With less than a month to go till their inaugural Tough Mudder, the members of Team Sony – MF’s Joel Snape, broadcaster and writer Rick Edwards, Saturdays singer Vanessa White and Amanda Khouv of Women’s Fitness – have been using the latest tech from Sony to get the most out of their training. But who’s the most Mudder-ready?
‘Unfortunately, my training this month has been slightly derailed by lots of work trips and time abroad – and all the food and booze that entails,’ says Snape. ‘But I’ve been trying to keep on track by walking or running wherever I can and aiming to hit my daily activity targets using the Lifelog app from Sony, which syncs with my Xperia™ Z3 and my SmartWatch 3 to help track my progress. I don’t normally sleep too well when I’m jetlagged, but measuring my sleep cycles with the SmartWatch 3 seems to be really helping. My one concern is seeing how hard the rest of Team Sony are training. Although I’m sure my upper-body strength will get me over, under or through most Mudder obstacles, I hope my cardio’s good enough to keep up.’
Things seem to be going a bit smoother over at Women’s Fitness. ‘When I signed up for Tough Mudder, I was hoping it’d give me the motivation to push myself in training,’ says Khouv. ‘It turns out I was right. I’m being worked hard by a PT on a weekly basis, I’ve upped the intensity of my own gym sessions and I’ve even started running – something I’ve always hated! The feedback I’m getting from Sony’s Lifelog app has been really positive too – I’m burning significantly more calories in training than I did when I started, and I can’t remember the last day when my SmartBand Talk didn’t alert me with the good news that I’d hit my daily activity targets. I’m not sure how Joel’s getting on but as far as my training’s concerned, the proof’s in the pudding.’
Will Khouv and Snape have done enough to keep up with the equally hard-training Rick Edwards and Vanessa White? To find out how Team Sony get on at their debut Mudder, and for more Tough Mudder training advice – plus how Sony fitness tech can help you achieve your goals – visit mensfitness.co.uk/fitness-technology.
Ready for the Mudder
Enhance your Tough Mudder training with these simple tips
Fuel your engine
You’ve probably heard of carb-loading – the process of increasing your carbohydrate intake in the run-up to an endurance event to top up your glycogen stores and enhance your stamina. But if you want to tackle a Tough Mudder with maximum energy reserves, your approach needs to be more scientific than simply scoffing an entire 1kg pack of pasta the night before. Aim to increase your carb intake one week in advance, so it accounts for 60% of your total calories, splitting the rest evenly between healthy fats and protein (you can track your calorie consumption with apps including Sony’s Lifelog, when it’s paired with Sony’s latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia™ Z3+).
On the morning of the event, aim to consume 2g of carbs per gram of your bodyweight – so if you weigh 80kg, aim for 160g – between four hours and 90 minutes beforehand. Stick to white carbs rather than brown and avoid anything too fibrous – the last thing you want is for it to start repeating on you when you’re sliding along on your belly in Sony’s owned Arctic Enema 2.0.
All the gear
Having the right kit can make all the difference in your battle to conquer around 20km of mud-strewn obstacle course. A trail shoe with a minimal, lightweight upper and an firm-gripping tread will help you stay upright without your feet getting waterlogged. Likewise a combination of compression shorts and top will help keep you cool and dry – as dry as possible, anyway – while retaining minimal water and sweat. A pair of quality gloves will also improve your grip for slippery obstacles such as Funky Monkey and Hanging Tough.
Tracking your progress will require some seriously hard-wearing tech, such as the SmartWatch 3 from Sony, which has built-in GPS to monitor your advance over the course. It can be synced with the equally rugged Xperia Z3+, which also allows you to capture your heroic Mudder efforts on film.
Rest is best
Training hard and eating clean are crucial to your Tough Mudder preparations, but another element that’s equally important – and often overlooked – is recovery, especially during the final weeks before the event. Sony’s Lifelog app is the perfect tool for monitoring how much you’ve been training and when you should be resting. Log all your training sessions with the SmartWatch 3 – which syncs with the app on your Xperia Z3+ – and you’ll soon start spotting performance patterns that help you identify how much rest you need after a hard session to get you back firing on all cylinders.
Getting enough sleep is critical too, regardless of how hard you’re training – but ensuring you get eight to nine hours of quality kip a night can be tough. Improve your chances with the SmartBand Talk from Sony, which measures your sleep cycle and helps to wake you up at the right time when you’re fully rested.
You can pick up the new Xperia™ Z3+ at Carphone Warehouse now
