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Obstacle races, or OCR events, continues to thrive!

There is something to be said about an event that isn’t just running, or just lifting. It combined all facets of fitness together for an event that brings all sorts of people out.

Runners love it because they get to use their speed to get through one obstacle after another.

People that lift weights love it because they get to use their strength to power quickly through tough physical challenges such as dragging a cement block or carrying an atlas ball.

I love it for both reasons! Which is why in 5 weeks, I have my 2nd Spartan Super.

Last week was all about recovery from the 50K but Saturday it was back to training…

And I was pretty thrilled!

Training for July 11th in the Pocanos as Dan and I tackle our second 8-10 mile Spartan Race (here’s the recap from our first).

How does training for a race like the Spartan differ from training for a “regular” race? It differs a lot! Because this isn’t all about endurance.

This is a total body workout and while endurance and leg strength are important (there will be some serious inclines and trail running), it’s all about total body strength.

Lots of pulling, climbing, carrying and perhaps burpee(ing)… though hopefully not too many burpees!

During a Spartan, any failed obstacle is penalized with 30 burpees before you’re allowed to continue. Ugh. Last time I think I ended up doing 90 or 120 burpees. I don’t want that to happen again.

Which is why I’m training with a purpose!

Let’s talk about that training a little.

The 5 Most Important Exercises To Prepare For A Spartan Race

Include these moves into your weekly training and not only will you perform like a Spartan but you’ll look like one too!

I have a girl crush on Artemisia (from the 2nd 300 movie) and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Source

During 99.9% of obstacle races you’ll have to pull yourself up and over at least 1 wall, log or rope. To help prepare, it’s important to focus on back exercises, most importantly…

PULL-UPS! NOT CHIN-UPS.

I know chin-ups are a bit more common place for women, but unfortunately doing them won’t get you anywhere when you’re scaling a wall. Pull-ups and grip is the #1 focus here.

To help with both, I’m utilizing our Fat Gripz which takes pull-ups to a whole new level.

Don’t have FatGripz? They’re pretty cheap, but there are also other options… using towels will also give your grip strength a run for it’s money and help build muscle incredibly fast!

The stronger you can make your grip, the better chance you have at events like monkey bars and rope climbs!

These are so tough! I can only do a couple of reps before my grip, forearms and body gives up. But with consistent practice, I’ll get stronger!

Can’t do a pull up… yet? That’s okay!

That doesn’t mean you’ll fail.

Practice hanging from the bar as long as possible, practice TRX rows, reverse rows or begin immediately working on a pull-up progress program! ← This is for a chin-up, however just turn your hands around for ALL moves discussed and you’ll have a pull-up progress. Deal?

You’re going to carry a lot of heavy things! Having the grip strength (clearly, it’s very important), the core strength to remain upright without putting too much pressure on the lower back, and stamina is crucial.

To help prep, add in laps of HEAVY farmer’s carries to workouts.

• This could mean having the weights down by your side like above, as if carrying a suitecase.
• This could mean carrying a heavy weight on just one side to engage the core more.
• This could mean carrying weights (kettlebells) in a racked position to help build bicep strength.

Farmer’s carry isn’t an exercise that you see performed regularly at gyms, but it’s incredible and beneficial for not only strength but also overall functional fitness! Think of it as carrying your shopping bags (but x10)!

Remember above when I said for each failed obstacle, the price to pay is 30 burpees?

With adrenaline running, the first set isn’t so bad. But then if you fail again, those burpees get harder and harder.

They take a lot out of you and make it harder to get moving again.

So practice them before hand. Will you likely have to do at least 1 set? Yup. The dreaded

BUCKET CARRY

In the last Spartan race we had to:

• Carry quite a heavy atlas ball
• Drag a rather large block of cement
• Carry a heavy sandbag (for a very long distance)
• AND fill a bucket with rocks and, you guessed it, carry it for what felt like 100 yards.

So practice now.

Head over to your local hardware store and grab a bucket. Fill it rocks, weights, sandbags, whatever you can get your hands on and practice walking for at least 3 minute intervals.

It will be bulky, it will be uncomfortable but it will prepare you. I promise, on race day, it’s not comfortable but having the strength and endurance to get through it without setting a weight down helps TREMENDOUSLY!

When I made it to the buckets at our last race, the idea of setting it down only to have to pick it right back up seemed like torture. I made sure to “just keep swimming” until that bucket was placed at the finish point.

Of course it depends on where you race is, but there is a good chance you’ll have to run quite a bit and on rolling trails.

Don’t expect each event to be placed back to back with little running between. At some points you may find yourself running a full mile or at least close to it!

Practice sprints, incline training and if possible, decline training. The running portion should help you pick up the pace of the race, not hold you back. This is where you make up time!

Plus, sprints are incredible for burning fat, toning muscle and getting your body in overall Spartan form!

And finally, not an actual exercise but a workout tip.

Focus on workouts that include the above exercises taking your body to near exhaustion… at least 1x/week.

Workouts that are an hour long. Workouts that have you thinking, “man, I’m tired. Can I quit?”

Because that’s what is going to happen. Your body will be fatigued from head to toe but you’ll have to keep going. Prepare for it with workouts like this!

Test Your Spartan Progress

Why do people stick to training?

Most often it’s because they see results. They SEE themselves getting stronger, fitter, faster, toner, etc.

That is, if they’re testing themselves.

This past Saturday, Dan and I did our progression test which we will be repeating every 2 weeks between now and July 11th.

We will see if our training is working or if we need to make a few tweaks. Makes sense, right?

Here’s our progression test in case you would like to participate with us!

• Kettlebell Cardio Timed Test

• How Many Pistol Squats/Leg Can You Do In 1 Set?
• How Long Does It Take To Complete 30 Burpees (with FULL push-ups)?
• How Many Pull-ups Can You Do Unbroken?

This is a tough little test session but provides a great baseline.

Here’s how I did:

1. KB Test: 6:32:29
2. Pistol Squat Test: 1/leg ← need to focus a lot on these!
3. Burpee Test: 1:46:70
4. Pull-Up Test: 8 ← I was TIRED by this point!!

The Secret To Being A Spartan Goddess

The secret is to train. Bottom line. It’s a unique type of fitness and that means preparation. Simply being able to lift weights or run isn’t enough.

Focus on these moves and workout tips and you will perform like a Spartan warrior and perhaps look like one too!

Oh, those abs!

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