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Scaling walls, crawling through mud, climbing ropes, and sprinting across rugged terrain. Obstacle course racing is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States, and it’s gaining popularity around the world. The sport is grueling, demanding, and intensely satisfying if you prepare, train, and know what to expect.
Only The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training can ensure you will be ready. Authored by David Magida, founder of Elevate Interval Fitness and member of the Spartan Race pro team, and Melissa Rodriguez, former contributing editor for Mud & Obstacle magazine, this in-depth guide breaks down the events, obstacles, common difficulties, and strategies for negotiating all challenges. Most important, it presents the tools and the plan to prepare—physically and mentally—for the unforgettable adventure that awaits.
Inside you’ll find 100 of the most effective exercises for grip strength, mobility, balance, power, strength, and endurance as well as 28 workouts you can immediately start to use. You’ll also find advice on conquering course challenges, preventing injuries, and selecting events and mental strategies for focusing, concentrating, and overcoming fear.
Through experience and expertise, Magida and Rodriguez have created the most complete, accessible, and effective guide to the sport. Whether you’re competing for your first or your hundredth event, preparation and confidence are key. With The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training, you’ll conquer every challenge.
Part I: Basics of Obstacle Racing
Chapter 1: Benefits of Obstacle Racing
Chapter 2: Training Your Body
Chapter 3: Gear Recommendations
Chapter 4: Fueling for Training and Racing
Part II: Training Exercises for Obstacle Racing
Chapter 5: Knowing the Obstacles and Challenges
Chapter 6: Endurance
Chapter 7: Mobility and Balance
Chapter 8: Power and Strength
Chapter 9: Grip Strength
Part III: Workouts and Training Plans
Chapter 10: Workouts
Chapter 11: Training Plans
Part IV: Preparing for Your Race
Chapter 12: Choosing the Right Race
Chapter 13: Injury Prevention and Management
Chapter 14: Mental Training
Chapter 15: Countdown to Race Day
About the Authors
David Magida is the founder of Elevate Interval Fitness, which provides group classes focusing on high-intensity interval training. Magida is certified as a group fitness instructor with the American Council on Exercise and has spent years teaching obstacle race training classes. He regularly provides expert commentary on obstacle race training for Men’s Fitness. He is a founding member of the Spartan Race Pro Team and serves as the host of NBC Sports “Spartan Race."
Magida has been racing OCR since 2011. In only his second race he reached the podium for the first time and realized he had found his calling. That day Magida realigned his focus from training for road running and triathlon races to training for OCR.
Over the next two years Magida ranked in the top 10 nationally in the Spartan Race Points Series (9th in 2012 and 5th in 2013) as well as other race-ranking systems. He was one of the first 10 men in the United States to receive professional status. With 17 podium finishes and 7 victories in Spartan races during his career and more than 30 podium finishes in OCR events, including more than a dozen victories, Magida has consistently proven himself to be a threat every time he toes the line.
Magida operates Elevate Interval Fitness facilities in Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. He has also been a guest blogger for the Spartan Race Blog and Obstacle Racing Media.
Melissa Rodriguez is a fitness trainer, industry analyst, and obstacle racing enthusiast. She has held a personal training certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine since 2003 and a certified strength and conditioning specialist designation from the National Strength and Conditioning Association since 2005. Although she trains clients with a range of fitness levels and athletic goals, she has a passion for coaching beginners. Rodriguez also has undergraduate degrees in English and biology as well as a master’s in business administration.
Since 2008, Rodriguez has served as a research analyst, report writer, and project manager for the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). As IHRSA’s senior manager of research, she regularly presents research findings and opportunities at national and international conferences and is a regular contributor to IHRSA’s Club Business International magazine.
In recognition of obstacle course racing’s potential, Rodriguez started following the sport in early 2011 when she trained and prepared a client for the Tough Mudder. Since then, she has maintained a blog on her website, MyExerciseCoach.net, which offers fitness and training guidance focused on obstacle course racing for beginners. She also maintains ObstacleRaceWorld.com, a website dedicated to tracking and analyzing the business of obstacle racing. Rodriguez is the author of the book 12 Weeks. 22 Workouts. Your First Obstacle Race and Obstacle Race World: The State of the Mud Run Business, the first-ever industry report on obstacle racing.
Balance and Core Exercises
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance with Reach
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, and back
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart (see figure a).
Move
- Balance on your right leg as you lean and reach forward (slightly out and down) with both arms (see figure b).
- Simultaneously lift and extend your left leg behind you.
- Hold and balance for a moment.
- Return to start and repeat on opposite side.
Variation: Single-Leg Deadlift
For the move segment, reach toward your toes. This will further challenge your balance and stretch out the hamstrings.
Safety Tip
Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise (for both the reach and progression deadlift).
Training Tip
The single-leg balance with reach and single-leg deadlift are both good warm-up and body preparation exercises for lunges and other leg work.
Single-Leg Squat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves
Start
- Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart. This exercise can be performed as a bodyweight exercise or with the use of dumbbells or a suspension device.
- Balance so that you are standing on your right leg (see figure a).
Move
- Bend the right knee and hips as you lower your glutes toward the floor (see figure b).
- Keep your heels on the floor and back strong throughout the move.
- Return to start and repeat single-leg squats with your right leg for the recommended number of reps.
- Switch legs to complete a set.
Safety Tips
- Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise.
- Try to push through the midfoot and heel of the foot that's balanced on the floor as you get into a squat and return to stand.
Training Tip
The single-leg squat is another good warm-up and body preparation exercise for leg work and running.
Squat on a Balance Mat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, and hip flexors
Equipment Needed
Balance mat, pillow, BOSU, or similar unsteady surface
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart on a balance mat, pillow, or similar unsteady surface (see figure a).
Move
- Get into a squat while keeping your balance (see figure b).
- Bend at the hip and lower the glutes toward the floor.
- Return to start and do recommended number of reps.
Training Tip
To improve your balance, you can try other standing exercises on a balance mat or other unsteady surface.
Plank
Primary Muscles Worked
Abdominals, obliques, shoulders, and hips; with progression: hip flexors and extensors, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors
Equipment Needed
Mat (optional)
Start
- Get into a bent-elbow plank with your forearms and toes on the floor or mat (see figure).
- Engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles to hold your weight.
Move
Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Variation: Plank With Knee Tuck
- For the move segment, bend and rotate your right knee out and tuck your right knee in toward your right elbow.
- Return to start and alternate legs for recommended number of reps.
Safety Tips
- Be mindful of your form, especially with the progression knee tucks. As you get tired, your hips may drop or rise.
- Keep your back straight, core engaged (squeeze the abdominal and gluteal muscles), and pelvis tucked under in order to keep your hips squared to the floor.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Energy Systems
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body.
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body. Like most mammals, you generate energy via three systems: phosphagen (ATP-PC), glycolytic, and oxidative (see figure 2.1). All three energy systems are engaged during all forms of physical activity. However, the extent to which each one is involved varies depending on the duration and intensity of the activity. To train effectively, an athlete engages specific energy systems relevant to the activity of choice; in your case, it's obstacle racing. Let's review all three energy systems as listed in figure 2.1.
Energy systems.
Phosphagen System
First is the phosphagen (ATP-PC) system. If you remember biology class in high school, you recall that ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate, is a molecule that provides energy for all movement. Your body breaks down ATP to fuel your every move, from standing up to climbing a race wall. The phosphagen energy system harnesses ATP for highly intense activities that last 10 to 30 seconds. So for explosive activities like leaps over fire or jumps over a barrier in OCRs or sprints and plyometric exercises in your training sessions, your body is predominantly engaging the phosphagen system for energy. Since your body stores a limited amount of ATP, activities lasting more than 30 seconds must also tap into energy generated by the glycolytic system.
Glycolytic System
The glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to produce ATP. Activities lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes are primarily fueled by energy produced by this system. Think of boxing rounds, which last 1 to 3 minutes. Soon, in your training, you will complete similar brief circuits, intervals, and drills to prepare you for some of the short, intermittent bouts of obstacles you'll face along a course, such as hauling a heavy object a hundred feet or negotiating a horizontal Tyrolean traverse over a stretch of shallow water. After a few minutes of sustained activity, your body starts to rely on the oxidative system to help meet your energy needs.
Oxidative System
Unlike the phosphagen and glycolytic system, the oxidative system is aerobic and uses oxygen to help with energy production. While the glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to generate energy, the oxidative system dips into other macronutrients as well: fat and protein. (You'll learn more about macronutrients in chapter 4.) The oxidative system is heavily engaged in low- to moderate-intensity activities. You'll harness a lot of energy via the oxidative system for your longer training sessions, including distance running. You'll also rely on the oxidative system to fuel you through the length of any obstacle race, from a 5K to a 12-miler.
Unlike the demands of some sports, the challenges you'll face in an obstacle race are multifaceted. For example, a football lineman does not need to train in the oxidative system as much as an OCR athlete because of sport specificity. To prepare for the quick bursts of blocking and tackling demanded by the sport's position, a lineman may spend most of his training time engaging the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems. However, this athlete may still engage the oxidative system for overall health and conditioning.
As an obstacle athlete, your training will give you the benefits of both worlds: increased sport performance and improved overall health. You will take on challenges through your exercise regimen that will engage all three energy systems. Speed, power, and explosive exercises and drills target the phosphagen system. Total-body circuits focus on the glycolytic system. Longer training sessions tap into the aerobic system. By targeting all three energy systems, you'll greatly improve your overall fitness and sport-specific conditioning.
Keep in mind that all energy systems are active at all times during activity. Your body stores a limited amount of ATP, so the three energy systems work together to provide the energy you need in order to keep moving. The extent to which each one is engaged varies depending on the duration and type of activity, whether it's an explosive move or sustained exertion over time. As you will soon see, the regimen outlined in this book will help your body improve its ability to train in all three energy systems so you'll be in race-ready shape.
Which System Matters?
So as an obstacle athlete, which system do you target? All of them. An obstacle course race requires that you engage all three energy systems at varying levels throughout the race. To get through the distance of a race, you'll engage the oxidative system. To conquer a sharp, steep hill, you may need to tap into the glycolytic pathway, whereas a quick series of jumps call for rapid ATP production via the phosphagen system.
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time.
Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time. Aerobic endurance covers activities like running - the main activity in obstacle racing - spread over the course of steep hills, muddy terrain, and a variety of other surface types. Muscular endurance covers sandbag, log, and bucket carries as well as tire and cinder-block drags.
