Day 34: Obstacle-Specific Training

                The Spartan Race is a very unique fitness challenge. It requires the cardiovascular endurance to run for 10 miles in mountainous terrain, as well as the strength to propel oneself over inverted walls & up ropes. This unique requirement of endurance & strength sets the Spartan Race aside from marathons, triathlons, or virtually any other athletic endeavor.

                In today’s post, I look at some of the more challenging obstacles that the Spartan Race has to offer, & discuss what I am doing in my training plan in an attempt to prepare myself to avoid as many instances of 30-burpee penalties as possible.

'A' Frame Cargo Net: the ‘A’ frame cargo net is as straight-forward as it sounds; climb up a cargo net on one side & down the other. This exercise requires upper body strength, coordination, & some flexibility to climb over the top of the a-frame.
Exercises I’m doing: pull-ups, chin-ups, hanging leg raises.

Ape Hanger: the ape hanger begins with a rope climb where you must hit a cowbell at the top of the rope & then pull yourself up onto a monkey ladder (monkey bars that sway as the frame is rope, not metal). You cannot use your feet on the rung, cannot kick the cowbell, & cannot utilize a truss set up in the middle of the obstacle. The obstacle ends with a jump into the water whether you are successful or not. The obstacle requires upper body strength, grip strength, & coordination.

Exercises I’m doing: pull-ups, chin-ups, hanging leg raises

Exercises to incorporate: monkey bar training, dead hangs

Atlas Carry: you must pick up a heavy, round stone & carry it across a short distance, drop the stone on the ground, complete 5 burpees, then pick the stone back up & complete the task again. The exercise requires arm, core & leg strength.

Exercises I’m doing: farmers walk, burpees, goblet squats, deadlifts

Exercises to incorporate: kettlebell weighted carries

Barbed Wire Crawl: the barbed wire crawl involves crawling for a long distance under a barbed wire fence through mud, grass, & various other terrains. Some crawl, some roll; it is up to you! The obstacle requires core strength, flexibility, & muscular endurance.

Exercises I’m doing: plank crawls

Exercises to incorporate: bear crawls

Bucket Brigade: the bucket brigade requires contestants fill a 5-gallon bucket with rocks then carry it across a distance without dropping the bucket. The rumor is that the bucket weighs somewhere between 70 to 100 pounds & is very difficult to hold onto. The obstacle requires total body strength, grip strength & muscular endurance.

Exercises I’m doing: farmers carries

Exercises to incorporate: bucket carries

Fire Jump: another signature obstacle of the Spartan Race, the fire jump features a long row of wood piled 1-2 feet tall that is set on fire that you must run & jump over. It is perhaps the best ‘photo opportunity’ of the day as the jump is not particularly difficult, but they usually have a photographer set-up to capture the glorious moment.

Exercises I’m doing: box jumps

Hercules Hoist: the Hercules hoist requires pulling a weight attached to a rope up to the top of a pulley, then slowly releasing it back to the ground. If you cannot lift the weight, or drop it hard back to the ground, it is burpee-time. The obstacle requires leg strength, core strength, muscular endurance, & grip strength.

Exercises I’m doing: pull-ups, push-ups, barbell rows, rope pull downs

Inverted Walls: the inverted wall obstacle requires traversing over an inverted wall that has slats on it. You can either jump & hold onto the top of the wall to pull yourself over, or you can use the slats to pull yourself up. The obstacle requires upper body strength, grip strength, & flexibility to swing your leg over the wall.

Exercises I’m doing: dips, pull ups, leg raises, yoga

Monkey Bars: a school yard classic, this obstacle is a classic monkey bar set up. This obstacle requires upper body strength, grip strength, & coordination.

Exercises I’m doing: pull-ups, chin-ups, leg raises

Exercises to incorporate: monkey bar training, dead hangs

Olympus: you must traverse along a vertical wall without touching the ground with your feet or the top of the wall with your hands. There is a series of holes, blocks, & chains set-up that you can hang onto to hold yourself up as you travel towards a bell on the far side of the wall. The obstacle requires grip strength, agility, & coordination.

Exercises I’m doing: pull-ups, chin-ups, hanging leg raises, yoga

Rope Climb: the rope climb is exactly as advertised; climb vertically up a rope & ring a bell at the top. The obstacle requires upper body strength, muscular endurance, & grip strength.

Exercises I’m doing: pull-ups, chin-ups, rows, leg raises, rope pull down

Exercises to incorporate: rope climbs

Sandbag Carry: in the sandbag carry, you must pick up a 40lb sandbag (20lb for women) & carry it up & down a hill without setting it down. Although the obstacle seems pretty easy & straight forward, once you add in some fatigue, it can be one of the most gruelling obstacles on the race. The obstacle requires total body strength, muscular endurance, & mental fortitude.

Exercises I’m doing: farmers walks, goblet squats

Exercises to incorporate: weighted carries

Seven-Foot Wall: the seven-foot wall climb entails exactly what you would expect; climbing over a vertical 7-foot wall. The obstacle requires upper body strength & flexibility for pulling your leg up & over the wall.

Exercises I’m doing: pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, hanging leg raises, yoga

Sled Drag: the sled drag is exactly as advertised; you must pull a sled carrying a weight over mountainous terrain. You can either drag the sled backwards, or put the holster around your waist & run with the sled dragging behind you. The obstacle requires leg strength, muscular endurance, & cardiovascular endurance.

Exercises I’m doing: HIIT sprints

Exercises to incorporate: weighted sled pulls

Spartan Ladder: in the Spartan ladder obstacle, participants must climb up a ladder that is set at a 45-degree angle & ring a bell. Once this is complete, you must climb down a ladder that is set up on a downward slope towards the ground. The obstacle requires upper body strength along with some flexibility in order to reach out to the different steps of the ladder.

Exercises I’m doing: pull-ups, chin-ups, hanging leg raises

Exercises to incorporate: weighted sled pulls, dead hangs

Spear Throw: the Spartan Race signature event, the spear throw requires contestants throw a spear into a hay bail. The Spartan Race website claims that 86% of contestants fail to complete the obstacle, making it the most challenging obstacle in the race to complete. The exercise requires a high degree of coordination & throwing ability.

Exercises I’m doing: plank crawls

Exercises to incorporate: spear throws

Tyrolean Traverse: in the Tyrolean traverse, you must crawl along a a rope that is strung parallel to the ground, pulling yourself along the rope & hitting a cowbell at the end of the obstacle without touching the ground.

Exercises I’m doing: rope pull down, pull-ups, chin-ups 

                In conclusion, the Spartan Race requires a number of unique skill sets & abilities that can be difficult to cultivate in a sport period of time. Writing this post really helped me to identify the different areas in which the Spartan Race will challenge me, & it is clear that I will need to add a few exercises to my routine to better better prepare me for the unique challenges that the Spartan obstacles offer, including sled pulls, bear crawls, dead hangs, weighted carries, & monkey bar training. This post comes at a good time, as I will be retooling my workout program at the end of this week & will be sure to incorporate more obstacle-specific exercises into my new routine. 

100-Day Spartan