• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workout
      • Best BCAAs
      • Best Testosterone Boosters
      • Best Bodybuilding Supplements
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
      • Best Multivitamins
      • Best Collagen Supplement
      • Best Probiotic
      • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workout
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Magnesium Supplements
    • Protein
      • Best Protein Powder
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Protein Powders for Muscle Gain
      • Best Tasting Protein Powder
      • Best Vegan Protein
      • Best Mass Gainer
      • Best Protein Shakes
      • Best Organic Protein Powder
      • Best Pea Protein Powder
      • Best Protein Bars
    • Strength Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Weight Benches
      • Best Functional Trainers
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Resistance Bands
      • Best Trap Bars
    • Cardio Equipment
      • Best Cardio Machines
      • Best Rowing Machines
      • Best Treadmills
      • Best Weighted Vests
      • Concept2 RowErg Review
      • Hydrow Wave Review
      • Best Jump Ropes
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Training in Paradise: Take a Fitness Vacation to Thailand

Imagine coming home from vacation with six-pack abs and a squat record to go along with your camera full of exotic photos. "Fitness vacations" make it easier than ever to have the best of both worlds.

Megan Clements

Written by Megan Clements Last updated on Nov 22, 2021

Imagine returning home from vacation with six-pack abs and a new squat personal record to go along with your camera full of exotic photos. The growing industry of “fitness vacations” makes it easier than ever to have the best of both worlds: exciting travel adventures without sacrificing your health goals. One of the most popular fitness vacation destinations is a place I call “fit street” in Phuket, Thailand.

So this is how a fitness vacation plays out. You’re lounging poolside at the resort sipping a fresh green coconut as a warm breeze blows through the palm trees. Your biggest concern is whether you should read your book or call for a massage later this afternoon. Sounds like bliss, right? But as you head into the café and look out onto the street a fit young man runs past, struggling for breath as he hauls a truck tire along the street with his buddy egging him on. Perhaps a little less blissful, but it’s a timely reminder that your second training session of the day will start in an hour or so. It’s all part of your vacation plans.

Once upon a time, it was only serious fighters who’d come to practice muay Thai or MMA in training camps in Thailand. Some would stay for a couple of weeks to prepare for a fight, others for a few months to get serious about training and hopefully get a fight or two in. Accommodation was basic, usually dorm style, and training was best characterized as “old school,” consisting of long runs, pad work, sparring, and having your stomach pummeled with a medicine ball.

Nowadays there are still the hardcore fighters, they’re the ones out running in the midday sun with their sweat suits on, and there are still the old-school training regimens, but there’s also a new crowd – the fitness vacations crowd. Some are here to lose a few extra pounds, some are here to try out a new sport, and others are here to enjoy in a tropical paradise and stay fit and active as they do it. And it’s not just martial arts on offer now, there’s CrossFit, yoga, weightlifting, spin classes, circuit training, and more, which means there’s something for pretty much everyone.

fitness vacations, muay thai camps, thailand vacations, thailand fitnessOne recent addition to fit street is Unit 27, the first total conditioning facility on the street. Unit 27 is operated by father-son team Dayle and Robert Hallam, and officially opened last December. When I spoke to Dayle, who is a strength and conditioning sports coach and structural kinesiologist from England, about how he came to be in a tropical paradise doing what he loves, his answer was simple. He’d been making regular trips here as a muay Thai fighter for training, and simply realized there was a need for a strength and conditioning facility with structured and modern approach to getting people fit.

Commenting on his clientele he said, “We see all types, from people who are out of shape and want to kick start on their fitness journey, to top rugby players looking for a vacation that will actually help rather than hinder them in the pre-season.” The facility is built to train anyone from an elite athlete to an out-of-shape middle-aged vacationer. MMA fighters such as Mohammad Fakhreddine and Australian NRL rugby player Sandor Earl spent time training at Unit 27, but the people that trainers and clients alike are most excited to talk about are the success stories.

fitness vacations, muay thai camps, thailand vacations, thailand fitnessIn just a few months there are already a handful of impressive stories of people who have turned their health around, gotten crazy fit, or lost body fat training at Unit 27. It’s these stories that everyone seems most motivated by. And while there are some crazy-fit people training at Unit 27, there’s no elitism. Everyone trains in the same space and encourages one another to be their very best. There’s a healthy dose of competition to keep things interesting, but overriding it all is a real sense of community.

