Before or After Training: When Fighters Actually Use Menthol Balm

Big Boy Balm's roots trace back to Thai training camps, where menthol and camphor rubs are part of the daily routine, not an occasional treatment. Here's how fighters actually use it, split by when and why.

Before training: loosening up

Applied to shoulders, hips, and shins before a session, the warming sensation that follows the initial cooling can help muscles and joints feel more ready to move, especially in a cold gym or during early-morning sessions. This isn't a substitute for a real warm-up, but it's a common addition to one.

During camp: managing shin and forearm conditioning

Muay Thai's shin conditioning is notoriously rough on the lower leg. Fighters in camp often work balm into shins and forearms between rounds or after pad work, not to numb pain but to keep swelling and stiffness from building up session over session.

After training: the main use case

This is where most people, fighters included, reach for it most. Post-session, on whatever took the most punishment that day — shoulders after clinch work, hips after heavy bag rounds, lower back after strength work. Applied within an hour of finishing, it's part of the cool-down instead of an afterthought the next morning.

Fight week and cutting camp

In the days before a fight, when volume drops but tension and nerves run high, balm on the neck and shoulders is as much about the routine and the smell as the physical effect — a signal that it's time to lock in.

One rule that matters

Always test a small area first if you're new to it, and never apply immediately before a sauna, hot shower, or extended heat exposure — the combination intensifies the sensation well past comfortable. Otherwise, apply generously and often; that's exactly what it's built for.

Train hard, recover harder. Get a tin in your gym bag.