10 Ways to Train for your First Spartan Race
While Elite Spartan warriors will have a heavily committed schedule to train and qualify on the world stage, this is for those curious about the world of OCR race and obstacle events. Whether you're making your obstacle race début, or looking to get some added tips on making your next race even better, here are 10 ways to prepare for your Spartan Race and smash your personal goals.
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Burpees, Burpees, Burpees
Yep. You may as well get those burpee mileage in. With 30 burpees as a penalty for not completing a Spartan Race obstacle, the amount of energy you'll expend (especially over more than 1 obstacle) racks up very quickly. It's good to know how many sets you can do to give you that buffer (but we all know you'll nail that obstacle right?). Even if you don't, burpees are great for all-round action on your core, arms, calves, thighs and glutes to thrust yourself into the air.
If you're not familiar with a burpee, you can go into a press-up position, bring your chest to the ground then back up, bring both feet as close to your hands and jump up from squat to extension. A clap at the top is welcomed for that Spartan touch (though found out it's not a Spartan necessity sob).
Start on those Pull-ups
Ah it used to be the bane of my exercise routine. But how it really pays off. Spartan obstacles are pretty heavy on the upper body - monkey rings, monkey bars, twister, rope traversal wall, rope wall, Z walls etc. So it really pays to get those pull-up sets in. You'll thank me for doing so.If you're getting into it, it'll be tough. Try and find a set of bars in your public park or use one at the gym and start with low reps. Keep your core tight to keep your lower body and back in good form, while extending your arms up and down. 5 reps in a set is a good start and then see how many sets you can push. Work from there and build on it.
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Grip Strength
Spartan race obstacles require a lot on your upper body and/ or cores. However, One of the most effective ways I found to push yourself over that finishing line is to strengthen your grip. It'll especially come in handy on the monkey bars, monkey rings, rope climb, rope traversal wall and twister.
If you have weak grip (like I did), it's the most noticeable improvement I found, with extra stability on those obstacles so definitely worth working on. The hand grips strengthen your anterior forearms muscles for that added drive through and support to your biceps, while the finger stretcher resistance bands improve extensor muscles in the fingers.
Together, you'll find stronger grips to hold up, on, out longer than usual. I noticed it immediately after doing 300 a day on each arm (100 x 3) in Spartan Marston Lodge over the weekend. I've increased it to 150 x 3 sets for 450 per day and feel stronger in the forearm and finger regions.
Climbing stairs / hills
A great way to train your calves and thighs for death valley and hill courses. Aston Down in the South West, UK is a challenging terrain as they are very steep…and plenty of them too. Hill runs up and down as well as staircases up and down work the muscles just above your knee for added support and reduced pressure on your knee joints.The distance while reasonable (8km, 15km, 25km) doesn't factor the steep hills and angled terrain you'll find your steps landing on. Hills work best to mimic the rough terrain that can be taxing on the ankles too so training in that way will strengthen those.
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Press-ups
A basic but relative essential. You'll want to support the lats and back muscles you've strengthened with the pull-up, together with your shoulder, triceps and chest muscles for solid upper arm strength. Push for longer sets with your body weight as you get better at it, while wearing a weight chest brace or extra weights on top of you to go beyond.Squats and High Jumps
Activating your leg muscles not only for the hilly terrain but explosive lift or push on the obstacles that matter. The gravel bucket carry, cargo rope climb and multiple high walls are obstacles you'll benefit from working the glute and thigh muscles to keep you going as your body is putting under the strain. The rope traversal wall with your legs tucked up 90 degrees against the wall also give you that push to swing around the corner with ease.
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Weighted and rotated lunges
Stretch out the thighs and glutes with lunges for stronger running strides and open up the waist rotations to aid your movement on the day and not to pull any side muscles, especially on the cinder block drag and atlas carry. Lunges strengthen your thigh muscles and if you do a vertical drop on the lunge, gets the msucle above your knee-joint working too. Add kettlebells or free weights on each arm for greater weight on the lunge motion.Step-ups to Sparta
You can do these on any raised curbs in the outdoor open or find a bench and step onto it. I find alternating steps on the raised curb or platform works great to open up the stride on the pelvis. Aim for 400/500 steps in total to get a great cardio workout in addition to strong stride and flex on the hips for those acute angles. You'll likely find yourself climbing up the 8ft walls, Spartan Race bender or side leg crawls underneath the barbed wire.Read: 5KM Colour Run in London
Side Step jogging
Instead of jogging where your legs and body are facing forward, turn sideways and jog with your body and legs facing the side. Side step your way forward to get the sides of your hips and legs opening up, since normal running motion limits it forward and keeps your pelvis closed. This will help open it up, work your side glutes and give you that greater leg motion without resorting to any lockups, cramps or rustiness.If you have resistance bands that's great, if not you can still do these without though not as effective. Take a step left or right, opening up your pelvis and go to squat position. Hold it for 5 seconds then rise back to normal position, pushing from the glutes. 4 sets of 10 reps and that give you added conditioning above the knee joints, glutes and flex the hips to avoid any kinks or tightness.
If you do these 2-3 weeks before your Spartan Race, increasing either the intensity, reps, sets or weights then you'll be primed for taking on any Spartan Race. Of course, if you have any OCR training grounds nearby or cross-fit trainings, those work great for Spartan obstacle events. But if you're the average person that doesn't have many resources available, these exercise are great to do at home or outside. Good luck Spartans! AROO!
This is my own written article originally published on my website at One Tech Traveller