Cross Fit for Tough Mudder?

PRMinx

Hey all. I working towards a Tough Mudder in October and am wondering if anyone has done Crossfit as a training program for it? I'm considering join a Crossfit gym, but it is expensive so I want to make sure it's going to be worth it. Also, is it true they try to push Paleo on everyone? I'm not into fad diets.

ninerbuff

Hey all. I working towards a Tough Mudder in October and am wondering if anyone has done Crossfit as a training program for it? I'm considering join a Crossfit gym, but it is expensive so I want to make sure it's going to be worth it. Also, is it true they try to push Paleo on everyone? I'm not into fad diets.

Yes on paleo push and yes Crossfit should help, but really any circuit training should help with a tough mudder. You can probably find a program online for free.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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HMVOL7409

Crossfit would definitely help you with TM. I'm not sure of the obstacles with TM but many say you definitely need upperbody strength for some. Now I do crossfit at home and don't feel you need to attend a gym for it unless you really want to get into the Olympic lifts portion of CF. I only recommend a gym for CF if you have no lifting experience or someone to help you.

LeenaRuns

There are some TM training programs online--I think there's actually one on the TM website. Good luck!

elliepearsonn

I plan on doing this!
I'm just starting a HIIT military training programme my friend gave me so hope that helps.

jacksonpt

yes Crossfit should help, but really any circuit training should help with a tough mudder. You can probably find a program online for free.

This was my thought as well.

Do you have a membership or any home weights now? Tough mudder has a workout on their website, but any circuit/cross training program should work.

bananapancakebella

No one at crossfit has ever mentioned diet to me, paleo or otherwise. I love the workouts, and I would think that functional training should be helpful for a tough mudder, but is not the only way to train for one.

sjohnny

I agree that crossfit or crossfit style workouts would probably be very beneficial. I wouldn't spend the money to join a crossfit gym just to get ready for a Tough Mudder. I'm considering doing one in April and I'll just continue with my normal running and weight training and do some additional circuits and random crap. You can find crossfit workouts online and just do them on your own for free.


edit for subject/verb agreement

donnacervelli11

Hi!

I did the Tough Mudder this past October and I trained for it with a combination of running / kettle bells / kickboxing and TRX suspension.

I've taken a few CrossFit classes and I think it defintely would have helped me, but any cross training program that works on core, upper body and leg strength would be fine. Also make sure to run - there are roughly 2 miles between each obstacle (roughly 26 obstacles, on a 12 - 13 mile course) and being able to keep up the pace is key.

If you have any questions about the course I'd be happy to answer them!

twinmom01

I did Rugged Manic (basically tough mudders little brother) at the same time I was doing Crossfit 2-3 x's a week.

If you are doing a good strength training workout I don't think you would necessarily need to sign up and do crossfit. Hard to say because every box is different. The one I went to was very small and had small classes so it was akin to personal training IMO - but I know other boxes have larger classes and while it is scaleable - harder to scale things to yourself when there is 12--14 people all trying to do the same thing.

I am doing the Rugged Manic again this year - I left doing crossfit mainly because they switched to a new location so it is no longer a good fit with my scheduale - however I have taken a lot of what I learned in my Crossfit training and apply it to what I do now in the gym. I will do some of the crossfit workouts at my gym or at home. the only thing I don't do is the olympic lifts portion - I do lift at the gym but not as heavy or varied as I did at the crossfit gym.

As for Paleo - I guess it depends on the gym. Mine did have an offshoot 30 day Paleo challenge (I was already eating Primal at that point so i went ahead and did it - I continue to eat Primal) but it wasn't "thrust" upon - I know they currently work with a company that provides Paleo "on the go meals" that are available for pickup at the gym. I think the main basis of Paleo - lots of veggies, good protien sources, good for you fats, good natural carb sources is a good basis for anyone following a strength training. I know the box that i went to stressed eating right, not neccessarily eating paleo - because why waste their time training you if you are just going to go home and eat a bunch of junk - KWIM. IMO Paleo is not a "fad diet" though - it is a form of eating - just like someone who is a vegetarian - stick with certain foods - don't eat certain foods...

