Being active and staying healthy is so important. Some people like to go to the gym, some like to run around their neighborhood, and others prefer to train for and participate in elaborate obstacle course races.
Obstacle course racing has become increasingly popular over the years because of the benefits associated with training and participating in one. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of obstacle course racing.
You Work Every Muscle
The first main benefit of obstacle course racing is that it works every muscle in your body. There are a lot of different kinds of workouts and ways of exercising out there, but oftentimes they have to be combined with other workouts or exercises to work every muscle in your body. A well-balanced workout is crucial to a healthy lifestyle, and obstacle course racing provides just that.
Obstacle course races combine different events that participants have to get through. You might have to climb a huge wall followed by an obstacle you have to crawl underneath. You could need to balance on a thin plank of wood and then swing on a rope. The combinations of obstacles in the race will engage different muscle groups. While one obstacle will primarily work your core, another will focus on your arm strength, and yet another will target your legs.
Not only does doing an obstacle course race work all of the muscles in your body, but training for it will help you build muscle. To train for an obstacle course race, you need to train with various kinds of exercises. The recommended training for an obstacle course race is a combination of distance and elevation training. Elevation training will improve your ability to get oxygen to your blood, and distance training will improve your endurance. Endurance is especially important since some obstacle course races can be quite long. You can read more details about training for an obstacle course here
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It Will Get You in Shape
Training for and participating in an obstacle course race is a guaranteed way to get in shape. Since the onset of the coronavirus, a lot of people have spent their time sitting around indoors. Now, these same people are looking for a fun and engaging way to get back into shape and an obstacle course is a great way to do that! Combine your obstacle course race training with consistency and healthier eating to get and stay in shape faster.
Getting into shape is not the same thing as losing weight. Just because someone is thin or does not look out of shape does not mean that they are in shape. One major way to get back in shape is to be consistent. When you have an obstacle course race coming up, you are expected to train for it. This training should be consistent and well-rounded. Exercising consistently, ideally every day, will get you back in shape pretty quickly. As you consistently distance train or strength train, completing the same workout will get easier each time you exercise. Never let an exercise become too easy, always challenge yourself.
The other huge part of getting back in shape is eating well. Eating a well-balanced diet is going to make exercising and participating in the obstacles courses much easier. Food is fuel, and good food will fuel you; meanwhile, junk food just feeds you. Eating healthy foods, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will help you get in shape faster than refined sugars and fast food ever could. When you eat a balanced diet, your body can take the nutrients from those foods and convert them into energy. For more information about great ways to eat so that you are prepared for an obstacle course race, go here.
It Strengthens the Heart
Continuing with the physical benefits of participating in an obstacle course, training for an obstacle course race strengthens your heart. When you get your body moving in any situation, like in an obstacle course, it is incredibly healthy and beneficial for your heart.
We have already discussed how the combination of elevation and endurance training is optimal for obstacle courses races. Additionally, we already know that endurance training helps you get into shape faster, but what about elevation training? Why is this practice important?
Elevation training increases your oxygen capacity, which is very good for your heart. When your heart gets more oxygen than it is used to, it functions at a higher performance level.
Endurance training is also beneficial for your heart. When you do distance training, you are increasing your stamina. In other words, your heart pumps at a higher than normal rate for a longer period. This helps it cycle through blood and oxygen faster.
When you do the obstacle course race, your heart will be strengthened due to the increased rate of pumping. The adrenaline of the moment and the different kinds of physical exertion one after the other increase your heart rate, get your blood moving, and strengthen your cardiovascular system.
Your Balance Will Improve
A lesser-known benefit of doing an obstacle course race is improved balance. This will help you in future obstacle course races as well as in your day-to-day life. Having better balance improves posture, corrects workout form, and increases overall agility.
There are two activities commonly seen in obstacle course training that impact balance most. These are balance-focused obstacles and core workouts. When you have greater core strength, you can find your center of gravity and stick to it. Every attempt at a balance obstacle will improve your balance over time. Though you may have made mistakes once, you can correct your foot placement, increase your body control, and properly engage your core.
It Engages the Brain
Not only are there physical benefits from doing obstacle course races, but there are significant mental benefits as well. Not only are you engaging your body throughout the obstacle course race, but you must engage your mind to overcome the obstacles in front of you. Additionally, during an obstacle course, there are a lot of different things going on at once. You have to think through each action before executing it.
