Friday, June 21, 2013

Preparation

I like obstacle mud runs because they're a great, fun way to stay in shape.  Having an upcoming event on my calendar gives me something to shoot for, and it also gives me a purpose for my training.  I know that there are some folks...because I've met them...who will just get up one day and decide to run these events.  For the 5K distances, I think that's great...for the Tough Mudder, though, the first thought to run through my mind is, "...good luck with the day after the event."

Training
First off, let me say this...I am NOT an exercise physiologist or expert of any kind.  I do not have formal training in anything closely related to training for these kinds of events.  All I can do is share what I've found works for me.  Also, I'm not a professional athlete, nor have I ever been.


The 2012 Super Spartan event in Leesburg, VA, was held at Morven Park, an equestrian center.  There was a huge field with a lot of steeplechase jumps...things horses would jump...set up.  The event organizers wound the course back and forth over all of the jumps, so there was a lot of stepping or jumping up, and then jumping down.  For folks who were not used to this sort of activity, it took a huge toll on them later in the event, and the following day.

The 2011 Mid-Atlantic Tough Mudder was held at the Wintergreen Ski Resort, which, as you might imagine, has a lot of up and a lot of down, and little in the way of flat terrain.  There was some, as you wound your way through the housing areas and across the golf course, but the varied terrain took a toll on folks, and in many cases, the downhill stuff was worse than the uphill.

I've found that the Manassas Battlefield Park is a great place to train.  You get to run on varied terrain, with hills (the hill behind the Visitors Center that runs down to Rt 29 is awesome), and you can get just off the trails and run through the woods, jumping over downed trees.  Also, when trees fall over the trails, the rangers come out and cut the trees up into logs...and no one cares if you pick up one (or more) of these logs and drop it some place else in the park.  ;-)  My point is that varied training, including hill work, will not only help you with the event itself, but also limit the effects that you feel over the days following the event.  Find a hill (or two, or seven...) to include on your route, and if you have a pretty good sized hill, have a "hill day"...warm up, and then do hill repeats.  Do it three times, then move up to 5, or 10 times.  Go up, then your recovery is coming back down.

Something else that I like to do after I finish a run is to do lunges, or box jumps.  What I've also done during a run is, I'll push it up a hill and then stop and do a round of pushups, situps, and jump squats, and then immediately get back to running.  This simulates the aerobic-anaerobic transition that you face with obstacles, without having an actual obstacle.  If you can find one of those fitness trails that you will see in some neighborhoods, or there's a school yard on your route, try adding in some pullups.

Variations
Like many folks out there, for me, doing the same work out over and over would get boring, so I like to have variations.  There are times when I'll do an exercise for volume, going for max reps on each set, and other times when I'll do a set number of reps, but keep that up for either a specific number of sets, or as many sets as I can.

Some simple exercises can also be varied.  Take the pushup.  Do a pushup.  Then do it with your feet elevated.  Or, start by doing 5 'normal' pushups, followed by 5 with a narrow hand position (hands close together), followed by 5 with your hands widely spaced, then back to 5 'normal' pushups.  Or, try "walking" pushups...start with your hands at a normal width, but staggered with one slightly ahead of the other.  Do a pushup, and then move the rear-most hand forward, in a walking motion.  At each step, do a pushup.  I know it's hard, but I first saw this exercise in a kid's gymnastics class.

Obstacle events require a good deal of upper body strength and endurance, with a lot of pulling.  You can do variations on pullups...palms in, palms out.  Hands close together, wide, or staggered.  You can have a normal width, but pullup to one side, and then the other.  You can do weighted pullups, holding a dumbbell between your feet.  One way I've found that really works for me to increase the number of pullups I can do is to do at least one max set of pullups every day, 5 days a week.  This is in addition to my normal workout...if I go by home gym for any reason, I'll stop in and do a set.

Keep it varied, keep it interesting.  Work out by yourself, work out with a partner, or a group.

Travel
Working out can sometimes be tough if you travel.  If you're going someplace you've never been, it may be difficult to find someplace that's both accessible and safe to run.  This is where "prison workouts" can be very useful; these workouts are specifically designed for small confined places, and can be easily performed in hotel rooms, or any other area that you may have access to.  They usually involve high-volume/high-rep body weight exercises, such as pushups, situps, lunges, burpees, body weight squats, squat jumps, and any variation thereof.  A great workout idea is to pick at least three exercises, pick a number of repetitions, and cycle through them in a circuit.  For example, my home gym has a squat rack with a pullup bar, so I'll go through a "circuit" of 35 pushups, 10 pullups, 25 body-weight squats, 25 situps/crunches, and 25 4-count flutter kicks.  You can do this for time, or you can just keep doing circuits until...you can't.  If I'm traveling, I can do the same circuit, and replace the pullups with reverse-rows under a desk or table.

I've been in professional positions that required travel, and in a couple of cases, I couldn't leave the hotel room.  I had a pelican case that weighed 65 lbs fully loaded, and I used it for a lot of things.  I'd do pushups off of it, do jumps over it, and use it for bent-over rows and overhead presses.  Sometimes, you may have limited space and time, but it's not difficult to squeeze in a workout...I've even done situps and planks while watching TV.

It's also easy to pack a jump rope in your luggage so that you can get in some aerobics, as well.  When I was doing a lot of traveling, well before these events were available, I had a number of exercises I would perform, as many times, I ended up spending a considerable amount of time sequestered  in a hotel room.  In addition to the previously mentioned exercises, I had a pelican case with me (as part of my job) that weighed in at about 65 lbs, so I would do bent-over rows, as well as hop over the box itself.

Final Thoughts
There are a lot of ways to get ideas for exercises and workouts.  I've "Liked" various fitness-related pages on Facebook, and the Spartan folks will send you a workout-of-the-day (WOD) email.  YouTube and fitness magazines are great resources for workout ideas.

One key for a lot of these exercises is correct form...you don't want to hurt yourself while you're getting ready for one of these events.  Be careful, pay close attention to any requirements regarding form, and most of all, have fun!

Also, for all of this to work correctly, you need to eat right.  I'm not a nutrition expert, I just know that the best way to see improvement is to couple your exercise with good nutrition.

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