how to train for obstacle course races

How long does it take to train for a mud run?

How do you train for a terrain race?

How do I train for OCR?

How do you train for a mud run?

How do I practice obstacle courses?

How do I train for a 10k obstacle course?

What is the easiest obstacle race?

How do I train for warrior race?

Can you do a Spartan Race without training?

What diseases can you get from mud?

How do Marines train for mud runs?

How do you clean up after a mud run?

How to do bear crawl?

Bear crawl drag. Get on all fours—like you’re about to crawl—with a sandbag or 15 to 35 pound kettlebell on the floor between your knees. Reach between your legs and pull the weight across the floor up in front of you. Now, bear crawl forward until the weight is between your legs again. Repeat.

How to do pull ups with a bar?

Stand in front of a pullup bar, ideally one that’s 12 to 18 inches above your hands when your arms are overhead. Jump vertically and grab the bar with an overhand grip. Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. Continue doing pullups for the remainder of your 40 seconds. 2.

How to get rid of a swollen thigh?

Rest 20 seconds between each exercise. Once you’ve complete the last exercise, that’s 1 round. Do 6 total rounds. 1. Jumping pullup. Stand in front of a pullup bar, ideally one that’s 12 to 18 inches above your hands when your arms are overhead. Jump vertically and grab the bar with an overhand grip.

How to get a chin up?

1. Jumping pullup. Stand in front of a pullup bar, ideally one that’s 12 to 18 inches above your hands when your arms are overhead. Jump vertically and grab the bar with an overhand grip. Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. Continue doing pullups for the remainder of your 40 seconds. 2. Bear crawl drag.

How to get a sandbag?

Get on all fours—like you’re about to crawl—with a sandbag or 15 to 35 pound kettlebell on the floor between your knees. Reach between your legs and pull the weight across the floor up in front of you. Now, bear crawl forward until the weight is between your legs again. Repeat.

How to do a gorilla hang?

Gorilla hang pullup. Stand underneath a pullup bar so you’re perpendicular to it. Grip the bar with one hand in front and the other right behind it, like you’re gripping the handle of a baseball bat. Now pull yourself up until your right shoulder touches the bar.

How to get a sprite out of your shoulder?

Grip the bar with one hand in front and the other right behind it, like you’re gripping the handle of a baseball bat. Now pull yourself up until your right shoulder touches the bar. Slowly lower yourself. Repeat, this time touching your left shoulder to the bar. Repeat back and forth for 40 seconds.

What is an obstacle course race?

Obstacle course racing, or OCR, is the sport that mixes running and pre-constructed obstacles to challenge your mind and body in a unique way. There are competitive heats, where you can earn cash prizes or just-for-fun heats ...

What to bring to a race?

8. Pack a travel bag. 1 Signed race waiver 2 Cash for parking 3 Photo ID 4 Change of clothes (including shoes—flip-flops will do) 5 Plastic/leakproof bag for muddy clothes 6 Extra water 7 Post-race snacks (think beef or turkey jerky, protein bar, almonds) 8 Energy gels to bring with you on the course 9 A positive attitude!

How to do a bicep curl?

Complete one round of: 1 ¼-mile run 2 Ten pull-ups (inverted rows for beginners) 3 ¼-mile run 4 20 bodyweight squats (place a 30- to 50-pound sandbag on your back to increase difficulty) 5 Three-minute incline walk on treadmill 6 20 dumbbell bicep curls (you can also use resistance bands) 7 Three-minutes StairMaster 8 20 dumbbell squats to presses (aka thrusters)

How many miles to run an OCR?

This one seems simple, but oftentimes people have the idea of trying an OCR in their head but don’t follow through with signup. Pick a three- to five-mile race, and sign up for a non-elite heat.

What are the components of OCR?

Shoes are a critical component of OCR. There are shoes specifically made for mountainous OCRs; typically they can drain water, have a great grip, and are lightweight. You don’t want waterproof shoes, which will hold water in—you want shoes with holes in them for draining the water.

What is cardiorespiratory endurance?

Cardiorespiratory endurance, gained from doing aerobics such as running and swimming, is different from muscular endurance, which is the body’s ability to perform repeated contractions (actions) for a long duration.

How to increase muscular endurance?

A great way to increase your muscular endurance is with Aaptiv’s strength training workouts. 5. Get grip strength. Regardless of your bodyweight, your forearms, wrists, and hands all contribute to successfully being able to hold on to or squeeze things.

How many miles are there in an obstacle course?

Ranging from roughly three miles up to 10, obstacle course races, or OCRs, are non-traditional competition events consisting of plenty of muddy water and military-style obstacles designed to test the racer’s resolve to the breaking point.

