ExRx.net

After about a year of completely slacking off on Workouts and generally not eating that great, I've been convinced to register for a Tough Mudder Competition. www.toughmudder.com The Event is not until October, so I have some time to prepare, but not a lot. That being said, I need to put together a nice workout/training plan that will help prepare me for the competition.

For those that don't know, Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile Race with Obstacles every 1/2 mile. The Obstacles vary from carrying awkward items, crawling through the mud, electric shock, climbing over a wall, or just about anything else they can think of. The event is designed by British special forces to mimic their training (obviously they train harder and longer than just 12 miles, but this is an event for the public, not military training).

The Bad:
I need to lower my BF% quite a bit (As stated, the last year has not been good for working out)
I don't really like to run that much, but will have to.
I've only got 9 months

The Good:
It will be after a Spring and Summer Softball season, so even without specifically training, I will be in better shape, but still need a lot of work to complete this competition.
With a goal in mind, I should be able to stay motivated to run.
I'm doing this with a lot of my friends, so I'll have support
The Goal is to complete the event, not win. (None of us have any delusions about winning)


I must be able to train at home and without the use of a Gym, but I have a decent amount of equipment and can build any special items necessary.

Any suggestions on how the best way to do this is? Beside the obvious, HARD WORK. I think I need to focus more on Power and endurance than pure strength.

Possibly something that would revolve around
Running/jogging/walking
Cleans/Power Cleans (for the explosive power)
Farmers Carry/Walk (For Grip strength/endurance)
High Rep Pressing

Cliff

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Depending on where you live, you may be able to find a selection of large rocks, say 50-100 lbs in size, maybe some logs, old tires, sandbags, etc. Tie a rope to them and drag push and carry them. If you have a hill nearby, hill sprints are very effective.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

I've been wanting to build a sled. This might be the excuse I need.

Not many Large Rocks easy to get where in live in town.

Good ideas, Keep them coming.

Cliff

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How about a sled made of 2x4s with cinder blocks piled on it.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

You might be interested to also check some cross-fit exercises. My friend is doing crossfit and lots of other type of long-length cardio and hard intensity aerobic exercises. He's doing that sort of crazy stuff too. Few months back he participated into some 86km event run with all types of obstacles and missions on the way.

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Prove the impossible!

OooOoO looks harsh, but yea shame theres so much VO2 involved - I'd love to do something like this but I think the year after is a more sensible target for me, I just can't run :) (cycling is getting there but very much a novice there too)

There's a "routine" on the website it seems but really... any basic compound routine would fit the bill IMO (with exceptions for your "no gym" rule) - and of course a ton of running.

some activity ideas for you to consider:

similar to prowler: weighted walking - a shoulder friendly backpack or fishing vest can allow this. practise whole body movements under these weights ie: getting to and from the ground. when you remove the weight the activity will feel much easier.

given 9 months you can conquer the distance, exrx main site has some sensible running program structures for building capacity, but if training for this doesn't suit practice 1/2 to 3/4 mile runs with increasing speed, and build up to 24 - 26 reps with some kind of whole body superset (burpee to jump, farmers walks or firemans carries, climbing rope, jumping things, tyre flips, bag drags, sledgehammering, power cleans and cleans).

if you have suitable fences, climb over/onto them. or bear crawl, or crawl beneath them - long sleeves/ elbow wraps are your friend. grab and hang from random handholds for as long as possible, and 'monkey' around - momentum is a great help. carry all the shopping in at once, then take it for a walk around the kitchen.

i'm actually concerned about the electric shock event. compete in rubber soled boots and earth yourself? that one feels like a real challenge. looks like fun - enjoy it.

The half mile runs with tasks in between would be metabolically much different that a 10 mile run. This is like intervals with a lot of repeats. The heart rate is going to significantly increase and the key to success will be quick recovery. I would stay away from long steady runs as I don't think that would carry over very well to what you need to do.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

WOW!! That's what I'm talking about, I'll be participating in the Mid Atlantic Toughmudder on Sat September 8th!! I've been looking for specified training as well, I'll be watching this post closely! The team I'm on is called Jimmy Jank! Don't ask, I didn't name it, but we're going to rock it!

To what extent can you predict and reproduce the obstacles? Can you build some similar ones somewhere?

I'd think that some strength work, at least early in your training would be useful, then do less of it and more skill-specific practice as the comp approaches. I'd think hill sprints would be valuable.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

I did the Warrior Dash last year, and I trained for the obstacles, not the run.

Talk about a mistake.

I did the entire thing with an HD Hero strapped to my chest, which means I was able to go over my performance afterwards and see where I was weak. The WD was a much shorter course (only 5k) with about 12 obstacles, or one obstacle every ~400m or so. I absolutely murdered the obstacles — while wearing a Luigi hallowe'en costume! — and I can be seen flying past handfuls of people on the tire course, through the mud, parkouring over trees and walls. And I got completely killed on time.

It's a run first. Train accordingly.

Doc,

Unfortunately, I have no real idea what the obstacles will be. I can predict lots of Mud and water, Electric shock, and the clombing and carrying of items. How those will be distributed, I don't know. In theory, it could be only a couple different obstacles that we repeat multiple times. The Event has never been to this location before, so there is not a history of what was done in the past.

JasonJones,

Thanks for the info. The Run will be the hardest for me and is where I need to focus most of my attention.

Sadly, last week we had great weather, Sunny, Unseasonally warm, but I was down and out with a Bad Cold/Virus. This week, it's cold, damp, and snowing. Arrgghhhhh

cliff

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One of my buddies convinced me to try INSANITY. Now I know it's not the end all for training for Tough Mudder, but I will admit, it will smoke you! It can serve as a very valuable tool as Interval training is the primary focus of the program. Add that in with the rest of your training, remember just finishing mudder is a great accomplishment.

Don't let the weather stop you. If anything it should help to prepare you for harsh conditions which I'm sure the Mudder has plenty of.

Two weeks ago I had a terrible head/sinus infection. I still summoned the strength to suit up in my cold gear and go out for a six mile run. The next day I felt great. I think I killed whatever was lurking inside my body.

Last weekend it was 15°F and snowing and slushy on the roads when I went out. Got in 6.25 miles that day and it was my fastest time yet!

There is no time like today to get out and train!

Good luck with the Mudder! I think I'm going to do my first Warrior this summer. I'm looking forward to that!

Travis

Yep, this is going to be rough...

I started the running/jogging/walking part of the training last weekend. Ended the 1st day at 3.75miles in 45minutes or so. The first 2 miles were at a decent pace ~10:00 minute mile, but the trip back home was quite a bit slower with a lot more walking.

Monday, I walked on my lunch break. I can't run as I don't have anywhere to shower or the time to shower, so a brisk walk is about all I can do. 1.5miles in about 20min which isn't bad, but not great either.

Have I mentioned I really don't like running, but I have a goal and a purpose, so that will keep me focused..Time to go update my log again after a long time out of any real training...

Cliff

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