Don’t just finish the race – dominate it. This plan, designed by Brian ‘Harry’ Callaghan, an instructor for outdoor fitness provider British Military Fitness (BMF), will get you ready to take on virtually anything – including 20km of obstacle-packed hell.
‘Your training has to be as diverse as the obstacles,’ says Callaghan. ‘You should sprint to prepare for steep ramps, perform longer runs to keep you going during plods between features and do total-body resistance work to build the strength to pull yourself over walls. Train at a high intensity to get used to maintaining a high heart rate in case you need a few attempts to get past a feature.’
To keep your preparation on track, you should record your training runs and workouts. You can accurately track your runs using SmartWatch 3 from Sony, now on the improved Android Wear platform, which includes a reliable GPS tracker so you don’t have to risk lugging your smartphone around. You can sync it with leading running apps such as iFit to review your performance, log your progress and figure out where you could pick up the pace. It also has an impressive IP68 waterproof rating, which basically means if you were to be jogging past a freezing cold pond and want to simulate Tough Mudder’s notorious ‘Arctic Enema’ ice bath you could take a plunge without harm – to the watch, that is; we can’t be held responsible for the fate of your other prized possessions.*
SmartWatch 3 gives useful information at a glance and responds to your voice. It feeds relevant and specific information as you move. When you’re training you can track your activity and movements, as well as sync with Sony’s Lifelog app afterwards. SmartWatch 3 uses fitness apps to display how many calories you’ve burned, and how much progress you’ve made with each activity.
If you follow the workout below to the letter, your scores will be off the charts. Get your body used to a high daily workload and you’ll take the 20km of the Tough Mudder course in your stride.
*SmartWatch 3 is rated waterproof up to 1.5 metres for no longer than 30 minutes
THE WORKOUT
This eight-week plan will get the distance in your legs to handle the 20km of the Tough Mudder course, while developing the full-body strength and conditioning to avoid injury and handle any obstacle the race throws in your way. Ideally, your week breaks down like this:
Monday is a middle distance run.
Tuesday is a conditioning workout.
Wednesday is a faster interval run.
Thursday is a different conditioning workout.
Friday is a rest day – relief.
Saturday is longer run at first, then more fast intervals.
Sunday – double relief – is another rest day.
Each week the amount of work increases to ensure progression. There’s no kit required (apart from the tech you use to record your progress). In the final week, strip the workload right back so you’re fresh for the race itself. Good luck.
WEEK 1
Monday: Run 5km
Tuesday: Conditioning workout 1. Sets 2 Rest 90sec
Wednesday: Interval run 1.6km. Sets 3 Rest 2min
Thursday: Conditioning workout 2
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run 7km
Sunday: Rest
WEEK 2
Monday: Run 7km
Tuesday: Conditioning workout 1. Sets 2 Rest 60sec
Wednesday: Interval run 1.6km. Sets 3 Rest 90sec
Thursday: Conditioning workout 2
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run 7.5km
Sunday: Rest
WEEK 3
Monday: Run 8km
Tuesday: Conditioning workout 1. Sets 3 Rest 90sec
Wednesday: Interval run 1.6km. Sets 4 Rest 2min
Thursday: Conditioning workout 2
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run 8km
Sunday: Rest
WEEK 4
Monday: Run 10km
Tuesday: Conditioning workout 1. Sets 3 Rest 60sec
Wednesday: Interval run 1.6km. Sets 4 Rest 90sec
Thursday: Conditioning workout 2
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run 8.5km
Sunday: Rest
WEEK 5
Monday: Run 9km
Tuesday: Conditioning workout 1. Sets 4 Rest 60sec
Wednesday: Interval run 1.6km. Sets 3 Rest 60sec. Then run 3km.
Thursday: Conditioning workout 2
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run 1.6km faster than on Wednesday. Then running conditioning circuit. Sets 4 Rest 2min
Sunday: Rest
WEEK 6
Monday: Run 12km
Tuesday: Conditioning workout 1. Sets 4 Rest 30sec
Wednesday: Interval run 1.6km. Sets 4 Rest 60sec. Then run 3km.
Thursday: Conditioning workout 2
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run 1.6km faster than on Wednesday. Then running conditioning circuit. Sets 5 Rest 2min
Sunday: Rest
WEEK 7
Monday: Run 14.5km
Tuesday: Conditioning workout 1. Sets 4 Rest 0sec
Wednesday: Interval run 1.6km. Sets 5 Rest 60sec. Then run 3km.
Thursday: Conditioning workout 2
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run 1.6km faster than on Wednesday. Then running conditioning circuit. Sets 6 Rest 2min
Sunday: Rest
WEEK 8
Monday: Run 16km
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Interval run 1.6km. Sets 3 Rest 60sec. Then run 3km.
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: RACE DAY
Sunday: Rest
CONDITIONING WORKOUTS
Ideally, find a park or field with hills you can test yourself against. You’ll start by just doing circuit 1 and circuit 2 in the first four weeks. In weeks five to seven, add the running conditioning circuit. Form guides for the moves are below.
CONDITIONING CIRCUIT 1
15 burpees
10 press-ups
5 jump squats
Fast bear crawl to top of hill
Fast crab walk to bottom of hill
Fast bear crawl to top of hill
20 jump lunges (each leg)
Sprint to bottom
CONDITIONING CIRCUIT 2
Part 1 (perform once in weeks one to four, twice in weeks five to seven)
5 x 100m sprints, 30sec recovery between sprints, 2min rest after all five
Part 2 (perform twice in weeks one to three, three times in weeks four to seven)
50m backwards run up a hill
Crab walk down the hill, 90sec rest
Repeat the circuit four more times before taking a 2min rest
Part 3 (perform once in weeks one to seven)
30sec squats (full depth)
30sec one-leg squats
30sec squat holds (thighs parallel to the floor, 5sec hold at bottom of move)
30sec shallow squats (thighs 45° to the floor)
30sec jump squats (full depth)
RUNNING CONDITIONING CIRCUIT
20 burpees
30sec bear crawl to top of hill
30sec press-ups
30sec crab walk to bottom of hill
30sec jump squats
30sec high-knee sprinting on the spot
CONDITIONING MOVES
Burpee
Get into a press-up position. Bring your legs in, stand and jump, then crouch and kick your legs back to return to the start.
Jump squat
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Push your feet into the ground and jump.
Bear crawl
Fall forwards so you’re walking on your hands and feet (not hands and knees). Crawl as fast as you can.
Crab walk
Sit on the floor and place your hands flat on the ground behind you. Lift your body off the floor and walk forwards.
One-leg squat
Stand tall with your arms straight out in front. Lift one foot off the floor and squat as far as you can.
High-knee sprint
Run on the spot, moving your legs as fast as you can and lifting your knees as high as you can.
Find out more about XperiaZ3 from Sony and its benefits for your Tough Mudder preparations.
