Obstacle Course Race Training

Ever thought of doing a Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, Zombie Run, or any obstacle course race (If you’ve been around End of Three Fitness for awhile you already know your fitness could survive a zombie apocalypse) ?

I am a big fan of these races, for many reasons:

They are a blast! Especially when done with friends
They put your fitness to the test
It shows the egotistical fitness gurus that they are wasting their time

You’ll find pretty quickly, that in these races, the guy who spends 50% of his time lifting and 50% of his time staring at his greased muscles in the mirrordoes pretty terribly in these races.

And if you are not too familiar with functional fitness, these races are where you will find that a 400 lb bench press doesn’t really translate to anythingexcept when you are horizontal and on a bench, and, hey, I have no beef with the bench press, I’ve even written about it.

But maybe that is why the Marine Corps doesn’t even include push-ups in their physical fitness testjust a thoughtbut I digress.

Obstacle Course Race: Train or Pain?

The first question you need to ask yourself before training for an obstacle race is

Should I train, or just suffer through the pain?

This is a valid question, just check the GoRuck website and here is their suggested training for a 8-10 hour event that is normally 10+ miles:

Beer, aka the latest in advanced cellular repair technology, is the official drink of the GORUCK Challenge. Don’t take the Challenge so seriously. Go for a run or two, have fun, and just do it. It’s all mental.

And they have 94% pass rateso it’s not bad advice.

However, I think everyone is in a different situation and events like a Tough Mudder may require a little more physical ability.

So to break it down simply:

Train if

You don’t workout that much
You cannot do any pull-ups
You cannot run for 1 mile without stopping
You cannot pull your body weight over a wall

Suffer through the pain if

You workout regularly
You can do multiple pull-ups
Completing a 5K is easy or very doable
You can throw your body over just about anything

I have done a few of these races and I haven’t trained, specifically, for any of them. However, my daily routine and training is aimed at one thingMaking me ready for anything, at anytime. So technically I am trained for these races, but I do not train for these racesmake sense?

Another note, is if you are looking to have a competitive time, or to winthen TRAIN!