Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 10

27 ForEliteAtheletes to FunRunners 01732 452404 The best training method then? Let’s take a little look at some of them: Crossfit – Provided you can already move well Crossfit is great for developing strength, power & general fitness. A strong athlete over obstacles is way more likely to prevail over a weak athlete.It makes sense to be strong. Crossfit isn’t so good though if you have muscle imbalances & strength deficits and you have a history of keep getting injured. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – useful for improving raw speed, will also help to create EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption) which is how many calories you burn long after the session finishes, so useful if you know you need to drop a bit of timber to help you with getting over obstacles. On the downside HIIT only really targets the AT/CP system & glycolytic/lactate system so never fully allows you to train in the aerobic system, consequently you’ll find you’ll have out of balance energy systems & are more likely to gas out towards the end of a race due to the lack of aerobic system preparation. Bouldering – great for developing grip strength & endurance in a relaxed environment, it’s enjoyable and sociable too which is important as not every workout you do for OCR has to be “smashed” or “crushed”, don’t expect to be instantly awesome at obstacles though just because you go bouldering. You need to get on the obstacles for that! Plus when you’re “problem solving” you’re not training your cardiovascular system. Endurance Training – Obviously highly relative to OCR and a good well balanced endurance plan that trains all 3 energy systems equally is great for developing aerobic capacity for OCR and improving the bodies ability to tolerate lactic acid. Too much weekly milage when the bodies not ready for it though is stressful on the joints and 100% is an injury waiting to happen. A different strategy to energy system development is needed if your body can’t cope with 30-50 miles a week despite what the running purists say. Olympic lifting – Not just for sprinters, endurance runners are also benefitting from power producing exercises now. Power is the amount of force you can produce in any one given time, therefore the more powerful you are, the more force you can develop in less time which transfers over to running & OCR nicely. In addition to basic strength & plyometric exercises, olympic lifts (and their variations) can improve an athletes potential performance. The downside is that you need a bit of time to learn the lifts properly which might be a bit of an issue for the time poor busy athlete. Movement based training – Gymnastic type training with a heavy influence on mobility and stability is starting to become a popular way of training for OCR right now and quite right too. If your balance and mobility is appalling then this in turn will affect how you walk, run, climb and lift weights. I’m a big fan of movement training, it can help gain confidence again in your movement, particularly after an injury, however like everything, it needs to be prescribed properly and movement training from a high performance perspective won’t develop power as effectively as Olympic lifting would for example. OCR Skills – You can’t get more specific than training on obstacles for OCR and it should definitely predominate, however if you’re still struggling with obstacles like Stairway to heaven then that’s a strength-related issue not a technique issue. Also too much work on those upper-body intensive obstacles over time will lead to bicep/shoulder/wrist/elbow injuries which we’re already seeing, if your body isn’t robust enough. The reality is that taking any one of these training methods to ‘elite’ level is not good for your body in the long term and a complete focus on any one of these will leave gaping holes in your OCR fitness. What’s the answer then? 1 Ultimately a balanced approach to training is needed if you’re looking for longevity in the sport and you’d like to go a full season without any interruptions or set backs. 2 Athletes looking to reach their best sporting potential in OCR should consider a planned periodised long term approach to their season with an emphasis on developing physically without getting injured or sick. 3 Instead of following “methods” or one type of training modality, athletes should instead consider applying tried & tested strength & conditioning principles that have existed for decades based on what they need for their sport at any given point in a season. 4 Athletes should be applying strength & conditioning based on their training age & experience not on what they’ve just seen on Instagram. 5 Keep it simple. Set goals. 6 If you can train consistently all year round then you will improve. If you can’t then you won’t. If you need help with your OCR training for 2019 or would like to arrange a 30 minute coaching call with me then feel free to email [email protected] In the mean time train hard & BE strong! Sam Winkworth CPT, SPN, UKAD Accredited Advisor Creator of The Unbreakable Project. RACE : TRAINING Too much weekly milage when the bodies not ready for it though is stressful on the joints I’m a big fan of movement training, it can help gain confidence again in your movement, particularly after an injury