Sometimes aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are worked at the same time in an obstacle race. For example, long periods of running, a swim across a stretch of water, or lifting a heavy object uphill will all tax your heart and lungs. However, these challenges will also call on your legs and arms, which need to be strong enough to get you through a long run, swim, or steep climb. Training to endure the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles or to keep your feet moving after you've already been ascending an arduous course can be a challenge. Developing a high level of endurance can take months of consistent training and preparation.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Sandbag Carry
The sandbag carry tests strength in picking up the sandbag, aerobic and muscular endurance in moving it, and mental fortitude in carrying a 20- to 60-pound (9-27 kg) bag on the shoulders up and down a large hill. Generally, these carries are not performed on flat ground unless the terrain is technical. The sandbag carry tests muscular endurance in the legs, specifically in the calves and quads, as well as spinal stability (lower-back strength). Many participants find their ability to run fast is zapped by a difficult sandbag carry and that their legs are more prone to cramps after the carry as well.
How to Conquer It
Set the bag evenly across your shoulders. Try not to lean too far forward, even as you go uphill. If you can, hold it with only one hand so you can pump your other arm to power your legs. That single-arm grip should be a reach across your body to the opposite shoulder, changing hands when your fingers tire.
Log Carry
Similar to the sandbag carry, the log carry challenges the same muscle groups but demands a bit more shoulder, biceps, and grip strength because the log lacks the flexibility of a sandbag and needs to be held more securely to the shoulder. Usually a log carry is up a hill and will test your pain threshold because the bark can be uncomfortable on your skin. Logs vary in size and weight but generally weigh 30 to 60 pounds (14-27 kg).
How to Conquer It
Set the log on one of your shoulders and grip it with the hand on that same side, leaving your other arm free to pump and keep your legs driving.
Bucket Carry
For many racers, the bucket carry can be a game changer - or their worst nightmare. The bucket carry requires you to fill a 5-gallon (~20 L) bucket with rocks, water, or sand up to a fill line, then carry it around a loop. The bucket carry tends to challenge your body a bit differently than a log carry or sandbag carry because you need to hold it in front of you, above your hips. The bucket carry places a tremendous amount of strain on the spinal erectors (muscles in your lower back) as well as your grip strength and biceps muscles as you work to hold the bucket stable.
How to Conquer It
The grip is critical here. Holding the bottom with both hands will quickly wear out your grip strength. Instead, opt to wrap your arms around the bucket, pinning it high up against your chest. Place the fingers of one hand under the bucket and clasp that wrist with the opposite hand. That will take the weight off your fingers.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Balance and Core Exercises
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance with Reach
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, and back
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart (see figure a).
Move
- Balance on your right leg as you lean and reach forward (slightly out and down) with both arms (see figure b).
- Simultaneously lift and extend your left leg behind you.
- Hold and balance for a moment.
- Return to start and repeat on opposite side.
Variation: Single-Leg Deadlift
For the move segment, reach toward your toes. This will further challenge your balance and stretch out the hamstrings.
Safety Tip
Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise (for both the reach and progression deadlift).
Training Tip
The single-leg balance with reach and single-leg deadlift are both good warm-up and body preparation exercises for lunges and other leg work.
Single-Leg Squat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves
Start
- Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart. This exercise can be performed as a bodyweight exercise or with the use of dumbbells or a suspension device.
- Balance so that you are standing on your right leg (see figure a).
Move
- Bend the right knee and hips as you lower your glutes toward the floor (see figure b).
- Keep your heels on the floor and back strong throughout the move.
- Return to start and repeat single-leg squats with your right leg for the recommended number of reps.
- Switch legs to complete a set.
Safety Tips
- Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise.
- Try to push through the midfoot and heel of the foot that's balanced on the floor as you get into a squat and return to stand.
Training Tip
The single-leg squat is another good warm-up and body preparation exercise for leg work and running.
Squat on a Balance Mat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, and hip flexors
Equipment Needed
Balance mat, pillow, BOSU, or similar unsteady surface
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart on a balance mat, pillow, or similar unsteady surface (see figure a).
Move
- Get into a squat while keeping your balance (see figure b).
- Bend at the hip and lower the glutes toward the floor.
- Return to start and do recommended number of reps.
Training Tip
To improve your balance, you can try other standing exercises on a balance mat or other unsteady surface.
Plank
Primary Muscles Worked
Abdominals, obliques, shoulders, and hips; with progression: hip flexors and extensors, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors
Equipment Needed
Mat (optional)
Start
- Get into a bent-elbow plank with your forearms and toes on the floor or mat (see figure).
- Engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles to hold your weight.
Move
Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Variation: Plank With Knee Tuck
- For the move segment, bend and rotate your right knee out and tuck your right knee in toward your right elbow.
- Return to start and alternate legs for recommended number of reps.
Safety Tips
- Be mindful of your form, especially with the progression knee tucks. As you get tired, your hips may drop or rise.
- Keep your back straight, core engaged (squeeze the abdominal and gluteal muscles), and pelvis tucked under in order to keep your hips squared to the floor.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Energy Systems
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body.
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body. Like most mammals, you generate energy via three systems: phosphagen (ATP-PC), glycolytic, and oxidative (see figure 2.1). All three energy systems are engaged during all forms of physical activity. However, the extent to which each one is involved varies depending on the duration and intensity of the activity. To train effectively, an athlete engages specific energy systems relevant to the activity of choice; in your case, it's obstacle racing. Let's review all three energy systems as listed in figure 2.1.
Energy systems.
Phosphagen System
First is the phosphagen (ATP-PC) system. If you remember biology class in high school, you recall that ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate, is a molecule that provides energy for all movement. Your body breaks down ATP to fuel your every move, from standing up to climbing a race wall. The phosphagen energy system harnesses ATP for highly intense activities that last 10 to 30 seconds. So for explosive activities like leaps over fire or jumps over a barrier in OCRs or sprints and plyometric exercises in your training sessions, your body is predominantly engaging the phosphagen system for energy. Since your body stores a limited amount of ATP, activities lasting more than 30 seconds must also tap into energy generated by the glycolytic system.
Glycolytic System
The glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to produce ATP. Activities lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes are primarily fueled by energy produced by this system. Think of boxing rounds, which last 1 to 3 minutes. Soon, in your training, you will complete similar brief circuits, intervals, and drills to prepare you for some of the short, intermittent bouts of obstacles you'll face along a course, such as hauling a heavy object a hundred feet or negotiating a horizontal Tyrolean traverse over a stretch of shallow water. After a few minutes of sustained activity, your body starts to rely on the oxidative system to help meet your energy needs.
Oxidative System
Unlike the phosphagen and glycolytic system, the oxidative system is aerobic and uses oxygen to help with energy production. While the glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to generate energy, the oxidative system dips into other macronutrients as well: fat and protein. (You'll learn more about macronutrients in chapter 4.) The oxidative system is heavily engaged in low- to moderate-intensity activities. You'll harness a lot of energy via the oxidative system for your longer training sessions, including distance running. You'll also rely on the oxidative system to fuel you through the length of any obstacle race, from a 5K to a 12-miler.
Unlike the demands of some sports, the challenges you'll face in an obstacle race are multifaceted. For example, a football lineman does not need to train in the oxidative system as much as an OCR athlete because of sport specificity. To prepare for the quick bursts of blocking and tackling demanded by the sport's position, a lineman may spend most of his training time engaging the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems. However, this athlete may still engage the oxidative system for overall health and conditioning.
As an obstacle athlete, your training will give you the benefits of both worlds: increased sport performance and improved overall health. You will take on challenges through your exercise regimen that will engage all three energy systems. Speed, power, and explosive exercises and drills target the phosphagen system. Total-body circuits focus on the glycolytic system. Longer training sessions tap into the aerobic system. By targeting all three energy systems, you'll greatly improve your overall fitness and sport-specific conditioning.
Keep in mind that all energy systems are active at all times during activity. Your body stores a limited amount of ATP, so the three energy systems work together to provide the energy you need in order to keep moving. The extent to which each one is engaged varies depending on the duration and type of activity, whether it's an explosive move or sustained exertion over time. As you will soon see, the regimen outlined in this book will help your body improve its ability to train in all three energy systems so you'll be in race-ready shape.
Which System Matters?
So as an obstacle athlete, which system do you target? All of them. An obstacle course race requires that you engage all three energy systems at varying levels throughout the race. To get through the distance of a race, you'll engage the oxidative system. To conquer a sharp, steep hill, you may need to tap into the glycolytic pathway, whereas a quick series of jumps call for rapid ATP production via the phosphagen system.
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time.
Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time. Aerobic endurance covers activities like running - the main activity in obstacle racing - spread over the course of steep hills, muddy terrain, and a variety of other surface types. Muscular endurance covers sandbag, log, and bucket carries as well as tire and cinder-block drags.
Sometimes aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are worked at the same time in an obstacle race. For example, long periods of running, a swim across a stretch of water, or lifting a heavy object uphill will all tax your heart and lungs. However, these challenges will also call on your legs and arms, which need to be strong enough to get you through a long run, swim, or steep climb. Training to endure the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles or to keep your feet moving after you've already been ascending an arduous course can be a challenge. Developing a high level of endurance can take months of consistent training and preparation.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Sandbag Carry
The sandbag carry tests strength in picking up the sandbag, aerobic and muscular endurance in moving it, and mental fortitude in carrying a 20- to 60-pound (9-27 kg) bag on the shoulders up and down a large hill. Generally, these carries are not performed on flat ground unless the terrain is technical. The sandbag carry tests muscular endurance in the legs, specifically in the calves and quads, as well as spinal stability (lower-back strength). Many participants find their ability to run fast is zapped by a difficult sandbag carry and that their legs are more prone to cramps after the carry as well.
How to Conquer It
Set the bag evenly across your shoulders. Try not to lean too far forward, even as you go uphill. If you can, hold it with only one hand so you can pump your other arm to power your legs. That single-arm grip should be a reach across your body to the opposite shoulder, changing hands when your fingers tire.
Log Carry
Similar to the sandbag carry, the log carry challenges the same muscle groups but demands a bit more shoulder, biceps, and grip strength because the log lacks the flexibility of a sandbag and needs to be held more securely to the shoulder. Usually a log carry is up a hill and will test your pain threshold because the bark can be uncomfortable on your skin. Logs vary in size and weight but generally weigh 30 to 60 pounds (14-27 kg).
How to Conquer It
Set the log on one of your shoulders and grip it with the hand on that same side, leaving your other arm free to pump and keep your legs driving.