And this is a big part of why people get results here. Everyone is here with a health focus, and many of the distractions and temptations of everyday life have been taken away, giving people a chance to focus on training, fueling, and resting. The street is lined with juice bars full of protein shakes and going to restaurants with your newfound friends will always be full of healthy food options. Of course if you are carb loading for a run up the big Buddha (a 3.5km uphill run/walk that is the fit street equivalent to a CrossFitter’s “Fran” time), it’s also not hard to find a delicious pad thai for dinner and banana protein pancakes for dessert.

fitness vacations, muay thai camps, thailand vacations, thailand fitnessHere, there are no staff meetings with endless supplies of pastries. There are no traffic jams that prevent you from making it to training on time. In fact, training is just a few hundred meters down the street. All the obstacles are removed and the tools are provided for you. It’s just up to you to show up and do the work. If you want to make it even more foolproof, you can ask the team at Unit 27 to book your accommodation and a personally designed meal-plan as well as your training, before you even leave home.

And then after a tough day of training and chilling out by the pool there’s plenty of fun stuff to do too – a quick trip to the beach or to jungles with waterfalls, weekend night markets, and plenty more of the infamous Thai nightlife to balance out all that healthy stuff. But being surrounded by people who are here to be healthy means the simple life of train, eat, sleep, repeat is an easy and enjoyable routine. Particularly when you add in a bit of lounging by the pool into the mix.

Megan Clements

About Megan Clements

Megan ventured into her first CrossFit box in 2011, and it was love at first sight.Having played every sport on offer as a child and teenager, the variety and challenge of CrossFit appealed to her and she hasn’t looked back since.

After gaining her personal training and CrossFit Level I certifications whilst working in financial services, in late 2012 Megan packed up her life in Australia to go on an adventure, dedicating time and effort to things she loves: traveling and, of course, CrossFit.

She is currently living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and dividing her time between training, learning a new language, and experiencing all the fun things Brazil has to offer!

View All Articles

Related Posts

Fergus Crawley 5K Run Tips Photo
Fergus Crawley Shares 5 Tips For Running a Better 5K
Actor Chris Hemsworth in gym performing dumbbell row
Chris Hemsworth Diagrams a Killer Upper Body Workout Fit For an Action Star
Hugh Jackman Deadpool 3 Workouts Spring:Winter 2023
Hugh Jackman Returns to Wolverine Condition in Workouts for “Deadpool 3”
Method Man Incline Dumbbell Presses December 2022
Check Out Rapper Method Man Cruising Through 120-Pound Incline Dumbbell Presses for 10 Reps

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

New Year’s Fitness Sales (2025)

XWERKS Motion BCAA Review (2025): A Registered Dietitian’s Honest Thoughts

Assault Fitness AssaultBike Pro X Review (2025): Assault’s Best Bike Yet?

13 Best Exercise Bikes for Home Gyms (2025)

Transparent Labs BCAA Glutamine Review (2025): The Key to Post-Workout Recovery?

Latest Reviews

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt Review (2025)

Omre NMN + Resveratrol, Lifeforce Peak NMN, and partiQlar NMN on a red background

Best NMN Supplement: Fountain of Youth in a Bottle? (2025)

The Titan Series Adjustable Bench on a red background

Titan Series Adjustable Bench Review (2025)

A photo of the NordicTrack Select-a-Weight Dumbbells on a red background

NordicTrack Adjustable Dumbbell Review (2025): Are These Value Dumbbells Worth It?

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2025 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About