Pick your mud run or obstacle race, you will have a wall to get over, and we aren’t talking a mental wall (although you may hit one of those as well). Mud runs or obstacle races often feature walls of varying heights, and they can often seem intimidating to those not approaching them correctly.

For those new to the obstacle racing world, or even those who have participated in the past, this can be one of the more annoying obstacles. There are so many walls in a single race, and you don’t want to be doing burpees at each; save those for the javelin throw (or don’t and see our javelin throw technique video coming soon!).

Sure, you can use someone else as a boost or get a swift push up and over. But some want the satisfaction of tackling this obstacle on their own. Others may be racing for time and are alone when they come to a wall. The thing is, the wall obstacle is a piece of cake. A 6-foot, muddy, slippery piece of cake.

The first key to getting over a wall is your butt – Stick. It. Out. Don’t collapse into the wall or you will struggle to gain traction and will be unable to create the force needed to walk your way up the wall. The second key is your arms – keep them straight. Create a strong triangular shape using the wall with extended arms, not bent. This will allow you to walk your feet up the wall without relying too much on your arm strength alone.

To visualize, the crew at Camp Rhino have put together a quick video to demonstrate how to get over a wall as high as 6 feet. If the wall towers over you, stay tuned for the next technique video to learn how to tackle taller wall obstacles in your way.

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Photos taken with permission by Spartan Race

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SAN DIEGO – Organizations representing all facets of the running industry rallied behind Boston and the national running community to form Run Now. Run Now is an industry coalition which will support recovery from the Boston tragedy and support fundraising for The One Fund Boston.

In the wake of the tragedy on Patriots Day 2013, Run Now assembles running industry partners and competitors alike to call on runners at every level to recommit to the spirit of running and to be inspired to donate, participate and share experiences. The Run Now initial launch partners include Competitor Group, U.S. Road Sports & Entertainment Group, Brooks Sports, MapMyFitness, Transamerica Life Insurance Company, Running Specialty Group and the Independent Running Retailers Association (IRRA).

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The Run Now coalition has launched RunNow.com. The website will become the hub of information on volunteering, participating and sharing all of the activities that demonstrate the solidarity of the running community.

Other components of the movement include:

• Pledging free race entries to 4,500 Boston Marathon participants diverted prior to the finish.

• Raising $1 million for The One Fund Boston by National Running Day on June 5, 2013.

• Offering more than 100,000 ‘Run Now – Boston 04.15.2013’ tribute wristbands to runners at upcoming marathons and at specialty running retailers across the country. The One Fund Boston will receive 100% of the proceeds for those affected by the tragedy.

Comments from Industry Leadership:

“As runners ourselves, we share in a community that is resilient, passionate, strong, united and energized, even at a time of such unimaginable tragedy. The overwhelming outcry at the tragedy among runners inspired the industry to form this coalition,” said Scott Dickey, CEO of Competitor Group. “This week, terrorists attacked runners and in doing so attacked our running community. Run Now shows that our community and the running spirit is stronger than any terrorists’ evil intentions. We are determined to maintain the enduring and celebratory achievement of participating in running events. If there was ever a time to run, Run Now.”

“We can’t make sense of this senseless event and are heartbroken by the impact on so many victims and their families,” said Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks Running Company. “At the same time, we are moved by the inspiring stories and acts of kindness by runners and community members in Boston and beyond. We view this collective effort as the most appropriate way to memorialize those lost and inspire everyone to focus on the good we can accomplish together.”

RELATED: Running Still Matters

“The running community is a family, and families look out for each other. It is with great pride that US Road Sports & Entertainment Group and our family takes on this challenge. The financial commitment is really just a fraction of the commitment that the world wide family of runners demonstrates on a daily basis. We are thrilled to have the Salt Lake City Marathon as the kick-off to this wonderful endeavor,” said Peter Handy, Founder and Managing Partner of US Road Sports & Entertainment Group.

“The IRRA is proud to endorse Run Now,” Parker Karnan, Executive Director of the IRRA. “Our independent running retailers across the country run towards challenges not away from them. Run Now embodies our resolve and illustrates that running is an expression of our freedom.”

All content taken with permission by Competitor.com

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Check out the mud run video previewing REI Muddy Buddy Richmond Benefiting Prostate Cancer Foundation

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Photos taken with permission by Spartan Race

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Photos taken with permission by Spartan Race

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Check out this article about Spartan Race Training

Warming-up is one of those aspects in a training session that people either do on a consistent basis or do minimal movements or none at all. Many people feel as though they warm-up effectively but many actually do not do what is necessary to get the body ready for the work that is about to take place. How many times have you seen an athlete just go through the motions of a warm-up?

Warm-ups have improved over the years. I remember a time when you would do a couple of stretches, some would pretend to actually stretch, run a few laps around a track and get into whatever practice or training you needed to do. Still today you will see many gym goers do some quick stretches before they are off to the races.