Bucket Carry
For many racers, the bucket carry can be a game changer - or their worst nightmare. The bucket carry requires you to fill a 5-gallon (~20 L) bucket with rocks, water, or sand up to a fill line, then carry it around a loop. The bucket carry tends to challenge your body a bit differently than a log carry or sandbag carry because you need to hold it in front of you, above your hips. The bucket carry places a tremendous amount of strain on the spinal erectors (muscles in your lower back) as well as your grip strength and biceps muscles as you work to hold the bucket stable.
How to Conquer It
The grip is critical here. Holding the bottom with both hands will quickly wear out your grip strength. Instead, opt to wrap your arms around the bucket, pinning it high up against your chest. Place the fingers of one hand under the bucket and clasp that wrist with the opposite hand. That will take the weight off your fingers.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Balance and Core Exercises
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance with Reach
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, and back
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart (see figure a).
Move
- Balance on your right leg as you lean and reach forward (slightly out and down) with both arms (see figure b).
- Simultaneously lift and extend your left leg behind you.
- Hold and balance for a moment.
- Return to start and repeat on opposite side.
Variation: Single-Leg Deadlift
For the move segment, reach toward your toes. This will further challenge your balance and stretch out the hamstrings.
Safety Tip
Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise (for both the reach and progression deadlift).
Training Tip
The single-leg balance with reach and single-leg deadlift are both good warm-up and body preparation exercises for lunges and other leg work.
Single-Leg Squat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves
Start
- Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart. This exercise can be performed as a bodyweight exercise or with the use of dumbbells or a suspension device.
- Balance so that you are standing on your right leg (see figure a).
Move
- Bend the right knee and hips as you lower your glutes toward the floor (see figure b).
- Keep your heels on the floor and back strong throughout the move.
- Return to start and repeat single-leg squats with your right leg for the recommended number of reps.
- Switch legs to complete a set.
Safety Tips
- Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise.
- Try to push through the midfoot and heel of the foot that's balanced on the floor as you get into a squat and return to stand.
Training Tip
The single-leg squat is another good warm-up and body preparation exercise for leg work and running.
Squat on a Balance Mat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, and hip flexors
Equipment Needed
Balance mat, pillow, BOSU, or similar unsteady surface
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart on a balance mat, pillow, or similar unsteady surface (see figure a).
Move
- Get into a squat while keeping your balance (see figure b).
- Bend at the hip and lower the glutes toward the floor.
- Return to start and do recommended number of reps.
Training Tip
To improve your balance, you can try other standing exercises on a balance mat or other unsteady surface.
Plank
Primary Muscles Worked
Abdominals, obliques, shoulders, and hips; with progression: hip flexors and extensors, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors
Equipment Needed
Mat (optional)
Start
- Get into a bent-elbow plank with your forearms and toes on the floor or mat (see figure).
- Engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles to hold your weight.
Move
Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Variation: Plank With Knee Tuck
- For the move segment, bend and rotate your right knee out and tuck your right knee in toward your right elbow.
- Return to start and alternate legs for recommended number of reps.
Safety Tips
- Be mindful of your form, especially with the progression knee tucks. As you get tired, your hips may drop or rise.
- Keep your back straight, core engaged (squeeze the abdominal and gluteal muscles), and pelvis tucked under in order to keep your hips squared to the floor.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Energy Systems
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body.
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body. Like most mammals, you generate energy via three systems: phosphagen (ATP-PC), glycolytic, and oxidative (see figure 2.1). All three energy systems are engaged during all forms of physical activity. However, the extent to which each one is involved varies depending on the duration and intensity of the activity. To train effectively, an athlete engages specific energy systems relevant to the activity of choice; in your case, it's obstacle racing. Let's review all three energy systems as listed in figure 2.1.
Energy systems.
Phosphagen System
First is the phosphagen (ATP-PC) system. If you remember biology class in high school, you recall that ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate, is a molecule that provides energy for all movement. Your body breaks down ATP to fuel your every move, from standing up to climbing a race wall. The phosphagen energy system harnesses ATP for highly intense activities that last 10 to 30 seconds. So for explosive activities like leaps over fire or jumps over a barrier in OCRs or sprints and plyometric exercises in your training sessions, your body is predominantly engaging the phosphagen system for energy. Since your body stores a limited amount of ATP, activities lasting more than 30 seconds must also tap into energy generated by the glycolytic system.
Glycolytic System
The glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to produce ATP. Activities lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes are primarily fueled by energy produced by this system. Think of boxing rounds, which last 1 to 3 minutes. Soon, in your training, you will complete similar brief circuits, intervals, and drills to prepare you for some of the short, intermittent bouts of obstacles you'll face along a course, such as hauling a heavy object a hundred feet or negotiating a horizontal Tyrolean traverse over a stretch of shallow water. After a few minutes of sustained activity, your body starts to rely on the oxidative system to help meet your energy needs.
Oxidative System
Unlike the phosphagen and glycolytic system, the oxidative system is aerobic and uses oxygen to help with energy production. While the glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to generate energy, the oxidative system dips into other macronutrients as well: fat and protein. (You'll learn more about macronutrients in chapter 4.) The oxidative system is heavily engaged in low- to moderate-intensity activities. You'll harness a lot of energy via the oxidative system for your longer training sessions, including distance running. You'll also rely on the oxidative system to fuel you through the length of any obstacle race, from a 5K to a 12-miler.
Unlike the demands of some sports, the challenges you'll face in an obstacle race are multifaceted. For example, a football lineman does not need to train in the oxidative system as much as an OCR athlete because of sport specificity. To prepare for the quick bursts of blocking and tackling demanded by the sport's position, a lineman may spend most of his training time engaging the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems. However, this athlete may still engage the oxidative system for overall health and conditioning.
As an obstacle athlete, your training will give you the benefits of both worlds: increased sport performance and improved overall health. You will take on challenges through your exercise regimen that will engage all three energy systems. Speed, power, and explosive exercises and drills target the phosphagen system. Total-body circuits focus on the glycolytic system. Longer training sessions tap into the aerobic system. By targeting all three energy systems, you'll greatly improve your overall fitness and sport-specific conditioning.
Keep in mind that all energy systems are active at all times during activity. Your body stores a limited amount of ATP, so the three energy systems work together to provide the energy you need in order to keep moving. The extent to which each one is engaged varies depending on the duration and type of activity, whether it's an explosive move or sustained exertion over time. As you will soon see, the regimen outlined in this book will help your body improve its ability to train in all three energy systems so you'll be in race-ready shape.
Which System Matters?
So as an obstacle athlete, which system do you target? All of them. An obstacle course race requires that you engage all three energy systems at varying levels throughout the race. To get through the distance of a race, you'll engage the oxidative system. To conquer a sharp, steep hill, you may need to tap into the glycolytic pathway, whereas a quick series of jumps call for rapid ATP production via the phosphagen system.
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time.
Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time. Aerobic endurance covers activities like running - the main activity in obstacle racing - spread over the course of steep hills, muddy terrain, and a variety of other surface types. Muscular endurance covers sandbag, log, and bucket carries as well as tire and cinder-block drags.
Sometimes aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are worked at the same time in an obstacle race. For example, long periods of running, a swim across a stretch of water, or lifting a heavy object uphill will all tax your heart and lungs. However, these challenges will also call on your legs and arms, which need to be strong enough to get you through a long run, swim, or steep climb. Training to endure the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles or to keep your feet moving after you've already been ascending an arduous course can be a challenge. Developing a high level of endurance can take months of consistent training and preparation.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Sandbag Carry
The sandbag carry tests strength in picking up the sandbag, aerobic and muscular endurance in moving it, and mental fortitude in carrying a 20- to 60-pound (9-27 kg) bag on the shoulders up and down a large hill. Generally, these carries are not performed on flat ground unless the terrain is technical. The sandbag carry tests muscular endurance in the legs, specifically in the calves and quads, as well as spinal stability (lower-back strength). Many participants find their ability to run fast is zapped by a difficult sandbag carry and that their legs are more prone to cramps after the carry as well.
How to Conquer It
Set the bag evenly across your shoulders. Try not to lean too far forward, even as you go uphill. If you can, hold it with only one hand so you can pump your other arm to power your legs. That single-arm grip should be a reach across your body to the opposite shoulder, changing hands when your fingers tire.
Log Carry
Similar to the sandbag carry, the log carry challenges the same muscle groups but demands a bit more shoulder, biceps, and grip strength because the log lacks the flexibility of a sandbag and needs to be held more securely to the shoulder. Usually a log carry is up a hill and will test your pain threshold because the bark can be uncomfortable on your skin. Logs vary in size and weight but generally weigh 30 to 60 pounds (14-27 kg).
How to Conquer It
Set the log on one of your shoulders and grip it with the hand on that same side, leaving your other arm free to pump and keep your legs driving.
Bucket Carry
For many racers, the bucket carry can be a game changer - or their worst nightmare. The bucket carry requires you to fill a 5-gallon (~20 L) bucket with rocks, water, or sand up to a fill line, then carry it around a loop. The bucket carry tends to challenge your body a bit differently than a log carry or sandbag carry because you need to hold it in front of you, above your hips. The bucket carry places a tremendous amount of strain on the spinal erectors (muscles in your lower back) as well as your grip strength and biceps muscles as you work to hold the bucket stable.
How to Conquer It
The grip is critical here. Holding the bottom with both hands will quickly wear out your grip strength. Instead, opt to wrap your arms around the bucket, pinning it high up against your chest. Place the fingers of one hand under the bucket and clasp that wrist with the opposite hand. That will take the weight off your fingers.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Balance and Core Exercises
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance with Reach
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, and back
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart (see figure a).
Move
- Balance on your right leg as you lean and reach forward (slightly out and down) with both arms (see figure b).
- Simultaneously lift and extend your left leg behind you.
- Hold and balance for a moment.
- Return to start and repeat on opposite side.
Variation: Single-Leg Deadlift
For the move segment, reach toward your toes. This will further challenge your balance and stretch out the hamstrings.
Safety Tip
Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise (for both the reach and progression deadlift).
Training Tip
The single-leg balance with reach and single-leg deadlift are both good warm-up and body preparation exercises for lunges and other leg work.
Single-Leg Squat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves
Start
- Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart. This exercise can be performed as a bodyweight exercise or with the use of dumbbells or a suspension device.
- Balance so that you are standing on your right leg (see figure a).
Move
- Bend the right knee and hips as you lower your glutes toward the floor (see figure b).
- Keep your heels on the floor and back strong throughout the move.
- Return to start and repeat single-leg squats with your right leg for the recommended number of reps.
- Switch legs to complete a set.