I think the bulk of being able to finish a Tough Mudder (I had a number of friends who did it) is having enough staminia to finish - yes you definately need some strength to do some of the obstacles (don't know if you can go around any...with the Rugged Manic you could opt to go around any of the obstacles (you would be out of the running to "place") - I had to opt out of one really high wall - I just didn't have enough strength to pull my large *kitten* up and over. But you also need to overall for the running part (the group I did the Rugged Manic with were more of a fast walking group - + the fact the last 1/3rd was pure sink to your ankle mud (my sisters shoe got sucked off we had to stop and attempt to pull it out) - nearly impossible to run (and the few we did see try to run at any speed wound up wiping out when they would hit a slick spot in the mud).

You might be able to find some sort of boot camp program that would be cheaper but give you the same type of results - I know my county parks and rec has a boot camp class - maybe look around at some martial arts place - I do a kickboxing boot camp class 2x's per week through a martial arts place that kicks my butt.

PRMinx

Thanks everyone!

I can also join a Planet Fitness, but I need a lot of work on my upper body strength (I can't do a pullup) and I thought having a coach to help me learn and progress would be beneficial. Also, I'm the type that needs motivation and it might be nice to make some class friends. But, there's quite a bit of sticker shock with the price ($150/month!), so it's a big decision.

The online TM training program should help me get started for sure. I'm just worried about having bad form with no one there to correct me :-(

jayche

Thanks everyone!

I can also join a Planet Fitness, but I need a lot of work on my upper body strength (I can't do a pullup) and I thought having a coach to help me learn and progress would be beneficial. Also, I'm the type that needs motivation and it might be nice to make some class friends. But, there's quite a bit of sticker shock with the price ($150/month!), so it's a big decision.

The online TM training program should help me get started for sure. I'm just worried about having bad form with no one there to correct me :-(

Save your money, while Crossfit is great it's not worth 150 a month to get in shape. You can find all the WODs online and do them yourself, if you want to learn Oly lifts then find a personal trainer who is qualified to teach you and learn it from them, you'll save money in the long run.

HMVOL7409

Thanks everyone!

I can also join a Planet Fitness, but I need a lot of work on my upper body strength (I can't do a pullup) and I thought having a coach to help me learn and progress would be beneficial. Also, I'm the type that needs motivation and it might be nice to make some class friends. But, there's quite a bit of sticker shock with the price ($150/month!), so it's a big decision.

The online TM training program should help me get started for sure. I'm just worried about having bad form with no one there to correct me :-(

$150/mth for any gym no matter what is freaking ridiculous. I would never pay that.

twinmom01

Thanks everyone!

I can also join a Planet Fitness, but I need a lot of work on my upper body strength (I can't do a pullup) and I thought having a coach to help me learn and progress would be beneficial. Also, I'm the type that needs motivation and it might be nice to make some class friends. But, there's quite a bit of sticker shock with the price ($150/month!), so it's a big decision.

The online TM training program should help me get started for sure. I'm just worried about having bad form with no one there to correct me :-(

Does Plant Fitness have a trainer option for an additional fee?

I belong to a Golds Gym Express and they just brought in a company with trainers a few months ago - so for an extra fee you can have a personal trainer. In watching some of the trainers put people through thier paces it is a lot of HIIT training and various strength training exercises (body weight and kettlebells/sandbags) and is scaleable to what you want to accomplish.

cleotherio

Where is your Tough Mudder event? I did one in Vermont at Mount Snow. The course ran up and down the entire mountain three or four times. I did Insanity to build up my aerobic fitness, but I should have spent more time just running hills. Several of the obstacles use upper body strength, but there are always people to help pull you up if you can't make it yourself (other than on the monkey bars).

sarahc001

Crossfit is probably good, but the plyo might blow out your knees if you combine it with the running necessary to complete the course. The most effective training for me was a combination of running and 3 p90x workouts: chest & back, shoulders & arms, legs & back. On the course it seemed more people had leg cramping issues than difficulty with the obstacles themselves. I'm planning to run 2 laps of TM in April, and doing a marathon in March to prep for the running part. Once you have that worked out, the rest is pretty easy. However this time I'll spend more time on real monkey bars. I was fine getting to the top of the funky monkey but couldn't bridge the distance across the peak since wasn't able to reach two bar-widths (it is an uphill slope, then a gap at the top, then a downhill slope- you can see the gap at the top if you look at my profile pics.)

sarahc001

Also, I DID blow out my knees last June because I was running and training with someone who had me doing plyometrics on the other days.

jellebeandesigns

We are doing the tough mudder training on their site it's awesome

donnacervelli11

The Planet Fitness by me offers the use of a trainer for an additional fee - I think they call it their Planet Black membership or something. I'm with you, going to group training classes with a personal trainer was the hands down best Tough Mudder training decision I made.

