Obstacle Course Race Training Tips & Workout Equipment
First time obstacle racers are driven find training tips by the uncertainty of the unknown challenges to come. Veteran obstacle course racers are motivated to train by the memories of each misstep or struggle. Some racers may swear by training programs like crossfit, some might be long time weightlifters, others may be pure runners but the ultimate training will help build functional strength to overcome known obstacles and a broad base of skills to cope with the unknown Don’t feel like any of this training is necessary to go out and have a great time at an obstacle course race. If you’re waiting until you feel like you’re in perfect shape to race, that day will never come so it’s time to set aside the excuses and sign up. I'm not an elite athlete, I'm just a desk jockey by day who likes to wallow in the mud on the weekends. These obstacle course training tips and tools are methods that helped me overcome some weaknesses I discovered in myself during the course of my races so that I can continue to challenge myself.
Running
When it comes to obstacle course races, everyone fixates on preparing for the
obstacles. It's definitely satisfying to be able crush an intimidating
obstacle, especially if it's clear that other around you are
struggling. Most obstacle course racers are attracted by the
challenge of the obstacles, otherwise they would be running
road races. With that said, if you're looking for a competitive
time there is nothing more important than running. The percentage
of time spend on obstacles in the average race is small compared
to the time you will spend simply putting one foot in front
of another. Running might not be the most exciting part of your
obstacle course race training but it is time well spent.
Running In Mud
When it comes to obstacle course racing, there is no such thing as too much cardio conditioning. If you want a great time, I personally like to be comfortable running about 50% further than the race distance. If the obstacle course race is 3 miles, it's probably wise to at least be able to run 5 miles. If you want to be competitive over a 12 mile course, I'd try to squeeze in a 18-20 mile run. At the end of the day, mud miles are more taxing than road miles. Running in mud is inefficient as you waste energy both slipping and having your feet get stuck in the mud. The best technique for running in mud is to take short, quick steps. Keep your feet under your center of gravity and you're less likely to slip. Keep your feet moving to avoid sinking in too much. For running in deep, sticky mud, landing on the ball of your foot can help avoid getting stuck. Your foot will still sink in, but it will pull out with less resistance (and you're more likely to keep your shoe) than if you land flat footed.
Running Hills
One of the most challenging components of most obstacle course races ends up being
the natural hills throughout the courses. Obstacle course race
venues are often selected because they can make use of mountains,
ski slopes or other terrain with significant altitude changes.
They can be grueling and make even a slow pace feel like as
taxing as an all out sprint. The best way to train for hills
is to do hill repeats but, being from Illinois, finding good
hills can be tough. There are often decent hills in forest preserves
but you can also get creative and run stairs in an apartment
building or run the bleachers around a high school football
field. Get your muscles used to driving up those inclines so
that during your race you won't be exhausted by the time you
get to the obstacles. Speed workouts like 400m repeats or Yassos
can be included as a supplement since sprinting and hill climbing
recruit the same leg muscles.
Pullups
No matter what obstacle course race you choose to run, I can almost guarantee you'll have to climb over some walls. Upper body strength and grip strength are key climbing over them and many other obstacles. When training for an obstacle course race, pullups are your friend. Pullup bars are cheap and you can hang them in the doorways at home or at the office so there aren't any excuses not to do them. If you've spent a lot of time in a gym doing curls, the chin-up form with palms facing you may feel more comfortable. You can supplement your proper overhand pullups with chin ups but you want to do as much with your palm facing away as possible. This form does recruit different muscles and when you jump and grab the top of the wall, you're going to be using an overhand grip!
Once you get comfortable doing pullups on a standard bar, there are all kinds of thing you can add to help prepare yourself for your obstacle course race. Hanging two towels over your pullup bar and holding them instead of the bar can help develop your grip strength. Along those lines, I hung short lengths of chains from the ceiling joists in my basement to use for pull ups. They're a lot easier to hang than a thick rope (we'll talk more about that later) but they're pretty hard on the hands. Rock climbers have used rock rings and fingerboards to develop their climbing strength and they're both great tools for the obstacle course racer as well. Inspired by the Ninja Warrior lamp graspers, I've also screwed eye hooks into baseballs and hung them from the ceiling joists to use for a modified pull up. I've also attached some lengths of 2x2 to the inside edge of some ceiling joists as rails that I can use for workouts. You can do pullups from just about anything you can hang from so feel free to get creative so that when race day comes, you'll be ready to climb over whatever they throw at you. A lot of crossfit lovers may be used to kipping pullups. When you're on the obstacle course, feel free to kip, kick and claw over that wall but during training I feel like a true dead-hang pull up is most effective at building the functional strength you will need during the obstacle course race. It's one thing to kick your legs a bit to squeeze in one extra rep but you're cheating yourself if you're kicking and swinging your legs from the start.
