Participating in a Spartan Race is one of the most difficult races out there. It is not for the weak and it is certainly not for someone that isn’t conditioned for it. Training for it is also unlike other types of training either. For a marathon you practice running long distances, for an Olympic lifting contest you lift heavy weights, for a triathlon you are biking, running and swimming at the minimum. Training for a Spartan Race may sound like the most challenging only because you can’t really go train at an obstacle course every time you need to work out. However, training for a Spartan Race can actually be beneficial for any type of race or challenge you are preparing for. See you need to keep up your training on a daily basis, by building strength and conditioning with as wide a variety of movements as possible. You need to always be putting your body to the test and in creative ways. The Spartan Race isn’t designed for people to race through their normal lives, no it is all about putting obstacles in your way, challenging you to move through different terrains with speed, and being able to use your body in many different ways that challenging you in strength, power and cardiovascularly.
How to Train for a Spartan Race at Home
One of the world’s most effective types of training is bodyweight training, also sometimes called calisthenics. Calisthenics has been very prominent to everyone from the Spartans of ancient Greece, to our US Military troops. Think of exercises like push-ups, planks, dips, squats, and lunges – exercises which use your own body weight as a resistance tool, that you can always change to challenge yourself as you get stronger.
Spartan Race Upper Body Exercises
Push-ups are your friend when it comes to upper body weight workouts. Performing many different variations of push-ups can target different parts of your upper body. Another favorite upper body workout of ours though is getting yourself inverted–like handstand push-ups.
- Regular push-ups
- Decline push-ups
- Diamond Push-ups
- Straight arm plank holds
- Handstand push-ups
- Handstand holds
- Handstand wall walks
Spartan Race Lower Body Exercises
Being a great Spartan Race participant means being able to move quickly in all planes. The Spartan Race is dynamic so you need to make sure you are comfortable moving in all directions with good stability.
- Air squats
- Jump squats
- Lunges, in all directions
- Jump lunges
- Skaters
- Jumping rope
Spartan Race Full Body Exercises
Because the big race day isn’t all about being super strong in your upper body or super strong in your lower body. The Spartan Race tests the abilities of your whole body in many different ways.
- Burpees
- Running
- Bear crawl
- Inch Worm
- Mountain Climbers
- Sprints
- Yoga
Here is what a sample week could look like for training for a Spartan Race all at home.
Monday
1-mile run
300 sit-ups
200 push-ups
100 air squats
200 push-ups
300 sit-ups
1-mile run
Tip: Break the push-ups into smaller sets. You don’t want to burn out your muscles right away.
Tuesday
Part 1
Accumulate 10 minutes total handstand hold
(Every time you drop down, perform 50 Jump Ropes aka single unders)
Part 2
200 burpees for time.
Wednesday
As Many Rounds as Possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes:
5 burpees
10 sit-ups
20 lunges
Immediately upon finishing:
5 rounds, max plank hold
Thursday
20-minute AMRAP
3 handstand wall walks or 3 handstand push-ups
15 air squats
50 single unders
Friday
Use your own body weight as a resistance tool
4 rounds
50 Alternate leg lunges
50 Push-ups
50 Air squats
50 Sit-ups
Saturday
60 minutes of low-intensity yoga, focus on stretching and holding those stretches for a few minutes. Think Yin Yoga.
Sunday
30 minutes of light jogging or an incline hike
Training for a Spartan Race is tough, but with training weeks that look like this, you are sure to crush any obstacle that comes your way.
