Obstacle Racing Magazine Edition 1

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W A T E R A C C

L I M A T I S

27 Obstacle Racing Magazine UK /April 2013

w i t h C O N

T R I B U T O R

: W I L D F O

R E S T G Y M

P H O T O G

R A P H Y : W I

L D F O R E S T

G Y M

In the next edition of Obstacle

Racing Magazine I will take

acclimatisation training onto a new

level for you die-hard OCR’s.

DISCLAIMER

The training tips provided is for educational and entertainment purposesonly, and is not to be interpreted as a recommendation for a specic

exercise or training program. Participation is at your own risk, as this or any

other exercise program may result in injury or even death.

To reduce the risk of injury, before beginning this or any training program

please consult your doctor and a qualied coach. Wild Forest Gym is not

responsible for any injuries that may result from the exercises or training

program described min this article.

Firstly and foremost never do this on your own and neverdo it without guidance of a coach. The risks of injury or

drowning are high.

On event day you will be in and out of the water at different

stages of the event. Each time you will have to recover, warm

up and move onto the next stage. This is an important aspect

to acclimatisation. You have to stay focused on what is going on

around you and under you. The moment you take your focus away

you risk a mishap.

Once you are out of the water it is important to stay warm. No

standing around. Try jogging on the spot, pulsing the ngers, until

you are ready to move on to the next stage of training.

Changing your body’s thermostat

Everyone’s perception of the external temperature differs. But it

can be trained.

Step 1

About a month before your event start to reduce the amount

of clothing that you need to wear. If you would normally wear

trousers, start to wear shorts. Likewise change long sleeve tops

to short sleeve ones. Try to reduce your heating in your home or

ofce if that is an option.

Step 2

Reduce the temperature of the water in your baths and showers.

It needs to be done in stages of 1 or 2 º at a time. Once again

don’t rush it.

Steps 1 & 2 will start the process of your body learning to adapt

the temperature of the external environment. Just remember if it

doesn’t feel right then stop and take advice. Similarly, tell your

housemates or colleagues what you are doing, so they do not

think you’re even madder than you are normally.



Multilateral training allows you to adapt to the unknownand unknowable aspect of an obstacle that is round the

next corner. It could be the way you have to lift, crawl,

climb, jump, balance or carry - on, over or under obstacles.

The log lift and carry

You will not know its weight or its dimensions and what type

of grip you will have until race day and you are standing over

it. There is no polished bar loaded evenly. Instead you have an

uneven, irregular and unbalanced large log that you have to carry

some distance.

The following steps are what we do in a training camp. It should

not be copied without coach supervision due to the risk of injury.

Step 1

Squat down hold the log in any way that suits them. There main

focus is on keeping the back straight, body weight over the balls

of their feet, counter-balancing the weight of the log paying

attention to their centre of mass as well as securing a strong grip.

Then squat back down lowering the weight to the ground in a slow

controlled way.

Step 2

Squat again using the above technique, but this time they take a

different grip. It could be the hand is on a different part of the log.

It could be that rather than being right-hand dominant grip can

be replaced with left-handed one. It could be that you are holding

the log with a wide side grip or a narrower grip. Or the log could

be upright.

Every time they vary the lift they are not allowed to move the log to

make a grip easier. It is about adapting to the positioning, weight

and centre of mass of the log at that moment in time.

This trains the muscles and mind to develop on a multifacetedway rather than specialized. Specialized is great for weight lifting

in arenas. But in OCR we do not have the benets of sterile

gyms and having spotters. Instead we have to lift and carry

whatever is needed, because we have to. Multilateral training gets

Tough Mudders ready for every test and obstacle that they are

compounded with.

M U L T I L A T E

R A L T R A I N


w i t h C O N

T R I B U T O R

: W I L D F O

R E S T G Y M

P H O T O G

R A P H Y : W I

L D F O R E S T

G Y M

In the next edition of Obstacle

Racing Training we will look at jumping skills.



53

Forests are accessible. There are forests in and aroundvirtually every city and town across the UK. In most cases

they are free to access and train in. The varying terrain and

uneven ground surfaces can be very similar to that of an

OCR. The forests have the natural hazards and obstacles of

logs, tree trunks, stones, undergrowth, trenches, branches

to carry. You can balance, crawl, jump and run. There are

streams, rivers, ponds, bogs and mud.

Top 10 TIPS for training in the forest.

1. Always check it is permitted to train in the forest.

2. Always be respectful to the environment of the forest and

other users.

3. Always make sure that when you leave that there is no sign

left that you have been there in the rst place.

4. Uneven terrains can be unforgiving, keep your eyes on where

you’re going.

5. Always have a mobile phone on you in the case of an

emergency and have a basic rst aid kit in the bottom of your

weatherproofed rucksack.

6. Be aware of weak branches, trunks and hanging dead wood.

Dead wood, branches and trunks can randomly fall and are

weak. Similarly branches may be weak or damaged and may

not be strong enough to take your body weight. Always test

it rst. If you are not sure don’t do it.

7. Train with a group to get support, mentoring and for safety

reasons.

8.Where possible let someone else know where you have gone.

9. Always be aware that training always has risks of injury.

10. Always take guidance / instruction from a coach.

W H E R E T O T

R A I

w i t h C O N

T R I B U T O R

: W I L D F O

R E S T G Y M

P H O T O G

R A P H Y : W I

L D F O R E S T

G Y M

Obstacle Racing Magazine UK /April 2013



Learning to break roll

Step 1

Squat down. Face forward in the direction of the intended roll.

Then reposition yourself by placing your right foot about 12”

further forward than your left foot. This now brings your right

shoulder forward. Place your hands on the ground in front of you

with your ngers sprayed and your thumbs adjacent to each other

and likewise your index ngers adjacent too. This should create atriangle between your hands. As your right foot is further forward

this means that your hands are offset at angle of 30-45 º.

Just remember this a break fall, so that if you were to slip or trip,

your hands are going to break the fall, and then the roll disperses

your downward momentum into forward momentum.

Therefore, it is important that your hands and arms have a spring

in them, a bit like suspension. But you don’t want them to be

totally relaxed otherwise your rolling ball will collapse. Similarly

not rigid at the other extreme.

Step 2

Getting ready to roll. When you initiate the roll you are going toroll like a ball from your hands, along the length of your right arm,across the shoulder and down to the left hip. You head is tilted tothe left. So that when you roll over the shoulder you roll next tothe neck. Your head is tucked close to your chin. This way youshould avoid your head coming into contact with the ground. Thisis paramount in order not to risk injury to the head.

When you roll up the right arm and over the shoulder it should bea smooth movement. However if you inadvertently collapse thearms you will end up hitting the ground with the right shoulder,which could cause an injury. At the end of the roll make sure yourfeet and legs aren’t crossed so you can stand and launch backinto running.

Lets roll!

Key Notes

• Keep your body in a tight but comfortable ball.

• Roll up the right arm over shoulder and across to the left hip.

• Do not hit the ground with your head or shoulder.

• Make sure you roll in the intended direction.

• When you end the roll makes sure your feet and legs aren’tcrossed, so that you can stand up at the end of the roll.

• Just remember to practice…practice…practice, and you willperfect it.

T H E B R E A K

R O


w i t h C O N

T R I B U T O R

: W I L D F O

R E S T G Y M

P H O T O G

R A P H Y : W I

L D F O R E S T

G Y M

Obstacle Racing Magazine Edition 1

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