Safety Tips
- Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise.
- Try to push through the midfoot and heel of the foot that's balanced on the floor as you get into a squat and return to stand.
Training Tip
The single-leg squat is another good warm-up and body preparation exercise for leg work and running.
Squat on a Balance Mat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, and hip flexors
Equipment Needed
Balance mat, pillow, BOSU, or similar unsteady surface
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart on a balance mat, pillow, or similar unsteady surface (see figure a).
Move
- Get into a squat while keeping your balance (see figure b).
- Bend at the hip and lower the glutes toward the floor.
- Return to start and do recommended number of reps.
Training Tip
To improve your balance, you can try other standing exercises on a balance mat or other unsteady surface.
Plank
Primary Muscles Worked
Abdominals, obliques, shoulders, and hips; with progression: hip flexors and extensors, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors
Equipment Needed
Mat (optional)
Start
- Get into a bent-elbow plank with your forearms and toes on the floor or mat (see figure).
- Engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles to hold your weight.
Move
Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Variation: Plank With Knee Tuck
- For the move segment, bend and rotate your right knee out and tuck your right knee in toward your right elbow.
- Return to start and alternate legs for recommended number of reps.
Safety Tips
- Be mindful of your form, especially with the progression knee tucks. As you get tired, your hips may drop or rise.
- Keep your back straight, core engaged (squeeze the abdominal and gluteal muscles), and pelvis tucked under in order to keep your hips squared to the floor.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Energy Systems
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body.
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body. Like most mammals, you generate energy via three systems: phosphagen (ATP-PC), glycolytic, and oxidative (see figure 2.1). All three energy systems are engaged during all forms of physical activity. However, the extent to which each one is involved varies depending on the duration and intensity of the activity. To train effectively, an athlete engages specific energy systems relevant to the activity of choice; in your case, it's obstacle racing. Let's review all three energy systems as listed in figure 2.1.
Energy systems.
Phosphagen System
First is the phosphagen (ATP-PC) system. If you remember biology class in high school, you recall that ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate, is a molecule that provides energy for all movement. Your body breaks down ATP to fuel your every move, from standing up to climbing a race wall. The phosphagen energy system harnesses ATP for highly intense activities that last 10 to 30 seconds. So for explosive activities like leaps over fire or jumps over a barrier in OCRs or sprints and plyometric exercises in your training sessions, your body is predominantly engaging the phosphagen system for energy. Since your body stores a limited amount of ATP, activities lasting more than 30 seconds must also tap into energy generated by the glycolytic system.
Glycolytic System
The glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to produce ATP. Activities lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes are primarily fueled by energy produced by this system. Think of boxing rounds, which last 1 to 3 minutes. Soon, in your training, you will complete similar brief circuits, intervals, and drills to prepare you for some of the short, intermittent bouts of obstacles you'll face along a course, such as hauling a heavy object a hundred feet or negotiating a horizontal Tyrolean traverse over a stretch of shallow water. After a few minutes of sustained activity, your body starts to rely on the oxidative system to help meet your energy needs.
Oxidative System
Unlike the phosphagen and glycolytic system, the oxidative system is aerobic and uses oxygen to help with energy production. While the glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to generate energy, the oxidative system dips into other macronutrients as well: fat and protein. (You'll learn more about macronutrients in chapter 4.) The oxidative system is heavily engaged in low- to moderate-intensity activities. You'll harness a lot of energy via the oxidative system for your longer training sessions, including distance running. You'll also rely on the oxidative system to fuel you through the length of any obstacle race, from a 5K to a 12-miler.
Unlike the demands of some sports, the challenges you'll face in an obstacle race are multifaceted. For example, a football lineman does not need to train in the oxidative system as much as an OCR athlete because of sport specificity. To prepare for the quick bursts of blocking and tackling demanded by the sport's position, a lineman may spend most of his training time engaging the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems. However, this athlete may still engage the oxidative system for overall health and conditioning.
As an obstacle athlete, your training will give you the benefits of both worlds: increased sport performance and improved overall health. You will take on challenges through your exercise regimen that will engage all three energy systems. Speed, power, and explosive exercises and drills target the phosphagen system. Total-body circuits focus on the glycolytic system. Longer training sessions tap into the aerobic system. By targeting all three energy systems, you'll greatly improve your overall fitness and sport-specific conditioning.
Keep in mind that all energy systems are active at all times during activity. Your body stores a limited amount of ATP, so the three energy systems work together to provide the energy you need in order to keep moving. The extent to which each one is engaged varies depending on the duration and type of activity, whether it's an explosive move or sustained exertion over time. As you will soon see, the regimen outlined in this book will help your body improve its ability to train in all three energy systems so you'll be in race-ready shape.
Which System Matters?
So as an obstacle athlete, which system do you target? All of them. An obstacle course race requires that you engage all three energy systems at varying levels throughout the race. To get through the distance of a race, you'll engage the oxidative system. To conquer a sharp, steep hill, you may need to tap into the glycolytic pathway, whereas a quick series of jumps call for rapid ATP production via the phosphagen system.
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time.
Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time. Aerobic endurance covers activities like running - the main activity in obstacle racing - spread over the course of steep hills, muddy terrain, and a variety of other surface types. Muscular endurance covers sandbag, log, and bucket carries as well as tire and cinder-block drags.
Sometimes aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are worked at the same time in an obstacle race. For example, long periods of running, a swim across a stretch of water, or lifting a heavy object uphill will all tax your heart and lungs. However, these challenges will also call on your legs and arms, which need to be strong enough to get you through a long run, swim, or steep climb. Training to endure the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles or to keep your feet moving after you've already been ascending an arduous course can be a challenge. Developing a high level of endurance can take months of consistent training and preparation.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Sandbag Carry
The sandbag carry tests strength in picking up the sandbag, aerobic and muscular endurance in moving it, and mental fortitude in carrying a 20- to 60-pound (9-27 kg) bag on the shoulders up and down a large hill. Generally, these carries are not performed on flat ground unless the terrain is technical. The sandbag carry tests muscular endurance in the legs, specifically in the calves and quads, as well as spinal stability (lower-back strength). Many participants find their ability to run fast is zapped by a difficult sandbag carry and that their legs are more prone to cramps after the carry as well.
How to Conquer It
Set the bag evenly across your shoulders. Try not to lean too far forward, even as you go uphill. If you can, hold it with only one hand so you can pump your other arm to power your legs. That single-arm grip should be a reach across your body to the opposite shoulder, changing hands when your fingers tire.
Log Carry
Similar to the sandbag carry, the log carry challenges the same muscle groups but demands a bit more shoulder, biceps, and grip strength because the log lacks the flexibility of a sandbag and needs to be held more securely to the shoulder. Usually a log carry is up a hill and will test your pain threshold because the bark can be uncomfortable on your skin. Logs vary in size and weight but generally weigh 30 to 60 pounds (14-27 kg).
How to Conquer It
Set the log on one of your shoulders and grip it with the hand on that same side, leaving your other arm free to pump and keep your legs driving.
Bucket Carry
For many racers, the bucket carry can be a game changer - or their worst nightmare. The bucket carry requires you to fill a 5-gallon (~20 L) bucket with rocks, water, or sand up to a fill line, then carry it around a loop. The bucket carry tends to challenge your body a bit differently than a log carry or sandbag carry because you need to hold it in front of you, above your hips. The bucket carry places a tremendous amount of strain on the spinal erectors (muscles in your lower back) as well as your grip strength and biceps muscles as you work to hold the bucket stable.
How to Conquer It
The grip is critical here. Holding the bottom with both hands will quickly wear out your grip strength. Instead, opt to wrap your arms around the bucket, pinning it high up against your chest. Place the fingers of one hand under the bucket and clasp that wrist with the opposite hand. That will take the weight off your fingers.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Balance and Core Exercises
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance with Reach
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, and back
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart (see figure a).
Move
- Balance on your right leg as you lean and reach forward (slightly out and down) with both arms (see figure b).
- Simultaneously lift and extend your left leg behind you.
- Hold and balance for a moment.
- Return to start and repeat on opposite side.
Variation: Single-Leg Deadlift
For the move segment, reach toward your toes. This will further challenge your balance and stretch out the hamstrings.
Safety Tip
Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise (for both the reach and progression deadlift).
Training Tip
The single-leg balance with reach and single-leg deadlift are both good warm-up and body preparation exercises for lunges and other leg work.
Single-Leg Squat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves
Start
- Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart. This exercise can be performed as a bodyweight exercise or with the use of dumbbells or a suspension device.
- Balance so that you are standing on your right leg (see figure a).
Move
- Bend the right knee and hips as you lower your glutes toward the floor (see figure b).
- Keep your heels on the floor and back strong throughout the move.
- Return to start and repeat single-leg squats with your right leg for the recommended number of reps.
- Switch legs to complete a set.
Safety Tips
- Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise.
- Try to push through the midfoot and heel of the foot that's balanced on the floor as you get into a squat and return to stand.
Training Tip
The single-leg squat is another good warm-up and body preparation exercise for leg work and running.
Squat on a Balance Mat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, and hip flexors
Equipment Needed
Balance mat, pillow, BOSU, or similar unsteady surface
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart on a balance mat, pillow, or similar unsteady surface (see figure a).
Move
- Get into a squat while keeping your balance (see figure b).
- Bend at the hip and lower the glutes toward the floor.
- Return to start and do recommended number of reps.
Training Tip
To improve your balance, you can try other standing exercises on a balance mat or other unsteady surface.
Plank
Primary Muscles Worked
Abdominals, obliques, shoulders, and hips; with progression: hip flexors and extensors, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors
Equipment Needed
Mat (optional)
Start
- Get into a bent-elbow plank with your forearms and toes on the floor or mat (see figure).
- Engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles to hold your weight.
Move
Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Variation: Plank With Knee Tuck
- For the move segment, bend and rotate your right knee out and tuck your right knee in toward your right elbow.
- Return to start and alternate legs for recommended number of reps.
Safety Tips
- Be mindful of your form, especially with the progression knee tucks. As you get tired, your hips may drop or rise.
- Keep your back straight, core engaged (squeeze the abdominal and gluteal muscles), and pelvis tucked under in order to keep your hips squared to the floor.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Energy Systems
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body.
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body. Like most mammals, you generate energy via three systems: phosphagen (ATP-PC), glycolytic, and oxidative (see figure 2.1). All three energy systems are engaged during all forms of physical activity. However, the extent to which each one is involved varies depending on the duration and intensity of the activity. To train effectively, an athlete engages specific energy systems relevant to the activity of choice; in your case, it's obstacle racing. Let's review all three energy systems as listed in figure 2.1.
