The official SAS motto is “who dares wins”, but apparently that’s mostly for the tourists.. their real credo is the 6 P’s: “Perfect Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance”, or as my old boxing coach used to say;
“Train hard, fight easy.. train easy, fight hard.”
Spartan warriors, like the SAS, were successful because of their dedicated, professional approach to training, tactics and conditioning. Activities like trail running, Crossfit and boot-camp will all help prepare you for your first Spartan Race. Pull-ups are a must, make them a daily staple.
During high intensity interval based sessions, alternate upper and a lower body exercises (aka shunting), this trains the body to move blood effectively between different target muscle groups.
“Identify your weaknesses and make them your strengths.”
These are some of the obstacles you are going to face. Pick the 4 you are least comfortable with and use the prep exercises to turn them into your best 4.
- Barbed wire crawl – spider crawl/leopard crawl/plank to pushup
- Fire jump – box jumps
- Balance beam – wobble board/bosu single leg stand
- 8 foot wall – bar facing burpees/dips/diamond push-ups
- Cargo net – incline spider crawl forward and backwards
- Monkey bars – pull-ups
- Rope climb – rope pull-up, rope climb
- Hercules hoist – rope climb
- Spear throw – MB throws
- Slippery mountain – sled/rope pull
- Sand bag carry – incline walking lunges, air squats
Burpees will always be there at the start of every race, waiting to pounce. Make them your friends. Aim to do 30 reps 4 – 5 times in between 60 sec. sets of anaerobic, full body movements (chin ups, thrusters, push-ups, sprints, rope climbs, box jumps.)
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