Obstacle course race is a series of challenging physical hurdles that an athlete or a team requires to face and navigate within a designated time. Obstacle races include a combination of multiple activities in a sequence including cycling, tire swings, racing,  jumping, climbing, crawling, and balancing acts. An athlete crosses a barrier to face an activity change within a few meters. The different speeds and the resultant alteration in body movements at a brisk pace kick start the metabolism rate and develop endurance levels in an individual.

How to train for an obstacle race course?

Training for an impediment course race requires a distinctive plan to integrate two essentials,

• endurance required for a long run and
• strength to overcome a variety of challenging encounters.

The exercise program for the obstacle classes race should include:

• Running 4-to 5-miles a day, across diversifying landscapes aids in developing the endurance levels of a person. The introduction of variations including intervals and hill runs between the running schedule can enhance speed and the muscle power.

• Pull-ups are an essential part of obstacle race training. They assist in developing upper body and grip strength which can be advantageous during wall/rope climbing or monkey rods. Practice using a different kind of grips can prepare a person for facing sudden challenges.

• Push-ups enhance the upper body strength and core. Once a person masters the basic push-ups, he can increase the intensity of the exercise by raising his feet to a chair or supporting himself on a stability ball. Explosive push-ups are the most effective exercise to increase the endurance levels of a person.

• Squats with certain modifications to training the hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes can strengthen the lower body of a person. Once a person learns to squat using his body weight, he can add more weights or change stability to make the exercises more challenging.

• Lunges are also lower body strength-building exercises and improve the strength of legs and muscles. Mastering forward lunges is very vital, and this can be built upon by variations in stability levels.

• Planks can help in developing race related core strength in the body. Passing through the low barbed wire and other similar hurdles require core strength and stability which can be easily obtained through plank training.

• Squat jumps or lunge jumps help a person scale high obstacles like walls or high stocks of hay. Move on to box jumps after mastering the basic jumps.

• Crawls enhance the proficiency in movements through low heights and narrow spaces. Bear walks and dog walks also help a person pass through narrow tunnels with ease.

• Abdominal exercises with knee lifts or stomach tucks can support the lower abs and help in overcoming obstacles where a person needs to move on their stomach.

• Burpees are the ultimate step in the obstacle race training program. They can help a person get trained to shift from one obstacle to another in a swift manner.

A person who has mastered all exercises can combine them in various intensities and simulated conditions to have better endurance and strength training.

Having a healthy diet or eating plan for your next Tough Mudder or half-marathon is also important. So here are rules of thumb to grip in mind:

Pre-workout

• Keep it sheer, but make it favoring. Your pre-workout meal should be low fat with some carbs and protein. Like a shake with bananas, whey protein powder, and water. Or if you’d rather have meal before your morning
• Eat at least one-hour ere your workout. After filling up your tank with good fuel for your workout, the last thing you want to do is allow the stomach cramp inhibit your workout. Give yourself ample time to digest.

Post-workout

• Your post-workout feast could be a liquid or meal. Either way, the suggested guideline for carbohydrate: protein ratio for post-workout snacks is about 3 – 4:1
• Post-workout drink. There are some good options: chocolate milk has been receiving some good hype lately. If you don’t like chocolate, a decent orange-creme flavored formula that stirs in easily with water is also available in the market.
•  A meal consisting of 2-3 platefuls of a carb-rich food and 1-2 portions of protein. A sandwich with lean protein & veggie layers usually fits this bill.

During Workout

Not all workouts command for Gatorade. Brands behind workout drinks do a great job of pushing them and making you think that you require them for all your workouts. This is not the case.

For your strenuous, lengthy bouts, it may not be a poor idea to have a watered down sports drink close by. You could also use a half serving of a recovery formula with water through an intensive training session. But on a recovery day, a slight run, or other less intense session, you shouldn’t require a sports drink to take you through it.