Energy systems.
Phosphagen System
First is the phosphagen (ATP-PC) system. If you remember biology class in high school, you recall that ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate, is a molecule that provides energy for all movement. Your body breaks down ATP to fuel your every move, from standing up to climbing a race wall. The phosphagen energy system harnesses ATP for highly intense activities that last 10 to 30 seconds. So for explosive activities like leaps over fire or jumps over a barrier in OCRs or sprints and plyometric exercises in your training sessions, your body is predominantly engaging the phosphagen system for energy. Since your body stores a limited amount of ATP, activities lasting more than 30 seconds must also tap into energy generated by the glycolytic system.
Glycolytic System
The glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to produce ATP. Activities lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes are primarily fueled by energy produced by this system. Think of boxing rounds, which last 1 to 3 minutes. Soon, in your training, you will complete similar brief circuits, intervals, and drills to prepare you for some of the short, intermittent bouts of obstacles you'll face along a course, such as hauling a heavy object a hundred feet or negotiating a horizontal Tyrolean traverse over a stretch of shallow water. After a few minutes of sustained activity, your body starts to rely on the oxidative system to help meet your energy needs.
Oxidative System
Unlike the phosphagen and glycolytic system, the oxidative system is aerobic and uses oxygen to help with energy production. While the glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to generate energy, the oxidative system dips into other macronutrients as well: fat and protein. (You'll learn more about macronutrients in chapter 4.) The oxidative system is heavily engaged in low- to moderate-intensity activities. You'll harness a lot of energy via the oxidative system for your longer training sessions, including distance running. You'll also rely on the oxidative system to fuel you through the length of any obstacle race, from a 5K to a 12-miler.
Unlike the demands of some sports, the challenges you'll face in an obstacle race are multifaceted. For example, a football lineman does not need to train in the oxidative system as much as an OCR athlete because of sport specificity. To prepare for the quick bursts of blocking and tackling demanded by the sport's position, a lineman may spend most of his training time engaging the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems. However, this athlete may still engage the oxidative system for overall health and conditioning.
As an obstacle athlete, your training will give you the benefits of both worlds: increased sport performance and improved overall health. You will take on challenges through your exercise regimen that will engage all three energy systems. Speed, power, and explosive exercises and drills target the phosphagen system. Total-body circuits focus on the glycolytic system. Longer training sessions tap into the aerobic system. By targeting all three energy systems, you'll greatly improve your overall fitness and sport-specific conditioning.
Keep in mind that all energy systems are active at all times during activity. Your body stores a limited amount of ATP, so the three energy systems work together to provide the energy you need in order to keep moving. The extent to which each one is engaged varies depending on the duration and type of activity, whether it's an explosive move or sustained exertion over time. As you will soon see, the regimen outlined in this book will help your body improve its ability to train in all three energy systems so you'll be in race-ready shape.
Which System Matters?
So as an obstacle athlete, which system do you target? All of them. An obstacle course race requires that you engage all three energy systems at varying levels throughout the race. To get through the distance of a race, you'll engage the oxidative system. To conquer a sharp, steep hill, you may need to tap into the glycolytic pathway, whereas a quick series of jumps call for rapid ATP production via the phosphagen system.
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time.
Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time. Aerobic endurance covers activities like running - the main activity in obstacle racing - spread over the course of steep hills, muddy terrain, and a variety of other surface types. Muscular endurance covers sandbag, log, and bucket carries as well as tire and cinder-block drags.
Sometimes aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are worked at the same time in an obstacle race. For example, long periods of running, a swim across a stretch of water, or lifting a heavy object uphill will all tax your heart and lungs. However, these challenges will also call on your legs and arms, which need to be strong enough to get you through a long run, swim, or steep climb. Training to endure the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles or to keep your feet moving after you've already been ascending an arduous course can be a challenge. Developing a high level of endurance can take months of consistent training and preparation.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Sandbag Carry
The sandbag carry tests strength in picking up the sandbag, aerobic and muscular endurance in moving it, and mental fortitude in carrying a 20- to 60-pound (9-27 kg) bag on the shoulders up and down a large hill. Generally, these carries are not performed on flat ground unless the terrain is technical. The sandbag carry tests muscular endurance in the legs, specifically in the calves and quads, as well as spinal stability (lower-back strength). Many participants find their ability to run fast is zapped by a difficult sandbag carry and that their legs are more prone to cramps after the carry as well.
How to Conquer It
Set the bag evenly across your shoulders. Try not to lean too far forward, even as you go uphill. If you can, hold it with only one hand so you can pump your other arm to power your legs. That single-arm grip should be a reach across your body to the opposite shoulder, changing hands when your fingers tire.
Log Carry
Similar to the sandbag carry, the log carry challenges the same muscle groups but demands a bit more shoulder, biceps, and grip strength because the log lacks the flexibility of a sandbag and needs to be held more securely to the shoulder. Usually a log carry is up a hill and will test your pain threshold because the bark can be uncomfortable on your skin. Logs vary in size and weight but generally weigh 30 to 60 pounds (14-27 kg).
How to Conquer It
Set the log on one of your shoulders and grip it with the hand on that same side, leaving your other arm free to pump and keep your legs driving.
Bucket Carry
For many racers, the bucket carry can be a game changer - or their worst nightmare. The bucket carry requires you to fill a 5-gallon (~20 L) bucket with rocks, water, or sand up to a fill line, then carry it around a loop. The bucket carry tends to challenge your body a bit differently than a log carry or sandbag carry because you need to hold it in front of you, above your hips. The bucket carry places a tremendous amount of strain on the spinal erectors (muscles in your lower back) as well as your grip strength and biceps muscles as you work to hold the bucket stable.
How to Conquer It
The grip is critical here. Holding the bottom with both hands will quickly wear out your grip strength. Instead, opt to wrap your arms around the bucket, pinning it high up against your chest. Place the fingers of one hand under the bucket and clasp that wrist with the opposite hand. That will take the weight off your fingers.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Balance and Core Exercises
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance with Reach
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, and back
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart (see figure a).
Move
- Balance on your right leg as you lean and reach forward (slightly out and down) with both arms (see figure b).
- Simultaneously lift and extend your left leg behind you.
- Hold and balance for a moment.
- Return to start and repeat on opposite side.
Variation: Single-Leg Deadlift
For the move segment, reach toward your toes. This will further challenge your balance and stretch out the hamstrings.
Safety Tip
Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise (for both the reach and progression deadlift).
Training Tip
The single-leg balance with reach and single-leg deadlift are both good warm-up and body preparation exercises for lunges and other leg work.
Single-Leg Squat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves
Start
- Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart. This exercise can be performed as a bodyweight exercise or with the use of dumbbells or a suspension device.
- Balance so that you are standing on your right leg (see figure a).
Move
- Bend the right knee and hips as you lower your glutes toward the floor (see figure b).
- Keep your heels on the floor and back strong throughout the move.
- Return to start and repeat single-leg squats with your right leg for the recommended number of reps.
- Switch legs to complete a set.
Safety Tips
- Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise.
- Try to push through the midfoot and heel of the foot that's balanced on the floor as you get into a squat and return to stand.
Training Tip
The single-leg squat is another good warm-up and body preparation exercise for leg work and running.
Squat on a Balance Mat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, and hip flexors
Equipment Needed
Balance mat, pillow, BOSU, or similar unsteady surface
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart on a balance mat, pillow, or similar unsteady surface (see figure a).
Move
- Get into a squat while keeping your balance (see figure b).
- Bend at the hip and lower the glutes toward the floor.
- Return to start and do recommended number of reps.
Training Tip
To improve your balance, you can try other standing exercises on a balance mat or other unsteady surface.
Plank
Primary Muscles Worked
Abdominals, obliques, shoulders, and hips; with progression: hip flexors and extensors, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors
Equipment Needed
Mat (optional)
Start
- Get into a bent-elbow plank with your forearms and toes on the floor or mat (see figure).
- Engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles to hold your weight.
Move
Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Variation: Plank With Knee Tuck
- For the move segment, bend and rotate your right knee out and tuck your right knee in toward your right elbow.
- Return to start and alternate legs for recommended number of reps.
Safety Tips
- Be mindful of your form, especially with the progression knee tucks. As you get tired, your hips may drop or rise.
- Keep your back straight, core engaged (squeeze the abdominal and gluteal muscles), and pelvis tucked under in order to keep your hips squared to the floor.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Energy Systems
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body.
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body. Like most mammals, you generate energy via three systems: phosphagen (ATP-PC), glycolytic, and oxidative (see figure 2.1). All three energy systems are engaged during all forms of physical activity. However, the extent to which each one is involved varies depending on the duration and intensity of the activity. To train effectively, an athlete engages specific energy systems relevant to the activity of choice; in your case, it's obstacle racing. Let's review all three energy systems as listed in figure 2.1.
Energy systems.
Phosphagen System
First is the phosphagen (ATP-PC) system. If you remember biology class in high school, you recall that ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate, is a molecule that provides energy for all movement. Your body breaks down ATP to fuel your every move, from standing up to climbing a race wall. The phosphagen energy system harnesses ATP for highly intense activities that last 10 to 30 seconds. So for explosive activities like leaps over fire or jumps over a barrier in OCRs or sprints and plyometric exercises in your training sessions, your body is predominantly engaging the phosphagen system for energy. Since your body stores a limited amount of ATP, activities lasting more than 30 seconds must also tap into energy generated by the glycolytic system.
Glycolytic System
The glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to produce ATP. Activities lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes are primarily fueled by energy produced by this system. Think of boxing rounds, which last 1 to 3 minutes. Soon, in your training, you will complete similar brief circuits, intervals, and drills to prepare you for some of the short, intermittent bouts of obstacles you'll face along a course, such as hauling a heavy object a hundred feet or negotiating a horizontal Tyrolean traverse over a stretch of shallow water. After a few minutes of sustained activity, your body starts to rely on the oxidative system to help meet your energy needs.
Oxidative System
Unlike the phosphagen and glycolytic system, the oxidative system is aerobic and uses oxygen to help with energy production. While the glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to generate energy, the oxidative system dips into other macronutrients as well: fat and protein. (You'll learn more about macronutrients in chapter 4.) The oxidative system is heavily engaged in low- to moderate-intensity activities. You'll harness a lot of energy via the oxidative system for your longer training sessions, including distance running. You'll also rely on the oxidative system to fuel you through the length of any obstacle race, from a 5K to a 12-miler.
