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 …
OCR challenges
An OCR is first and foremost a foot race, which means that running has to be a huge part of race prep. These races are almost always off road, which means an ability to handle uneven ground at speed is a key skill required to safely navigate the course. Although all-terrain running is the main part of the event, the obstacles themselves present multiple challenges that are really fun to help clients prepare for. Some of the functional movements needed to master OCR courses include monkey bars and rope climbing (brachiation), wall climbing, precision jumping, balance beams, swimming, crawling, lifting, carrying and occasionally throwing. Bringing these functional movements into your workouts makes training feel very different to traditional training styles and provides a lot of new stimulus for both trainer and client, making workouts so much more fun, varied and challenging.
Physical attributes for OCR
Having looked at the functional movements required for successfully completing an OCR, what physical adaptations are we trying to encourage in clients? This is important to think about when we are prescribing exercises and structuring a training plan.
Cardiovascular capacity
As aforementioned, the race is predominantly running, which means a good aerobic running base is essential. Above and beyond that though, anaerobic threshold needs to be as high as possible to avoid fatigue and allow recovery on the go. Many of the courses will have inclines/hills that need to be tackled and obstacles that require bursts of power, such as jumping or swinging before bouncing straight back into your running stride without a rest.
Mobility and flexibility
An ability to move your joints through full range of motion is a very useful attribute when it comes to squeezing through tyres, getting your leg over a wall or stepping onto high hay bales.
Muscular endurance
Races vary in length but typically will last one to two hours and can be up to marathon length at the extreme three to six hours. This means the ability to keep moving and doing obstacle after obstacle puts high demand on your muscles. In the gym, high reps and high volume of training are needed for good preparation.
Muscular strength and power
Many obstacles, such as those that require jumping and swinging, need strength and power. In most cases, this only involves bodyweight and so super-heavy weights aren’t always needed in the gym. Explosive movements with bodyweight or lighter, repeated at high reps, are usually more relevant.
Balance, co-ordination and agility
Many obstacles require precision footwork/hand placement such as climbing, jumping and landing on target areas such as rope swings, balancing across beams and good all-round co-ordination, such as climbing a moving scramble net. This can all be improved in the gym using dynamic multi- directional exercises with unpredictable elements.
Hanging and grip strength
Obstacle elements such as monkey bars and climbing walls require strong shoulders and grip. Hanging exercises and grip variations in the gym can all assist with this.
Benefits of ViPR for OCR training
The functional nature and versatility of ViPR makes it a top choice of gym tool for OCR conditioning. Consider the following:
- Functional multi-planar movement: ViPR can be used in all three planes (sagittal, frontal and transverse), mimicking the unpredictable movement patterns of OCR.
- Grip strength development: The awkward shape and variable grip positions naturally train the hands, wrists and forearms.
- Mobility under load: Movements like lateral lunges or rotational swings challenge mobility while building strength.
- Dynamic core training: ViPR movements naturally recruit the core – especially in rotational and diagonal patterns.
- Versatility: ViPR as a single training tool can simulate object carries, resisted sprints, throws, low-crawl drills and many more with a wide variety of training series.
Sample ViPR OCR workout
This sample workout is designed to mimic the demands of an obstacle course race using ViPR and serves as an example session. Training prep should be developed ideally over two to three months with progressive running, progressive load, volume and movement complexity.
Warm-up exercises
1. Multi-directional Squat to Press
2. Side-step Shift
3. Woodchop with Pivot Step
Circuit one: Multi-directional strength/endurance
1. Side Squat and Thread (Reverse Grip)
2. Walking Lunges with Overhead Rotation
3. Kneel to Stand with Halo
4. ViPR Get Ups
Circuit two: Power and agility
1. ViPR Slam to Squat Jump
2. Ice Skater Side Shuffle
3. ViPR 180 Thread Burpee
4. Shuttle Run Aerial Flip
Circuit three: Core and grip
1. Lateral Swing and Lift Off
2. ViPR Drag Crawl
3. Toes to Bar
4. ViPR Plank Lateral Drag
Flexibility
1. Groin Step Through Stretch
2. Bow Pose
3. Down Dog
Summary
As a coach remember that, using the principles of ViPR Loaded Movement Training, all of the above exercises are scalable for different phases and capabilities. Enjoy researching your clients’ events to find out about the specific obstacles they will face and design drills for specificity. As the race approaches, systematically reduce rest periods to simulate race conditions and adapt the load and intensity as you see fit. Use ViPR’s versatility to your advantage and try to reimagine basic exercises to make them more race specific. This is a fun goal and should help inspire enjoyable and novel workouts for both you and your client to enjoy.
Stephen Tongue is head of education for ViPR and was first introduced to and trained on ViPR by inventor Michol Dalcourt back in 2011. Stephen’s passion for movement training and success as a freelance personal trainer and presenter led to him joining the ViPR master trainer team at FitPro back in 2013. Stephen has remained a part of the team until this day, as well as picking up master trainer positions with other big fitness brands such as TRX, PowerPlate and MyZone. Stephen has regularly created content throughout his career for national and industry magazines, news bulletins, blogs and social media. His enthusiasm for ViPR training throughout his career has always kept him close to FitPro and he is instrumental in ViPR’s progress and vision.
