As some of you may know, I am all signed up for the Warrior Dash in September in Crawfordsville, IN. For those that aren't familiar with WD, it is a 5K obstacle coarse filled with fun and challenging obstacles to test your meddle, as well as get crazy messy and have a great time (check out the obstacles and more at WarriorDash.com).
Because I love a challenge, especially one that lets me express my fitness, I want to be prepared for this thing. So I have created a workout that simulates the experience of the WD's fitness demands, including cardiovascular endurance, speed, strength, power, and more. I did this for a few reasons:
1) Progress mapping - I want to know exactly what I am getting into, and how well I am conditioning to get that way. Therefore this workout is designed to prove if I am ready, and how ready I am. It is important to Test/Retest yourself on a regular basis, to make sure you are better today than you were yesterday.
2) S.M.A.R.T. goal - Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. This is what is necessary to set a goal. The workout is very specific, and equally measurable. It is most certainly attainable (I did the workout already), and the level of intensity in which I want to do it by race day is also attainable (the time I want to beat it by), my goal time is realistic, and the amount of times I am going to Retest are timely (every two months, to give myself time to change, but also have enough retests to know what I need more improvement on).
3) Train for Life - A philosophy I live by (more later), train in the things that you are going to see in life. I won't see these exact moves at the WD, but the stresses these moves elicit, and my body needing to handle these stresses, I will most certainly see. What stresses does your body see? Lot's of stairs? Lifting heavy boxes? Standing on your feet all day? Train for Life.
So the following is my workout I will be using to prepare for the Warrior Dash. It will be my test, and also my conditioning routine. I will do it every two months from now until September, tracking everything from food consumed that day, to how long each movement takes. And I will use this empirical data to adapt my training to see improved results. Scientifically based fitness, gotta love it!
To explain this workout - The warrior dash is a 5K (3.1 mile) run, with 13 rigorous obstacles to face. Dividing 3.1 miles by 13 gives us 0.238, or rounded to 0.25 miles between each obstacle. So, I created an exercise routine to mimic this specific situation, using 13 movements that required one of the aforementioned fitness demands (strength, cardiovascular endurance, etc.).
Warrior Dash Special
Run 1/4 mile before first movement, in between each movement, and after the final movement, for a total of 3.5 miles. The movements are:
30 air squats
30 pullups
30 straight-arm sit-ups, 20# each hand
5 rope climbs, 10 ft. rope
30 sumo deadlift high pulls, 65#
10 Turkish get-ups (5 each hand, 25#)
30 box jumps, 24 inch box
30 burpees
30 overhead walking lunge steps, 35#
100 meter bear crawl
30 deadlifts, 135#
30 shoulder to overhead, 65#
30 dumbbell box step overs, 30# each hand
There you have it. The Warrior Dash special. If you have any questions about the programming, execution, or movements, please feel free to ask. And also feel free to use it for your own training, be it the Warrior Dash or some other fitness endeavor.
For any that may ask, I finished this workout in 1 hour, 10 minutes. I did it after not eating for 5 hours (extreme stupidity), and with a 16# vest on (10% body weight) (verdict is still out on level of stupidity, but it was fun!). I gave this information because I know some will ask, not to be used as a comparison. Be your own person, work at your own level, and above all else.
Stay Fit
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| The original workout. It has been slightly modified. |
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