Unlike the demands of some sports, the challenges you'll face in an obstacle race are multifaceted. For example, a football lineman does not need to train in the oxidative system as much as an OCR athlete because of sport specificity. To prepare for the quick bursts of blocking and tackling demanded by the sport's position, a lineman may spend most of his training time engaging the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems. However, this athlete may still engage the oxidative system for overall health and conditioning.
As an obstacle athlete, your training will give you the benefits of both worlds: increased sport performance and improved overall health. You will take on challenges through your exercise regimen that will engage all three energy systems. Speed, power, and explosive exercises and drills target the phosphagen system. Total-body circuits focus on the glycolytic system. Longer training sessions tap into the aerobic system. By targeting all three energy systems, you'll greatly improve your overall fitness and sport-specific conditioning.
Keep in mind that all energy systems are active at all times during activity. Your body stores a limited amount of ATP, so the three energy systems work together to provide the energy you need in order to keep moving. The extent to which each one is engaged varies depending on the duration and type of activity, whether it's an explosive move or sustained exertion over time. As you will soon see, the regimen outlined in this book will help your body improve its ability to train in all three energy systems so you'll be in race-ready shape.
Which System Matters?
So as an obstacle athlete, which system do you target? All of them. An obstacle course race requires that you engage all three energy systems at varying levels throughout the race. To get through the distance of a race, you'll engage the oxidative system. To conquer a sharp, steep hill, you may need to tap into the glycolytic pathway, whereas a quick series of jumps call for rapid ATP production via the phosphagen system.
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time.
Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time. Aerobic endurance covers activities like running - the main activity in obstacle racing - spread over the course of steep hills, muddy terrain, and a variety of other surface types. Muscular endurance covers sandbag, log, and bucket carries as well as tire and cinder-block drags.
Sometimes aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are worked at the same time in an obstacle race. For example, long periods of running, a swim across a stretch of water, or lifting a heavy object uphill will all tax your heart and lungs. However, these challenges will also call on your legs and arms, which need to be strong enough to get you through a long run, swim, or steep climb. Training to endure the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles or to keep your feet moving after you've already been ascending an arduous course can be a challenge. Developing a high level of endurance can take months of consistent training and preparation.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Sandbag Carry
The sandbag carry tests strength in picking up the sandbag, aerobic and muscular endurance in moving it, and mental fortitude in carrying a 20- to 60-pound (9-27 kg) bag on the shoulders up and down a large hill. Generally, these carries are not performed on flat ground unless the terrain is technical. The sandbag carry tests muscular endurance in the legs, specifically in the calves and quads, as well as spinal stability (lower-back strength). Many participants find their ability to run fast is zapped by a difficult sandbag carry and that their legs are more prone to cramps after the carry as well.
How to Conquer It
Set the bag evenly across your shoulders. Try not to lean too far forward, even as you go uphill. If you can, hold it with only one hand so you can pump your other arm to power your legs. That single-arm grip should be a reach across your body to the opposite shoulder, changing hands when your fingers tire.
Log Carry
Similar to the sandbag carry, the log carry challenges the same muscle groups but demands a bit more shoulder, biceps, and grip strength because the log lacks the flexibility of a sandbag and needs to be held more securely to the shoulder. Usually a log carry is up a hill and will test your pain threshold because the bark can be uncomfortable on your skin. Logs vary in size and weight but generally weigh 30 to 60 pounds (14-27 kg).
How to Conquer It
Set the log on one of your shoulders and grip it with the hand on that same side, leaving your other arm free to pump and keep your legs driving.
Bucket Carry
For many racers, the bucket carry can be a game changer - or their worst nightmare. The bucket carry requires you to fill a 5-gallon (~20 L) bucket with rocks, water, or sand up to a fill line, then carry it around a loop. The bucket carry tends to challenge your body a bit differently than a log carry or sandbag carry because you need to hold it in front of you, above your hips. The bucket carry places a tremendous amount of strain on the spinal erectors (muscles in your lower back) as well as your grip strength and biceps muscles as you work to hold the bucket stable.
How to Conquer It
The grip is critical here. Holding the bottom with both hands will quickly wear out your grip strength. Instead, opt to wrap your arms around the bucket, pinning it high up against your chest. Place the fingers of one hand under the bucket and clasp that wrist with the opposite hand. That will take the weight off your fingers.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Balance and Core Exercises
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance with Reach
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, and back
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart (see figure a).
Move
- Balance on your right leg as you lean and reach forward (slightly out and down) with both arms (see figure b).
- Simultaneously lift and extend your left leg behind you.
- Hold and balance for a moment.
- Return to start and repeat on opposite side.
Variation: Single-Leg Deadlift
For the move segment, reach toward your toes. This will further challenge your balance and stretch out the hamstrings.
Safety Tip
Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise (for both the reach and progression deadlift).
Training Tip
The single-leg balance with reach and single-leg deadlift are both good warm-up and body preparation exercises for lunges and other leg work.
Single-Leg Squat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves
Start
- Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart. This exercise can be performed as a bodyweight exercise or with the use of dumbbells or a suspension device.
- Balance so that you are standing on your right leg (see figure a).
Move
- Bend the right knee and hips as you lower your glutes toward the floor (see figure b).
- Keep your heels on the floor and back strong throughout the move.
- Return to start and repeat single-leg squats with your right leg for the recommended number of reps.
- Switch legs to complete a set.
Safety Tips
- Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise.
- Try to push through the midfoot and heel of the foot that's balanced on the floor as you get into a squat and return to stand.
Training Tip
The single-leg squat is another good warm-up and body preparation exercise for leg work and running.
Squat on a Balance Mat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, and hip flexors
Equipment Needed
Balance mat, pillow, BOSU, or similar unsteady surface
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart on a balance mat, pillow, or similar unsteady surface (see figure a).
Move
- Get into a squat while keeping your balance (see figure b).
- Bend at the hip and lower the glutes toward the floor.
- Return to start and do recommended number of reps.
Training Tip
To improve your balance, you can try other standing exercises on a balance mat or other unsteady surface.
Plank
Primary Muscles Worked
Abdominals, obliques, shoulders, and hips; with progression: hip flexors and extensors, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors
Equipment Needed
Mat (optional)
Start
- Get into a bent-elbow plank with your forearms and toes on the floor or mat (see figure).
- Engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles to hold your weight.
Move
Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Variation: Plank With Knee Tuck
- For the move segment, bend and rotate your right knee out and tuck your right knee in toward your right elbow.
- Return to start and alternate legs for recommended number of reps.
Safety Tips
- Be mindful of your form, especially with the progression knee tucks. As you get tired, your hips may drop or rise.
- Keep your back straight, core engaged (squeeze the abdominal and gluteal muscles), and pelvis tucked under in order to keep your hips squared to the floor.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Energy Systems
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body.
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body. Like most mammals, you generate energy via three systems: phosphagen (ATP-PC), glycolytic, and oxidative (see figure 2.1). All three energy systems are engaged during all forms of physical activity. However, the extent to which each one is involved varies depending on the duration and intensity of the activity. To train effectively, an athlete engages specific energy systems relevant to the activity of choice; in your case, it's obstacle racing. Let's review all three energy systems as listed in figure 2.1.
Energy systems.
Phosphagen System
First is the phosphagen (ATP-PC) system. If you remember biology class in high school, you recall that ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate, is a molecule that provides energy for all movement. Your body breaks down ATP to fuel your every move, from standing up to climbing a race wall. The phosphagen energy system harnesses ATP for highly intense activities that last 10 to 30 seconds. So for explosive activities like leaps over fire or jumps over a barrier in OCRs or sprints and plyometric exercises in your training sessions, your body is predominantly engaging the phosphagen system for energy. Since your body stores a limited amount of ATP, activities lasting more than 30 seconds must also tap into energy generated by the glycolytic system.
Glycolytic System
The glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to produce ATP. Activities lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes are primarily fueled by energy produced by this system. Think of boxing rounds, which last 1 to 3 minutes. Soon, in your training, you will complete similar brief circuits, intervals, and drills to prepare you for some of the short, intermittent bouts of obstacles you'll face along a course, such as hauling a heavy object a hundred feet or negotiating a horizontal Tyrolean traverse over a stretch of shallow water. After a few minutes of sustained activity, your body starts to rely on the oxidative system to help meet your energy needs.
Oxidative System
Unlike the phosphagen and glycolytic system, the oxidative system is aerobic and uses oxygen to help with energy production. While the glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to generate energy, the oxidative system dips into other macronutrients as well: fat and protein. (You'll learn more about macronutrients in chapter 4.) The oxidative system is heavily engaged in low- to moderate-intensity activities. You'll harness a lot of energy via the oxidative system for your longer training sessions, including distance running. You'll also rely on the oxidative system to fuel you through the length of any obstacle race, from a 5K to a 12-miler.
Unlike the demands of some sports, the challenges you'll face in an obstacle race are multifaceted. For example, a football lineman does not need to train in the oxidative system as much as an OCR athlete because of sport specificity. To prepare for the quick bursts of blocking and tackling demanded by the sport's position, a lineman may spend most of his training time engaging the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems. However, this athlete may still engage the oxidative system for overall health and conditioning.
As an obstacle athlete, your training will give you the benefits of both worlds: increased sport performance and improved overall health. You will take on challenges through your exercise regimen that will engage all three energy systems. Speed, power, and explosive exercises and drills target the phosphagen system. Total-body circuits focus on the glycolytic system. Longer training sessions tap into the aerobic system. By targeting all three energy systems, you'll greatly improve your overall fitness and sport-specific conditioning.
Keep in mind that all energy systems are active at all times during activity. Your body stores a limited amount of ATP, so the three energy systems work together to provide the energy you need in order to keep moving. The extent to which each one is engaged varies depending on the duration and type of activity, whether it's an explosive move or sustained exertion over time. As you will soon see, the regimen outlined in this book will help your body improve its ability to train in all three energy systems so you'll be in race-ready shape.
Which System Matters?
So as an obstacle athlete, which system do you target? All of them. An obstacle course race requires that you engage all three energy systems at varying levels throughout the race. To get through the distance of a race, you'll engage the oxidative system. To conquer a sharp, steep hill, you may need to tap into the glycolytic pathway, whereas a quick series of jumps call for rapid ATP production via the phosphagen system.
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time.
Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time. Aerobic endurance covers activities like running - the main activity in obstacle racing - spread over the course of steep hills, muddy terrain, and a variety of other surface types. Muscular endurance covers sandbag, log, and bucket carries as well as tire and cinder-block drags.