Your brain is further engaged if you are competing as a team. To complete tasks in team races, you need to have effective communication skills. Combine this with the mental focus needed for an individual obstacle course race and you can understand how your brain is challenged by these events. Although your body gets a brief rest between obstacles, your brain continues working, planning, and preparing.
When you have all of those things to think about, your brain is constantly moving from one thought to the next and that is super healthy overall. When you have to keep thinking about a lot of different things, it is healthy for your brain and it will help you think better and more efficiently in other activities as well. Being in a situation where you have to think so much will benefit you in other situations like a workplace, a classroom, or even just in your free time.
It Fights Stress
Another lesser-known benefit of competing in an obstacle course race is that participating can relieve stress. In general, exercise and increase activity are very effective at reducing stress, and obstacle courses are no different. You might think that these races would induce more stress, but in reality, it gets rid of stress more than it causes.
When you are exerting yourself through various cardio and strength exercises, it can remove tension from the muscles that hold stress in your body. Engaging muscle groups in places like your back, shoulders, neck, and feet will help relieve physical stress in your body.
Doing obstacle course races also help with relieving mental stress as well. With all of the mental stimulation associated with these races, there is little room left for thinking about the things that stress you out. Participating in an obstacle course forces you to focus on multiple things at once. This mental exercise makes day-to-day tasks more manageable and therefore less stressful.
You Will Improve Yourself
Another mental benefit of doing obstacle course races is that you can improve upon yourself. Self-care and obstacle course races have a lot in common. Conquering each challenge of an obstacle course can improve your confidence and motivate you to go further.
Though the physical and mental benefits of doing obstacle course races improve how you feel in several ways, there is more to it than that. Before you start your obstacle course training, set goals. For example, consider what you want to get out of this experience. Maybe you want to improve your logical thinking abilities or you want to increase your stamina. Regardless of the goals you set, an obstacle course is a perfect option to reach them. At the very least, training for the obstacle course will help you stay on track to reaching the goals you set.
Not only will the goals you set help you improve yourself, but you will improve in a lot of different areas, even if you don’t set goals. Just doing the race will improve your mental health, physical health, and overall your self-image and idea of yourself. It can also help you with outside goals like time management as you plan for your workouts or communication as you work with a team.
It Builds Your Social Circle
Something that so many people who do obstacle course races love is that they get to expand and build their social circle. Furthermore, this expansion includes people with interests similar to their own (the obstacle course race). Many obstacle course races have you sign up with a team of people. These can be friends you already know or people that you meet while at various races. Some organizations can even set you up with a team of strangers if you don’t want to sign up with people you know.
Having a team for an obstacle course race can help you expand your social circle and build a bond with the people you are racing with. To complete some obstacles, you will need the help of your team. This sponsors discussion, leadership, and critical thinking skills. The more you train with your team the stronger the bond between the members will be.
You do not have to compete in a team to expand your social circle at obstacle course races. You will meet other competitors or supports at these events as well.
Many people enjoy doing obstacle course races because of the tight-knit community of competitors. Regardless of the event you are at, competitors tend to support each other and praise each other’s successes.
So get a group of your friends together to train for and enter in an obstacle course race. By the end of the event, not only will you be in better shape, but you will have grown closer as a friend group. Even if you just compete by yourself, at the completion of the course, you will have made plenty of new friends.
It is a Place to Just Have Fun
The last benefit to obstacle course races is that you just get to have fun. Don’t write this benefit off as cheesy or unimportant. People often get trapped in their work and home lives. While people are trapped in these situations, they forget to have fun. Though an exercise, obstacle courses are just plain fun.
Because obstacle course races are fun, it can make working out easier. Though you are working your entire body, chances are you don’t notice it right away. The adrenaline and excitement of the event allow you to push yourself harder for a longer period of time.
Dedicate some time each day to train for an obstacle course, doing so allows you a brief moment to set aside the worries and responsibilities of day-to-day life. Additionally, having dedicated time to just have fun will make those worries and responsibilities more manageable. So what are you waiting for? Get out of your head and go have fun at an obstacle course race!
