Tough Mudder

dragonbug300
dragonbug300 Posts: 760 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all,
I'm getting ready to do a Tough Mudder race in November, but I've never run a race before. Right now the most I run is maybe two miles two or three times a week. Other than that I do strength training (4x a week), yoga (5x a week), karate (2x a week), and I bike everywhere, so I consider myself pretty fit... just not running fit.

Does anyone have advice for preparing for a Mud run like this? Should I work on sprinting, or distance? Does treadmill running work, or should I hoof it outside? For those who have done it, is there anything that helped you get into shape for the run?

Advice and anecdotes appreciated! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • mkshortall
    mkshortall Posts: 38 Member
    I havent done one yet but was just talking to a friend about his yesterday. He said he trained for distance but really it was a long series of 800-1000 yard sprints with obstacles in between. I am training for the much shorter warrior dash so I am just working on making sure 3-4 miles is no issue and then thinking of stopping and doing pushups or burpess etc every half mile or something...good luck!
  • uniqute1888
    uniqute1888 Posts: 182 Member
    I'm doing one for the first time July 27th. There is a workout plan on the website to help train... Mostly intervals/ HIIT style workouts... A friend is #2 in the country for thought mudder - and a few people I know have done it ; their advise was cardio- intervals - work on endurance to teach yourself to keep pushing thru the burn and you'll need to be able to keep going when/if out of breath... Strength training for pulling yourself over stuff

    Most courses are 10-12mi long with not much more than 1/4- 1.5mi in between obstacles and running isn't necessary... Unless you want to. Check out YouTube videos... There's one a guy does that's all the obstacles in the race he's doing and gives you some tips on how to get thru them... About 14min long...

    The training program on the website helps but w my group we add to it- 3-5mi run and strength training on our own time...

    Good luck!!! And I hope that helped ;-)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    There is a plan on their website that's pretty good and I incorporate a lot of that into my training in general. Work on both distance and sprints, as well as doing some body weight type stuff and military type PT (i.e. mt climbers, burpees, pushups, lunges, pullups, etc for endurance). Keep up with the strength training too...you might have to re-work some of your leg stuff though. I'm currently training for a Goruck and Tough Mudder (similar in some respects) and I've had to re-work my leg routine with the running and PT stuff I'm doing.
  • dragonbug300
    dragonbug300 Posts: 760 Member
    Solid, thanks guys! :happy:
  • clarkeje1
    clarkeje1 Posts: 1,641 Member
    They have a training program on the website :)
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
    DON'T SKIP LEG DAY!
  • MG_Fit
    MG_Fit Posts: 1,143 Member
    You general fitness level is pretty high. I would work on HIIT runs and if you want do their Boot Camp a couple times a week. I found it to be useful.

    http://toughmudder.com/tough-mudder-boot-camp-training/
  • LanderRose81
    LanderRose81 Posts: 237 Member
    I havent done one yet but was just talking to a friend about his yesterday. He said he trained for distance but really it was a long series of 800-1000 yard sprints with obstacles in between. I am training for the much shorter warrior dash so I am just working on making sure 3-4 miles is no issue and then thinking of stopping and doing pushups or burpess etc every half mile or something...good luck!

    I just finished my third Warrior Dash; you will have a blast! I am not sure what the courses are like in other states but here in Ohio they ALWAYS pick places with BRUTAL-KICK-YOUR-*kitten* hills. I really think they are harder than most of the obstacles. I would for sure add some hills in your training...just in case. The one this year was at a flipping ski resort (which I totally admit I didn't even know my state had:laugh:) so you can imagine the hills at that sucker! You will have a GREAT time though! When is your race?

    As for Tough Mudder - I am really excited to try this next year. I am interested in what the obstacles are like. I have watched all the videos and researched the website. I am wondering about the opinions of those of you who have completed Tough Mudder. What were the worst, hardest, easiest, etc...

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