Sometimes aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are worked at the same time in an obstacle race. For example, long periods of running, a swim across a stretch of water, or lifting a heavy object uphill will all tax your heart and lungs. However, these challenges will also call on your legs and arms, which need to be strong enough to get you through a long run, swim, or steep climb. Training to endure the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles or to keep your feet moving after you've already been ascending an arduous course can be a challenge. Developing a high level of endurance can take months of consistent training and preparation.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Sandbag Carry
The sandbag carry tests strength in picking up the sandbag, aerobic and muscular endurance in moving it, and mental fortitude in carrying a 20- to 60-pound (9-27 kg) bag on the shoulders up and down a large hill. Generally, these carries are not performed on flat ground unless the terrain is technical. The sandbag carry tests muscular endurance in the legs, specifically in the calves and quads, as well as spinal stability (lower-back strength). Many participants find their ability to run fast is zapped by a difficult sandbag carry and that their legs are more prone to cramps after the carry as well.
How to Conquer It
Set the bag evenly across your shoulders. Try not to lean too far forward, even as you go uphill. If you can, hold it with only one hand so you can pump your other arm to power your legs. That single-arm grip should be a reach across your body to the opposite shoulder, changing hands when your fingers tire.
Log Carry
Similar to the sandbag carry, the log carry challenges the same muscle groups but demands a bit more shoulder, biceps, and grip strength because the log lacks the flexibility of a sandbag and needs to be held more securely to the shoulder. Usually a log carry is up a hill and will test your pain threshold because the bark can be uncomfortable on your skin. Logs vary in size and weight but generally weigh 30 to 60 pounds (14-27 kg).
How to Conquer It
Set the log on one of your shoulders and grip it with the hand on that same side, leaving your other arm free to pump and keep your legs driving.
Bucket Carry
For many racers, the bucket carry can be a game changer - or their worst nightmare. The bucket carry requires you to fill a 5-gallon (~20 L) bucket with rocks, water, or sand up to a fill line, then carry it around a loop. The bucket carry tends to challenge your body a bit differently than a log carry or sandbag carry because you need to hold it in front of you, above your hips. The bucket carry places a tremendous amount of strain on the spinal erectors (muscles in your lower back) as well as your grip strength and biceps muscles as you work to hold the bucket stable.
How to Conquer It
The grip is critical here. Holding the bottom with both hands will quickly wear out your grip strength. Instead, opt to wrap your arms around the bucket, pinning it high up against your chest. Place the fingers of one hand under the bucket and clasp that wrist with the opposite hand. That will take the weight off your fingers.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Balance and Core Exercises
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance with Reach
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, and back
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart (see figure a).
Move
- Balance on your right leg as you lean and reach forward (slightly out and down) with both arms (see figure b).
- Simultaneously lift and extend your left leg behind you.
- Hold and balance for a moment.
- Return to start and repeat on opposite side.
Variation: Single-Leg Deadlift
For the move segment, reach toward your toes. This will further challenge your balance and stretch out the hamstrings.
Safety Tip
Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise (for both the reach and progression deadlift).
Training Tip
The single-leg balance with reach and single-leg deadlift are both good warm-up and body preparation exercises for lunges and other leg work.
Single-Leg Squat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves
Start
- Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart. This exercise can be performed as a bodyweight exercise or with the use of dumbbells or a suspension device.
- Balance so that you are standing on your right leg (see figure a).
Move
- Bend the right knee and hips as you lower your glutes toward the floor (see figure b).
- Keep your heels on the floor and back strong throughout the move.
- Return to start and repeat single-leg squats with your right leg for the recommended number of reps.
- Switch legs to complete a set.
Safety Tips
- Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise.
- Try to push through the midfoot and heel of the foot that's balanced on the floor as you get into a squat and return to stand.
Training Tip
The single-leg squat is another good warm-up and body preparation exercise for leg work and running.
Squat on a Balance Mat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, and hip flexors
Equipment Needed
Balance mat, pillow, BOSU, or similar unsteady surface
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart on a balance mat, pillow, or similar unsteady surface (see figure a).
Move
- Get into a squat while keeping your balance (see figure b).
- Bend at the hip and lower the glutes toward the floor.
- Return to start and do recommended number of reps.
Training Tip
To improve your balance, you can try other standing exercises on a balance mat or other unsteady surface.
Plank
Primary Muscles Worked
Abdominals, obliques, shoulders, and hips; with progression: hip flexors and extensors, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors
Equipment Needed
Mat (optional)
Start
- Get into a bent-elbow plank with your forearms and toes on the floor or mat (see figure).
- Engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles to hold your weight.
Move
Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Variation: Plank With Knee Tuck
- For the move segment, bend and rotate your right knee out and tuck your right knee in toward your right elbow.
- Return to start and alternate legs for recommended number of reps.
Safety Tips
- Be mindful of your form, especially with the progression knee tucks. As you get tired, your hips may drop or rise.
- Keep your back straight, core engaged (squeeze the abdominal and gluteal muscles), and pelvis tucked under in order to keep your hips squared to the floor.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Energy Systems
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body.
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body. Like most mammals, you generate energy via three systems: phosphagen (ATP-PC), glycolytic, and oxidative (see figure 2.1). All three energy systems are engaged during all forms of physical activity. However, the extent to which each one is involved varies depending on the duration and intensity of the activity. To train effectively, an athlete engages specific energy systems relevant to the activity of choice; in your case, it's obstacle racing. Let's review all three energy systems as listed in figure 2.1.
Energy systems.
Phosphagen System
First is the phosphagen (ATP-PC) system. If you remember biology class in high school, you recall that ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate, is a molecule that provides energy for all movement. Your body breaks down ATP to fuel your every move, from standing up to climbing a race wall. The phosphagen energy system harnesses ATP for highly intense activities that last 10 to 30 seconds. So for explosive activities like leaps over fire or jumps over a barrier in OCRs or sprints and plyometric exercises in your training sessions, your body is predominantly engaging the phosphagen system for energy. Since your body stores a limited amount of ATP, activities lasting more than 30 seconds must also tap into energy generated by the glycolytic system.
Glycolytic System
The glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to produce ATP. Activities lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes are primarily fueled by energy produced by this system. Think of boxing rounds, which last 1 to 3 minutes. Soon, in your training, you will complete similar brief circuits, intervals, and drills to prepare you for some of the short, intermittent bouts of obstacles you'll face along a course, such as hauling a heavy object a hundred feet or negotiating a horizontal Tyrolean traverse over a stretch of shallow water. After a few minutes of sustained activity, your body starts to rely on the oxidative system to help meet your energy needs.
Oxidative System
Unlike the phosphagen and glycolytic system, the oxidative system is aerobic and uses oxygen to help with energy production. While the glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to generate energy, the oxidative system dips into other macronutrients as well: fat and protein. (You'll learn more about macronutrients in chapter 4.) The oxidative system is heavily engaged in low- to moderate-intensity activities. You'll harness a lot of energy via the oxidative system for your longer training sessions, including distance running. You'll also rely on the oxidative system to fuel you through the length of any obstacle race, from a 5K to a 12-miler.
Unlike the demands of some sports, the challenges you'll face in an obstacle race are multifaceted. For example, a football lineman does not need to train in the oxidative system as much as an OCR athlete because of sport specificity. To prepare for the quick bursts of blocking and tackling demanded by the sport's position, a lineman may spend most of his training time engaging the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems. However, this athlete may still engage the oxidative system for overall health and conditioning.
As an obstacle athlete, your training will give you the benefits of both worlds: increased sport performance and improved overall health. You will take on challenges through your exercise regimen that will engage all three energy systems. Speed, power, and explosive exercises and drills target the phosphagen system. Total-body circuits focus on the glycolytic system. Longer training sessions tap into the aerobic system. By targeting all three energy systems, you'll greatly improve your overall fitness and sport-specific conditioning.
Keep in mind that all energy systems are active at all times during activity. Your body stores a limited amount of ATP, so the three energy systems work together to provide the energy you need in order to keep moving. The extent to which each one is engaged varies depending on the duration and type of activity, whether it's an explosive move or sustained exertion over time. As you will soon see, the regimen outlined in this book will help your body improve its ability to train in all three energy systems so you'll be in race-ready shape.
Which System Matters?
So as an obstacle athlete, which system do you target? All of them. An obstacle course race requires that you engage all three energy systems at varying levels throughout the race. To get through the distance of a race, you'll engage the oxidative system. To conquer a sharp, steep hill, you may need to tap into the glycolytic pathway, whereas a quick series of jumps call for rapid ATP production via the phosphagen system.
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time.
Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time. Aerobic endurance covers activities like running - the main activity in obstacle racing - spread over the course of steep hills, muddy terrain, and a variety of other surface types. Muscular endurance covers sandbag, log, and bucket carries as well as tire and cinder-block drags.
Sometimes aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are worked at the same time in an obstacle race. For example, long periods of running, a swim across a stretch of water, or lifting a heavy object uphill will all tax your heart and lungs. However, these challenges will also call on your legs and arms, which need to be strong enough to get you through a long run, swim, or steep climb. Training to endure the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles or to keep your feet moving after you've already been ascending an arduous course can be a challenge. Developing a high level of endurance can take months of consistent training and preparation.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Sandbag Carry
The sandbag carry tests strength in picking up the sandbag, aerobic and muscular endurance in moving it, and mental fortitude in carrying a 20- to 60-pound (9-27 kg) bag on the shoulders up and down a large hill. Generally, these carries are not performed on flat ground unless the terrain is technical. The sandbag carry tests muscular endurance in the legs, specifically in the calves and quads, as well as spinal stability (lower-back strength). Many participants find their ability to run fast is zapped by a difficult sandbag carry and that their legs are more prone to cramps after the carry as well.
How to Conquer It
Set the bag evenly across your shoulders. Try not to lean too far forward, even as you go uphill. If you can, hold it with only one hand so you can pump your other arm to power your legs. That single-arm grip should be a reach across your body to the opposite shoulder, changing hands when your fingers tire.
Log Carry
Similar to the sandbag carry, the log carry challenges the same muscle groups but demands a bit more shoulder, biceps, and grip strength because the log lacks the flexibility of a sandbag and needs to be held more securely to the shoulder. Usually a log carry is up a hill and will test your pain threshold because the bark can be uncomfortable on your skin. Logs vary in size and weight but generally weigh 30 to 60 pounds (14-27 kg).
How to Conquer It
Set the log on one of your shoulders and grip it with the hand on that same side, leaving your other arm free to pump and keep your legs driving.