DavPul

Tough Mudder has a cross training regimen right on their site. Under the link labeled TRAINING. if you don't wish to pay, and are scared your local box is going to force bacon down your throat, try the workout on the link.

Edited because I see you have seen the link. The workout is pushups, lunges and chin ups. you shouldn't need to pay anyone to correct your form on those

TheGlen

Part of my training for the tough mudder in May includes crossfit. For me, it's a good opportunity to get a great workout with others and have a professional correct any form issues I might have. It's also an additional motivator to work out, since I've paid for the classes now.

As for them trying to "push paleo" on everyone; that's never been my experience. There is a large paleo/primal following within the crossfit community, but I think it's mostly based on the fact that you are getting a lot of people together who are interested in natural training movements and healthy eating habits (which over time has those same people learning and believing in logic/benefits of paleo/primal eating).

No_Finish_Line

Thanks everyone!

I can also join a Planet Fitness, but I need a lot of work on my upper body strength (I can't do a pullup) and I thought having a coach to help me learn and progress would be beneficial. Also, I'm the type that needs motivation and it might be nice to make some class friends. But, there's quite a bit of sticker shock with the price ($150/month!), so it's a big decision.

The online TM training program should help me get started for sure. I'm just worried about having bad form with no one there to correct me :-(

I'm deffinetly considering joining a crossfit gym for the instruction. I've been lifting on and off for like 20 years but i've done very little power lifting. i think its like 180 a month for the one by me lol. As far as motivation, spending that much is powerful motivation to attend and push yourself if you ask me. The box near me also seems to emphasis paleo, but if 'fad diet' means its hear today, gone tomorrow, then paleo is deffinetly not a fad diet. I'd say the main principal in paleo is not to eat artificial ingredients and thats something worth striving for.

Save your money, while Crossfit is great it's not worth 150 a month to get in shape. You can find all the WODs online and do them yourself, if you want to learn Oly lifts then find a personal trainer who is qualified to teach you and learn it from them, you'll save money in the long run.

this is also a good suggestion to save money and still get help with instruction. Some crossfit gyms might offer a free week of classes or something. i am pretty sure i saw a package at the local box that was much cheaper and was just a week or two of classes going over basic lifts, this was actually some kind of prerequisite to join the regular classes. Might be worth it to visit the gym and tell them exactly what you want to do and see if there is a cheaper option avaible that suits your needs.

But if it was me, i'd be much more worried about the half marathon aspect of TM then the obsticles themselves but thats just because of my background. I'd defeintly included some distance running and other endurance building workouts. I would not call crossfit, Insanity, or P90X endurance building programs. not marathon type endurance anyway

FullOfWin

Tough Mudder has a cross training regimen right on their site. Under the link labeled TRAINING. if you don't wish to pay, and are scared your local box is going to force bacon down your throat, try the workout on the link.

Edited because I see you have seen the link. The workout is pushups, lunges and chin ups. you shouldn't need to pay anyone to correct your form on those

Does it also have a forum specifically for tough mudders where seasoned veterans will answer questions for noobs? Or would I have to Google that?

No_Finish_Line

just be careful on the personal trainner thing because there is an over abundance of hacks out there.

also use your head when it comes to the PF 'trainners'. There are at least 4 local PFs around me. One had a woman with three nutriontion/exercise related graduate degrees from accreditited universities. Every other one had a highschool kid with a clip board that just went through each exercise one by one. SO there is a big difference depending on where you go and it should be painfully apparent.

Also, no Planet Fitness is going to teach you how to do olympic lifts. Its judged as bad in the 'judgement free zone'. The one i go to only has one olympic bar and they bet pissy if you do use it for anything other then bench press.