How many obstacles are there in Spartan Race?

So regardless of your fitness level, there is always an obstacle course distance that will fit your current fitness level. Here are the main distances on the Spartan Race series: A three-mile sprint with 15 obstacles. The Super Spartan, an 8-miler featuring 20 obstacles. A 12-mile Spartan beast with 25 obstacles.

What is an OCR race?

Most OCRs mix elements of adventure racing, trail running, and gut-throbbing military-inspired obstacles—all of which can offer you a one-of-a-kind fitness experience. Unlike training for a traditional race, the ideal OCR plan touches on every aspect of functional movement.

What is an interval run?

Interval Run Workout. Obstacle race tends to take place in in full-out-efforts or intervals, typically alternating between running and the obstacles. In other words, they are like fartlek training on steroids. Build your explosive power and stamina for the OCR by doing plenty of interval running workouts.

How does hill training help?

Hill training increases both lungpower and lower body strength. This combo is going to help you overcome many of the obstacles like the steep incline, the stairs and so on. First of all, you need to locate the nearest steepest hill, preferably with a gradient of 5 to 10 percent.

What to expect in Spartan Race?

What to Expect. On the Spartan Race course, expect a lot of muddy pits, rope climbs, dark tunnels, barbed wire and other gut wrenching obstacles. However, you cannot cheat on this one. If you skip an obstacle, expect a penalty of 10 to 30 burpees before you can move on with the rest of the course. 4.

How to get ready for OCR?

To get ready for the OCR, you need to do plenty of speed work and hill reps to develop the explosive power needed to go through the whole course unscathed.

How does endurance training work?

To do so, you’ll use light (or zero) weights for sets of 15 to 30 reps of a given exercise, and limit rest between sets to less than 30 seconds. Not only does this improve your muscles’ endurance, but your cardio endurance, too.

What are rigs in a gym?

Like evil monkey bars, rigs are tall metal structures equipped with all sorts of hanging objects you’ll have to grab one by one to get across. Many rigs feature gymnastics rings, ropes, frayed nylon, baseballs—any combination of objects that’ll absolutely torch your forearms as you try to hold on.

What is a plyometrics workout?

Plyometrics are explosive movements that require a muscle to reach maximal force in the shortest possible time. You’ll want to work on both upper- and lower-body plyometric moves —but lower-body plyometrics will get you the most bang for your buck come race day.

What is the best grip for OCR?

Grip strength is essential for OCR performance. Most obstacles use one of two types of grip strength: crush grip or support grip. Crush grip, the grip between your fingers and your palm, is used in rope climbs and monkey bars. Support grip, the grip you use to hold onto something for a long time, is used during bucket carries and sled drags.

What muscles are in the core?

The anatomical muscles of our ‘core’ include much more than just the muscles that make up our six-pack. They also include the lower-back muscles and the external and internal obliques, which are important for bending and rotating.

What are some exercises to prepare the nervous system for steep hills?

Instead, you need a routine of compound exercises that includes mountain climbers, bodyweight squats, and sprints.

How to do shoulder raises?

Grasp light dumbbells or weights with each hand. From a standing position, extend a leg to one side, squat down low (keeping your body weight in your heels), and hold the position for 2 to 3 seconds. While in the squat, gently twist your core back and forth or raise the weights above your head and back down to perform a shoulder raise. Raise yourself back up to a standing position and repeat.

How to do a lunge?

Start from standing while holding weights, and step either forward or backward and perform a lunging motion. Hold the motion for 2 to 3 seconds and do gentle twists or shoulder raises.

How to do a lunge with hips?

Start from a standing position, but this time twist before lunging. Imagine your hips as the center of an X with your arms and legs forming the arms of the X. Twist in the opposite direction each time.

How to get rid of tight hips?

Make sure you pay special attention to stretching your hip complex to reduce tightness. Kneeling, standing, or supine hip flexor stretches are great ways to hit those tight hips, as are yoga poses like butterfly or pigeon pose.

How to do a front lunge?

From a standing position, go into deep side or front lunges while holding a weight plate. At the bottom of each lunge, twist your torso back and forth. Don't swing the weight; instead, move it purposefully by engaging your frontal and oblique abdominal muscles.

How to do a squat with a dumbbell?

Lie on your back with your hands grasping the weight above your chest. Raise your arms and extend the plate as far back above your head as your arms can reach. Simultaneously lift the weight and your legs from the floor and bring them together above your chest. Slowly lower your feet and the plate back to the start position, but don't let your heels or the plate touch the ground. For a greater challenge, place a dumbbell between your feet.