light).
  5. Fri — Clinch spar, stretching.
  6. Sat — 9 km run.
  7. Sun — Rest.

Week 11

Focus: Headbutt integration (drill only)
  1. Mon — Headbutt pad drill (purpose-made pad, held by a coach; no head-to-head contact) 20 min, bag.
  2. Tue — Strength 50 min.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Full-rules light spar (no headbutts) 5×2 min.
  5. Fri — Pad work, cool-down.
  6. Sat — 9 km run.
  7. Sun — Rest.

Week 12

Focus: Benchmark week
  1. Mon — Light warm-up, mobility only.
  2. Tue — Benchmark test: 3 rounds shadow, 3 rounds bag, clinch flow.
  3. Wed — Rest.
  4. Thu — Technical spar 5×2 min, pad work.
  5. Fri — Easy mobility + stretching.
  6. Sat — 10 km run at conversational pace.
  7. Sun — Full rest, journal progress.

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