July Workout: The Obstacle Course Race Workout

By Nancy Couper, ClubSport Pleasanton Elite Personal Trainer

Few physical endeavors will challenge your mettle as much as obstacle course racing (OCR). Held in open rural areas as well as urban environments such as stadiums, courses are peppered with diverse obstacles designed to test total-body strength as well as muscular and cardiovascular endurance. Since participants don't know what obstacles await, the only way to prepare is to prepare for absolutely anything! This month's workout does just that. Designed by Elite Personal Trainer Nancy Couper, a sponsored and accomplished OCR athlete and certified Spartan SGX coach at ClubSport Pleasanton, this training plan will help OCR newbies and vets alike to dominate their next course.

THE WORKOUT

Complete each round 1-2 times, resting 2-3 minutes between each round. Rest 15-30 seconds between each exercise.

Round 1

1. Rope Slam to Burpee: 10-15 reps

2. Rock Grip Pull-Ups: 10-15 reps (alternative exercises: Band-Assisted Pull-Up, Machine-Assisted Pull-Up, TRX Row)

3. Medicine Ball Clean to Overhead Slam: 10-15 reps

4. Pinch Grip Plate Carry: 40-60 yards (challenging weight for grip)

5. Marpo Alternating Hand-Over-Hand Pull: pull 40-50 feet at a challenging resistance

6. Skill Mill Jog/Run Intervals: set resistance to 0 or 1 and hold a challenging speed, run/jog for 30 seconds, recover for 30-60 seconds x 5-8 intervals

7. Box Jumps: 10-15 reps

Round 2

1. Rope Kneeling to Standing Wave: 15-20 reps, kneeling to standing equals one rep

2. TRX Low Row: 10-15 reps

3. Over-the-Shoulder Toss: 10-12 reps per side

4. Overhead Plate Walking Lunges: 20-30 yards or 8-10 lunges per leg with a challenging weight

5. Marpo Supine Core Pull: pull 40-50 feet at a challenging resistance

6. Skill Mill Mountain Climbers: 30-40 reps (set the skill mill at a challenging resistance to stimulate a crawl through mud, sand, uphill, downhill, etc)

7. Wall Balls: 10-15 reps

Nancy Couper is an Elite Personal Trainer at ClubSport Pleasanton along with a performance enhancement and youth exercise specialist, Spartan certified SGX coach, certified group fitness instructor, and an experienced runner, accomplished obstacle course racer, and former competitive soccer player. Nancy is one of the coaches leading the OCR athlete's training program at ClubSport Pleasanton.