If you are going to compete or even if you are just doing a Spartan Race for fun you will need to warm-up.

The main reason we warm-up is to prevent injury. Now many of you are thinking, I never get injured. Most people think of injury as something big, even if you get a small tweak in a hamstring during training you have injured yourself. These small injuries are usually overlooked until they become bigger problems down the road.

Warming-up properly will ensure that you are ready to go not only before your training session but also prior to your races. Besides the prevention of injury, the warm-up can serve several different purposes. These are in no specific order but are of importance nonetheless.

The purpose of the Warm-Up:

1. To Increase Core Temperature: Getting a little sweat going in the warm-up is a great way to start off a training session. Most times people train cold. A warm-up will get the muscle ready for the work to come. Muscles will fire or contract much quicker when they are at a higher temperature. This obviously leads to a better training session or competition.

2. Increase Heart Rate: When performing a warm-up it is key to get your heart rate up. I have completed warm-ups where my heart rate has been between 130-150 BPM. You will see in the warm-up below how fast we can get your heart rate going and waking up your body. Here is a piece of advice that will help tremendously with your training, go out and buy yourself a heart rate monitor. Your heart rate will be your guide to how well you are progressing especially in your conditioning.

3. Introduction to New Movements: This warm-up may introduce you to new movements that you may not have performed before. As part of a warm-up I have included movements that will target weak area in many people. These movements will allow the athlete to improve on their weaknesses, which will help reduce nagging injuries later.

4. Increase Strength: Not only will the inclusion of new movements improve your weak areas, but you will also have the great side effect of training, which would be getting stronger in many areas.

5. Increase Aerobic and Anaerobic Capacity: Once you get the movements down of the warm-up presented here you will see how you will begin to flow from one to the other. This will allow you to increase your heart rate that will also help increase your aerobic capacity. The sprinting at the end of the warm-up will also get you anaerobic capacity fired up.

6. Become More Flexible, Mobile and Stable: Our bodies are meant to be flexible in certain areas, mobile in other and stable in yet others. But as time goes on our bodies seem to lack all of the qualities above. A lack in these qualities will eventually lead to an injury. During the warm-up you will be able to see where your weaknesses are. The different ranges of motion performed in the movements will allow your body to improve on its mobility, stability and flexibility. By performing the warm-up you will see how all the qualities will improve and you will become a better athlete.

7. Improve the Function of the Central Nervous System (CNS): The warm-up acts as a wakeup call for the CNS. The connection between the CNS and the muscles become strengthened during the warm-up. If you are doing the movements the right way each and every repetition you will see how easy it will be to acquire new skills as well as become more coordinated with the skills you already possess. If your CNS is firing on all cylinders you will be that much more prepared to perform well in the training sessions or the race that follows.

8. Improve Focus: During a warm-up is a great time to get your head in the game. Obstacle course racing and training are very similar. Your head needs to be in the right place to achieve a high level in either one. The warm-up is a perfect time to begin to focus on the task at hand. During training you not only train your body but your mind as well. While warming-up, focus on positive things and leave all distractions at the door. There is no room for negativity creeping in during training or a race.

Robert DeCillis is a strength and conditioning specialist and a Spartan Group X coach. He coaches athletes from different sports including those preparing for obstacle races. He operates the site http://obstaclecoursetraining.com and is the owner of Training for Warriors Long Island.

All content is taken with permission by Spartan Race

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Head to the Hill At Least Once a Week:

If you are preparing for an obstacle course race, you should devote at least one workout per week to hill intervals. Don’t go overboard and do much more than that, because these workouts will be intense and your body will need a chance to recover and build muscle afterwards. The ideal place to do a hill workout is a steep trail or dirt road, because that’s what you will actually get on race day. But if you don’t have easy access to a trail, than you can get similar benefits from a hilly road, a treadmill on an incline or stadium with stairs. Each of these locales can deliver an intense workout that will target your quads and glutes, which will give you more power to run the hills on the course and climb up other obstacles you will encounter.

Break It Up:

When you do hill training, you will alternate between intense intervals and recovery periods. The exact timing of the interval doesn’t matter that much and it is beneficial to switch it up a little bit. One day you might do 3 minutes of running uphill followed by 1 minute of walking. Another day you might do 6 minutes of running uphill followed by a 3-minute recovery. Find an interval period that works for you and work to continually increase the intensity of your workout as you get stronger.

Why Intensity Matters:

Newbies often assume that to be a stronger runner, you have to run for a long time at a slow pace. But the truth is you get more bang for your buck when you train at higher intensity levels for shorter periods of time. Many studies have shown that high intensity interval running can improve your aerobic fitness with less training time than long and slow training. High intensity training also has the added benefit of boosting your metabolism for several hours after a workout and triggering more substantial muscle growth. Plus, as a mud runner your body needs to be ready for quick bursts of power to get yourself up and over obstacles.

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