Bucket Carry
For many racers, the bucket carry can be a game changer - or their worst nightmare. The bucket carry requires you to fill a 5-gallon (~20 L) bucket with rocks, water, or sand up to a fill line, then carry it around a loop. The bucket carry tends to challenge your body a bit differently than a log carry or sandbag carry because you need to hold it in front of you, above your hips. The bucket carry places a tremendous amount of strain on the spinal erectors (muscles in your lower back) as well as your grip strength and biceps muscles as you work to hold the bucket stable.
How to Conquer It
The grip is critical here. Holding the bottom with both hands will quickly wear out your grip strength. Instead, opt to wrap your arms around the bucket, pinning it high up against your chest. Place the fingers of one hand under the bucket and clasp that wrist with the opposite hand. That will take the weight off your fingers.
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Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Balance and Core Exercises
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
The following balance and core exercises will help you develop obstacle-specific balance and core stability for crawling through tunnels or low barriers (barbed wire, netted rope, wood planks) and walking over narrow beams as well as slippery and other unsteady surfaces.
Single-Leg Balance with Reach
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, and back
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart (see figure a).
Move
- Balance on your right leg as you lean and reach forward (slightly out and down) with both arms (see figure b).
- Simultaneously lift and extend your left leg behind you.
- Hold and balance for a moment.
- Return to start and repeat on opposite side.
Variation: Single-Leg Deadlift
For the move segment, reach toward your toes. This will further challenge your balance and stretch out the hamstrings.
Safety Tip
Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise (for both the reach and progression deadlift).
Training Tip
The single-leg balance with reach and single-leg deadlift are both good warm-up and body preparation exercises for lunges and other leg work.
Single-Leg Squat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves
Start
- Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart. This exercise can be performed as a bodyweight exercise or with the use of dumbbells or a suspension device.
- Balance so that you are standing on your right leg (see figure a).
Move
- Bend the right knee and hips as you lower your glutes toward the floor (see figure b).
- Keep your heels on the floor and back strong throughout the move.
- Return to start and repeat single-leg squats with your right leg for the recommended number of reps.
- Switch legs to complete a set.
Safety Tips
- Keep your abdominals engaged and back strong during this exercise.
- Try to push through the midfoot and heel of the foot that's balanced on the floor as you get into a squat and return to stand.
Training Tip
The single-leg squat is another good warm-up and body preparation exercise for leg work and running.
Squat on a Balance Mat
Primary Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, and hip flexors
Equipment Needed
Balance mat, pillow, BOSU, or similar unsteady surface
Start
Stand tall with abdominals engaged and feet hip-width apart on a balance mat, pillow, or similar unsteady surface (see figure a).
Move
- Get into a squat while keeping your balance (see figure b).
- Bend at the hip and lower the glutes toward the floor.
- Return to start and do recommended number of reps.
Training Tip
To improve your balance, you can try other standing exercises on a balance mat or other unsteady surface.
Plank
Primary Muscles Worked
Abdominals, obliques, shoulders, and hips; with progression: hip flexors and extensors, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors
Equipment Needed
Mat (optional)
Start
- Get into a bent-elbow plank with your forearms and toes on the floor or mat (see figure).
- Engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles to hold your weight.
Move
Hold the plank for 30 seconds.
Variation: Plank With Knee Tuck
- For the move segment, bend and rotate your right knee out and tuck your right knee in toward your right elbow.
- Return to start and alternate legs for recommended number of reps.
Safety Tips
- Be mindful of your form, especially with the progression knee tucks. As you get tired, your hips may drop or rise.
- Keep your back straight, core engaged (squeeze the abdominal and gluteal muscles), and pelvis tucked under in order to keep your hips squared to the floor.
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Energy Systems
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body.
Simply put, energy is the ability to do work, and this includes all human movement and activity. (And you will need a lot of it to get you through not only an obstacle course race but also the challenging training sessions leading up to your event.) Energy systems refer to the specific mechanisms in which energy is produced and used by your body. Like most mammals, you generate energy via three systems: phosphagen (ATP-PC), glycolytic, and oxidative (see figure 2.1). All three energy systems are engaged during all forms of physical activity. However, the extent to which each one is involved varies depending on the duration and intensity of the activity. To train effectively, an athlete engages specific energy systems relevant to the activity of choice; in your case, it's obstacle racing. Let's review all three energy systems as listed in figure 2.1.
Energy systems.
Phosphagen System
First is the phosphagen (ATP-PC) system. If you remember biology class in high school, you recall that ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate, is a molecule that provides energy for all movement. Your body breaks down ATP to fuel your every move, from standing up to climbing a race wall. The phosphagen energy system harnesses ATP for highly intense activities that last 10 to 30 seconds. So for explosive activities like leaps over fire or jumps over a barrier in OCRs or sprints and plyometric exercises in your training sessions, your body is predominantly engaging the phosphagen system for energy. Since your body stores a limited amount of ATP, activities lasting more than 30 seconds must also tap into energy generated by the glycolytic system.
Glycolytic System
The glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to produce ATP. Activities lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes are primarily fueled by energy produced by this system. Think of boxing rounds, which last 1 to 3 minutes. Soon, in your training, you will complete similar brief circuits, intervals, and drills to prepare you for some of the short, intermittent bouts of obstacles you'll face along a course, such as hauling a heavy object a hundred feet or negotiating a horizontal Tyrolean traverse over a stretch of shallow water. After a few minutes of sustained activity, your body starts to rely on the oxidative system to help meet your energy needs.
Oxidative System
Unlike the phosphagen and glycolytic system, the oxidative system is aerobic and uses oxygen to help with energy production. While the glycolytic system uses carbohydrate to generate energy, the oxidative system dips into other macronutrients as well: fat and protein. (You'll learn more about macronutrients in chapter 4.) The oxidative system is heavily engaged in low- to moderate-intensity activities. You'll harness a lot of energy via the oxidative system for your longer training sessions, including distance running. You'll also rely on the oxidative system to fuel you through the length of any obstacle race, from a 5K to a 12-miler.
Unlike the demands of some sports, the challenges you'll face in an obstacle race are multifaceted. For example, a football lineman does not need to train in the oxidative system as much as an OCR athlete because of sport specificity. To prepare for the quick bursts of blocking and tackling demanded by the sport's position, a lineman may spend most of his training time engaging the phosphagen and glycolytic energy systems. However, this athlete may still engage the oxidative system for overall health and conditioning.
As an obstacle athlete, your training will give you the benefits of both worlds: increased sport performance and improved overall health. You will take on challenges through your exercise regimen that will engage all three energy systems. Speed, power, and explosive exercises and drills target the phosphagen system. Total-body circuits focus on the glycolytic system. Longer training sessions tap into the aerobic system. By targeting all three energy systems, you'll greatly improve your overall fitness and sport-specific conditioning.
Keep in mind that all energy systems are active at all times during activity. Your body stores a limited amount of ATP, so the three energy systems work together to provide the energy you need in order to keep moving. The extent to which each one is engaged varies depending on the duration and type of activity, whether it's an explosive move or sustained exertion over time. As you will soon see, the regimen outlined in this book will help your body improve its ability to train in all three energy systems so you'll be in race-ready shape.
Which System Matters?
So as an obstacle athlete, which system do you target? All of them. An obstacle course race requires that you engage all three energy systems at varying levels throughout the race. To get through the distance of a race, you'll engage the oxidative system. To conquer a sharp, steep hill, you may need to tap into the glycolytic pathway, whereas a quick series of jumps call for rapid ATP production via the phosphagen system.
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time.
Endurance
Endurance is the greatest physical requirement in being prepared for an obstacle race. Endurance covers both aerobic capacity and muscular ability. Aerobic endurance taxes your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, while muscular endurance challenges the capacity of your muscular and skeletal systems to perform sustained work over time. Aerobic endurance covers activities like running - the main activity in obstacle racing - spread over the course of steep hills, muddy terrain, and a variety of other surface types. Muscular endurance covers sandbag, log, and bucket carries as well as tire and cinder-block drags.
Sometimes aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are worked at the same time in an obstacle race. For example, long periods of running, a swim across a stretch of water, or lifting a heavy object uphill will all tax your heart and lungs. However, these challenges will also call on your legs and arms, which need to be strong enough to get you through a long run, swim, or steep climb. Training to endure the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles or to keep your feet moving after you've already been ascending an arduous course can be a challenge. Developing a high level of endurance can take months of consistent training and preparation.
Common Obstacles for Muscular Endurance
Sandbag Carry
The sandbag carry tests strength in picking up the sandbag, aerobic and muscular endurance in moving it, and mental fortitude in carrying a 20- to 60-pound (9-27 kg) bag on the shoulders up and down a large hill. Generally, these carries are not performed on flat ground unless the terrain is technical. The sandbag carry tests muscular endurance in the legs, specifically in the calves and quads, as well as spinal stability (lower-back strength). Many participants find their ability to run fast is zapped by a difficult sandbag carry and that their legs are more prone to cramps after the carry as well.
How to Conquer It
Set the bag evenly across your shoulders. Try not to lean too far forward, even as you go uphill. If you can, hold it with only one hand so you can pump your other arm to power your legs. That single-arm grip should be a reach across your body to the opposite shoulder, changing hands when your fingers tire.
Log Carry
Similar to the sandbag carry, the log carry challenges the same muscle groups but demands a bit more shoulder, biceps, and grip strength because the log lacks the flexibility of a sandbag and needs to be held more securely to the shoulder. Usually a log carry is up a hill and will test your pain threshold because the bark can be uncomfortable on your skin. Logs vary in size and weight but generally weigh 30 to 60 pounds (14-27 kg).
How to Conquer It
Set the log on one of your shoulders and grip it with the hand on that same side, leaving your other arm free to pump and keep your legs driving.
Bucket Carry
For many racers, the bucket carry can be a game changer - or their worst nightmare. The bucket carry requires you to fill a 5-gallon (~20 L) bucket with rocks, water, or sand up to a fill line, then carry it around a loop. The bucket carry tends to challenge your body a bit differently than a log carry or sandbag carry because you need to hold it in front of you, above your hips. The bucket carry places a tremendous amount of strain on the spinal erectors (muscles in your lower back) as well as your grip strength and biceps muscles as you work to hold the bucket stable.
How to Conquer It
The grip is critical here. Holding the bottom with both hands will quickly wear out your grip strength. Instead, opt to wrap your arms around the bucket, pinning it high up against your chest. Place the fingers of one hand under the bucket and clasp that wrist with the opposite hand. That will take the weight off your fingers.
Save
Learn more about The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.