Many want the strength and stamina to conquer a Spartan Race. However, this is no regular mud dash or fun run; it’s a full-on, athletic, timed obstacle course that may be the most significant physical and mental challenge you ever face. Experts call it the ‘Olympics’ of obstacle courses. When you want a bigger challenge, the Spartan Race is here to provide.
It is possible to train and prepare to defeat the Spartan Race. Just as with any athletic event, targeting training can develop the muscles, fitness skills and tenacity to make it to the finish line. Here are our tips on preparing for a Spartan Race.
Develop a Training Program
The Spartan Race is not any old race – it can be a grueling challenge. Focused and targeted preparation needs to be done to give you the best chance to succeed. Develop a training program that maps out the days and focus areas trained, including 1-2 days off each week for rest.
Recruit a Personal Trainer
Of course, once you have this training program, you need to stick to it to get real results. This is where a personal trainer can help, working with you to stay motivated, following and adjusting your training program as needed and monitoring your progress to help you achieve your goals.
Get the Right Gear
Unlike many other obstacle courses and group runs, the Spartan Race is a serious competition. Don’t wear a costume, instead choose high-performance athletic gear and quality cross country shoes to train and compete in.
Endurance Training
Your Spartan Race training program should include an endurance component. There’s the three-mile Spartan Sprint, eight-mile Super Spartan, or 12-mile Spartan Beast events, but whichever you choose you’ll need the endurance to go the distance. The Spartan events can take hours to complete. So you need to train until you can comfortably run at least the mileage of the chosen race, plus a few more to account for obstacles on the day.
Sprint Training
The nature of an obstacle course is constant change and new challenges. Sprint training will get you accustomed to rapid changes and quick adaptation. Incorporate sprint or interval training once or twice per week to train those fast-twitch muscle fibers, plus add some hill runs for those race day hill sprints.
Weights and Circuit Training
Nothing develops muscle bulk and strength like weight training. But for a Spartan Race, you want to stay lean as well. Circuit training offers the ideal mix, and body weight training and plyometrics are perfect for all the pushups, pullups, climbing, carrying, box jumps and crawling you’ll do in the race.
Practice Burpees
Drills of 30 burpees are used in the race if you fail or skip an obstacle. Learn to do these well, and quickly so you can recover in the race.
Support your Body with Nutrition
Proper nutrition is essential in training, and immediately before a Spartan Race. You can ask your personal trainer for personalized nutrition advice to help you get strength and energy for the race.
Rest
Rest should be an essential part of all training programs. Remember to take 1-2 days per week off to rest, recover, and allow the body to regenerate and rebuild tissue.
If you want the best assistance to succeed in the Spartan Race, contact 3 Strong Fitness to work with a personal trainer to develop a custom fitness program and achieve your goals.