Week 7-8: Power and sprinting. "Power training involves intensive resistance workouts that work on your ability to generate great amounts of force and power, giving you the edge on …
May 18, 2015 · If you’re new to running or fitness in general, you’ll likely need 12-16 weeks to train appropriately. Remember, we’re training to be competitive, not just finish the race. 3. Run a lot. There’s no getting around the fact that obstacle races are running races first and tests of strength and agility second.
In order to be as successful as you can be at the sport of obstacle racing, it is a great idea to practice concentration, focus, attention and most importantly — quieting the voices that do not serve your greatest good. Listening to the “I can do it” voice is best, but not always easy. One of the hardest things to overcome is the voice ...
Mar 23, 2012 · Pulling out All the Stops. Find a pullup or chinup bar, and lift yourself up off the ground. Vary your hand positions to work different muscles: Face palms away for a set, then towards you for a set. Use your muscles to lift your body off the ground and pull up so your chin goes above the bar.
Obstacle course racing is the perfect marriage of strength and endurance in a competition.
While everyone’s training will vary, you should make sure your programming focuses on these elements: Improving core strength and mobility. Building strength and stability across the hips, midsection, and shoulders. Developing explosive movements, such as jumping and leaping. Increasing endurance.
First, we need to ask ourselves, what is overtraining? Overtraining normally occurs when an athlete’s training frequency exceeds the time their body needs to properly recover from exercise. Some exercises and sports can be addicting – like obstacle course racing – and it’s not uncommon to see athletes jump into very intense training in an effort to compete in more difficult competitions. What they don’t realize is that these super hard training sessions are having the opposite effect, and the body can break down instead of getting stronger.
1. Make a Plan – Making a plan, for both training schedules and race timing, is critical for all obstacle course athletes.
Some are active, some are passive, but all are essential for proper recovery. Sleep – Aim to get at least 6-8 hours of sleep at night. Active Recovery – Go for a very easy run, bike ride, or even walk the day after a race or heavy training day.
Active Recovery – Go for a very easy run, bike ride, or even walk the day after a race or heavy training day. Foam Roll/Massage – Foam roll regularly during training and schedule a sports massage a few days following a race.
One way many athletes do this is by incorporating varied exercises into their runs. For example, every 500 meters you can complete different exercises such as burpees, pull-ups or bear crawls, then continue the run and repeat.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Instead, you need a routine of compound exercises that includes mountain climbers, bodyweight squats, and sprints.
That’s just not so, says Alexander Nicholas, CPT, group fitness instructor and owner and founder of Epic Hybrid Training in New York City. The key to conquering these races is to combine the fitness disciplines, train at the manic pace you’ll face on race day, and mimic many of the awkward movements you’ll do in the course, he says. ...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.