Obstacle course races (OCR) such as Tough Mudder or The Spartan Race are an exciting part of the fitness space. They are an increasingly common goal for clients wanting to get into shape and offer purpose to their gym workouts or occasionally a regular hobby for the competitive weekend warriors. As a trainer, you may have already helped to prepare a client for such an event or even taken part in one yourself. Training for an OCR definitely goes above and beyond a traditional gym workout, as it’s a multi-discipline event and requires well-rounded physical preparation. Let’s race into this topic …

When it comes to effective, functional fitness, it’s not just about training muscles in isolation, it’s about training movement. That’s why Loaded Movement Training (LMT) is such a powerful approach, says Ally Taylor.

For decades, strength training has been dominated by a simple image: athletes piling weight onto a barbell and lifting it up and down in straight lines. This model certainly develops strength, but it does not always translate directly into the demands of martial arts. In combat sports, force is rarely applied vertically or in isolation. Instead, fighters must generate, redirect, and resist load in constantly changing directions. Whether you’re throwing a punch, securing a takedown, or transitioning on the ground, performance in MMA is defined by the ability to move weight through three-dimensional space.

We all know we should warm up before reaching the first tee, but how often do you actually do it? Gareth Snelson takes you through a quick, easy and effective warm-up that will help improve your golf game.

ViPR’s versatility is vast when it comes to movement drills – it’s all part of the joy of using ViPR for Loaded Movement Training. Stephen Tongue, Head of ViPR education, lays out his top five ViPR moves and how to coach them.

We all know we should stretch more, especially when we feel tight in our hips, shoulders or back. But traditional stretching doesn’t always deliver the results we’re after. That’s why loaded mobility is the reset your body needs, as Ally Taylor explains.

Swedish ViPR trainer Maria Karlbom Andersson explains how she uses ViPR to help special populations to move better.

Ally Taylor explores the power of Loaded Movement Training and why these exercises are perfect for beginners.

In this comprehensive blog, Stephen Tongue, Head of ViPR Education, explores the ViPR thresholds that were introduced to us in the LMT workshops. Stephen explores Thresholds 1, 2 and 3; T1, T2 and T3 and supports these concepts with practical and applicable ViPR programming in the accompanying videos.

Yes, there are ViPR imitations on the market and, yes, you’ll save a few bob initially. But here’s why the UK-made natural rubber ViPR is the only ViPR that properly delivers the gains you’re looking for – and, unlike cheap copies, it lasts a lifetime.