Climbing Ropes
During my first Spartan Sprint Race, I struggled with the rope climb. Wading out
into waist deep mud to try to make progress up a mud covered
rope was a difficult challenge. The rope was so slippery that
it took all my grip strength to avoid sliding down and I had
nothing left to gain ground. Looking ahead to the Super Spartan
race the following year, I knew I would face the rope again
and I was committed to ringing that bell at the top. Doing lots
of pull ups doesn't hurt when training for rope climbing but
nothing will prepare you quite actually climbing ropes. It turns
out that proper climbing ropes with hardware to hang them are
actually pretty expensive. I saw some DIY climbing rope clamps
online but that kind of cheap solution could get a lot more
expensive if you factor in the hospital bills in the event it
fails. I found some instructions on ITS Tactical showing how
to eye splice a rope that seemed secure. It took a couple tries
to get the hang of it but once properly done, it was a mounting
method I had confidence in.
When my neighbor happened to see me climbing up a ladder
into a tree with the rope draped over my shoulders, she seemed
oddly eager to help. It wasn't until later how bad it must
have looked as I climbed into a tree with a rope hanging around
my neck.
Climbing a rope is a great workout but most important thing
to learn is that it isn't about strength as much as technique.
Using your legs to lock in the rope makes a world of difference.
This ITS Tactical rope climbing how-to video does a great job of
demonstrating a strong form. With that skill fine tuned, the
rope climb during the Midwest Super Spartan was easy. The
rope has earned a permanent spot in our tree even if it does
raise some questions when visitors come to the house.
Monkey Bars
Variations on the classic playground monkey bars are pretty common on obstacle course races. Though it's usually not the most difficult obstacle in the race, there is usually some kind of sinister twist to make them harder. Some monkey bars are greased, some spin, some alternate heights. This shouldn't be a difficult obstacle to train for since most people live close enough to a school playground. Unless you have kids you can use as an excuse, you may have to get comfortable with people watching you wondering why a grown adult is playing on the monkey bars.
Indian Clubs
Inspired by the Mustache Man's Tough Mudder training video, I decided to make myself some homemade club bells out of galvanized pipe. A lot of the club bell workouts tend to be fluid and dynamic like a kettle bell workout. What I appreciated about this training tool is that it excels at developing wrist and grip strength as well as overall hand toughness - areas I feel are easy to overlook with more conventional weight training.
Low Crawl
Another common feature on obstacle course races is the barbed wire crawl. Usually wet and muddy, this obstacle can be deceptively tiring so practicing your belly crawl isn't a bad idea. There are definitely techniques to help make it through the obstacle as quickly and as efficiently as possible. First, if you have the space you can do a barrel roll instead of a crawl. It's usually faster and will help conserve energy. With that said, on race day you probably be surrounded by other racers and won't have the luxury of rolling through. The best tip I can give for a true belly crawl is to dig in with your elbows instead of your hands as you make forward progress. You will get better purchase in the mud and transfer more of the load to larger, stronger muscles. Your knees and elbows will probably get scraped up but there isn't really a solution that feels good. You did sign up for an obstacle course race and not a day at the spa.
Though it isn't a race, it seems worth mentioning that during the Goruck Challenge we ended up doing belly crawls while wearing our rucks. Crawling with 50lbs on your back feels completely different than crawling unburdened. Your balance and form are thrown off and the extra weight translates to extra friction on the ground. Getting used to running with a weighted rucksack was surprisingly easy - learning to crawl with one was shockingly challenging.
Slacklines
There are many obstacles designed to test competitors' balance but having good balance is a huge advantage throughout the course. Good balance will help you move smoothly and keep your momentum in situation where other racers struggle. It can also help protect against injuries that come from some nasty falls. While most obstacle course runners focus on their cardio conditioning and strength, balance is an often overlooked skill which can also be difficult to train. Balance boards can be used to develop this ability but I've never found them to be a particularly engaging training tool. Slacklines help develop balance and can be a lot of fun to use. Set up between two trees or even attached to a light pole and trailer hitch, it's a portable and fun training tool. Practicing with a slackline will help you run across balance obstacles quickly while other racers sit down and try to creep their way along.
Sandbags
Cheap and easy to find, sandbags are useful for getting used to moving with weight. Obstacle courses use sandbags, concrete blocks, logs, buckets of rocks and more to test the load bearing capabilities of their runners. The Spartan Race sells the "pancake" sandbag they use on their course. It's a nicely done bag but grabbing a bag of play sand from the hardware store and wrapping it in duct tape works pretty well too. Tossing it into a rucksack is great practice for the GORUCK challenge because you get used to how the weight shifts as you run. Just throwing it over your shoulder and running is beneficial also since you get used to managing the weight itself and running with the weight distributed unevenly. 30-40lbs is a decent weight to use on runs but I've even done short sprints with an 85lb punching bag. Running with weight can be hard on the joints so use care and listen to your body to avoid injury.
Spartan Spear
As far as obstacle course training tools go, the Spartan Spear really only has one application and it's sure to raise a few eyebrows from your neighbors. The Spear Throw has nothing to do with strength or stamina and I've seen it send many elite athletes doing burpees because they failed to master the spear throw technique. Building a spear is cheap and easy using a hoe handle and 12" spike nail. I used a hacksaw to remove the nail head and then slide the back end into the hole at the tip of the hoe handle. I used an epoxy glue to hold it all in place. You don't even need to throw the spear at something to perfect the Spartan Race Spear throwing technique. It's easy enough to tell if the spear flies true just throwing it around an empty field.
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