PRMinx

Wow, thanks everyone. I'm so grateful for this advice.

I think a good next step is to tour both the Crossfit and Planet Fitness facilities and meet some of the trainers. After hearing all of this, and considering the expense, I'm leaning towards PF (if the trainers are decent) and just using the training module on the TM website. In regards to running, I'm also working on that. I'm usually a treadmill runner, so I'm going to have to teach myself to run outside. I got a new Garmin for Christmas and I live in a runner's paradise (beautiful countryside), so it's just getting motivated. If you have any suggestions for training to run outside (couch to 5k?) I'm happy to hear it!

Maybe I was a little harsh in regards to Paleo. I hope I didn't offend. I eat a lot of lean proteins, fruits and veggies as it is so it wouldn't be too far off my eating habits.

PRMinx

Part of my training for the tough mudder in May includes crossfit. For me, it's a good opportunity to get a great workout with others and have a professional correct any form issues I might have. It's also an additional motivator to work out, since I've paid for the classes now.

This is a pro for Crossfit for me. I'm relatively new to the area and I want to make friends, too. I'm just not sure $150/month is realistic. I start business school in January though, so I may get a student discount.

PRMinx

Where is your Tough Mudder event? I did one in Vermont at Mount Snow. The course ran up and down the entire mountain three or four times. I did Insanity to build up my aerobic fitness, but I should have spent more time just running hills. Several of the obstacles use upper body strength, but there are always people to help pull you up if you can't make it yourself (other than on the monkey bars).

It's in New Jersey in October. I'm mostly worried about rope climbs and monkey bars. It's been so long since I've been able to do any of that stuff.

No_Finish_Line

This is a pro for Crossfit for me. I'm relatively new to the area and I want to make friends, too. I'm just not sure $150/month is realistic. I start business school in January though, so I may get a student discount.

lol, part of why i want to go is to make friends too .

It sounds like you have a good plan. I work out at planet fitness, and for the most part, i can do something at least close to what i want to do with their rediculous rules and lack of basic equipment, but if there was ANY other option on my route home from work for the same money, i'd be there in a heartbeat.

I wouldn't expect to be able to do a real crossfit workout in a Planet Fitness, and honestly, if you've ever done any weight training in your life i wouldn't expect to learn anything from the trainers there either. But each location is a little different and you really never know till you check it out.

No_Finish_Line

a crossfit gym and a Planet Fitness are essentially polar opposites lol

DavPul

Tough Mudder has a cross training regimen right on their site. Under the link labeled TRAINING. if you don't wish to pay, and are scared your local box is going to force bacon down your throat, try the workout on the link.

Edited because I see you have seen the link. The workout is pushups, lunges and chin ups. you shouldn't need to pay anyone to correct your form on those

Does it also have a forum specifically for tough mudders where seasoned veterans will answer questions for noobs? Or would I have to Google that?

What is this "Google" of which you speak? Are you suggesting that there is some sort of information database that will answer must every question posed in this site? Are you a wizard?

sarahc001

Where is your Tough Mudder event? I did one in Vermont at Mount Snow. The course ran up and down the entire mountain three or four times. I did Insanity to build up my aerobic fitness, but I should have spent more time just running hills. Several of the obstacles use upper body strength, but there are always people to help pull you up if you can't make it yourself (other than on the monkey bars).

It's in New Jersey in October. I'm mostly worried about rope climbs and monkey bars. It's been so long since I've been able to do any of that stuff.

I attached a rope to a tree and have a pull-up bar in a doorway. That really was sufficient. However people who otherwise looked strong were cramping (legs) all over the course. I ran a hilly half marathon as prep, and it made the TM course seem like a less strenuous half with breaks for fun obstacles. Don't be fooled by the hype- given the number of people who do tough mudder every year, it stands to reason that it is much easier than they make it out to be. And it is. I would have to say that the worst obstacle was arctic enema, and unless you're planning to do a bunch of self-imposed polar bear plunges between now and then, you really can't prepare for it- certainly not by doing cross fit.

However one of the things that is really excellent about crossfit is that it is a supportive environment for women training to be strong in general- there's no "what's a girl doing powerlifting?" etc. Also it is a supportive friendly environment. It just isn't the be-all end-all for tough mudder.