What is the Spartan Sprint 5K- All you need to know.

What is the Spartan Sprint?

One of the craziest things you can do is run a long distance and then maneuver yourself through obstacles that tax your mind and body to the limit. It sounds crazy, but this is a Spartan race in a nutshell. So what is the Spartan Sprint 5K? They do some excellent coursework paired with a run that will challenge the most seasoned runners.

A Spartan Sprint 5K is a course paired with over 20 military-based obstacles. The run will be manageable for almost every athlete, and the obstacles are often based on functional fitness like carrying or climbing. Some of the most iconic obstacles are the barbed wire, 8-foot wall climb, monkey bars, and the fire jump.

Spartan races are a massive part of the obstacle race market. With the collapse of Tough Mudder, they swooped in and bought their competition. Making Spartan the undisputed champs of the obstacle race arena. Read on and learn everything you need to know about the Spartan Sprint!

What is the Spartan Sprint 5K?

The Spartan Sprint is an excellent beginner’s distance for the mud runner athlete. The Spartan races have different lengths and a number of obstacles. Setting the levels this way gives a guidepost for people who could be new to the sport. Knowing which event to enter and the distance and obstacles number for each is also a great way to schedule your training.

The things to know about the Spartan Sprint 5K are:

Distance – One of the first things you should know before entering a race is how long it is. The Sprint is a 3.1 mile, or 5k, course.
Obstacles – During your race event, you will have to endure 20 military-based obstacles that make the Spartan more than your average 5k race.
The Spartan race doesn’t give away their course outlays. However, you should be prepared for the iconic obstacles, climbing and crawling, and a few others. There will be over 20 obstacles on the Sprint, and they are often of the most uncomplicated Spartan obstacle offerings.
Terrain – You might not know what the folks at Spartan have planned for the course, but you can get an idea of the terrain by driving or checking on Google Earth. You can expect rugged terrain saturated with water and glorious, sloppy mud.

The Spartan Sprint 5Kis a race with over 20 obstacles to navigate. The challenges and exercises are created to force athletes to push themselves beyond their known limits and find another mentally and physically level. The Sprint supercharges the 5k by adding rough terrain and functional fitness elements.

The Spartan Sprint has three different levels:

DIFFICULTY LEVEL	STARTING TIME	COST
Elite wave/ Compete for money/ 30 Burpee penalty for missing obstacle/ No help from others.	7:30 AM	$110-135
Age Group/ No money prices/ Subject to the same rules as the Elite.	7:45-8:30	$100-125
Open/ No cash prices/ Optional burpees for failed obstacles/ You can help each other.	8:45-2pm	$85-110

SPARTAN SPRINT 5K HEATS AND INFORMATION

What Obstacles are in the Spartan Sprint?

The most prominent question people have is what kind of obstacles they will be facing. While the company does release a few teasers, they keep some obstacles close to their chest to catch the competitor off-balance and cause panic. Panic while exercising forces the mind to shut down. The Spartan teaches you to push beyond the stopping point with sheer willpower.

These are the obstacles you will be facing on race day. Be prepare.

Over Walls.
6′ Walls.
Inverted Wall.
Barbed Wire Crawl.
Hurdles.
Sandbag Carry.
Monkey Bars.
Atlas Carry.
Spear Throw.
Rope Climb.
Helix.
Vertical Cargo.
Multi-Rig.
Bucket Carry.
A-Frame Cargo.
Z-Wall.
Plate Drag.
Dunk Wall.
Slip Wall.
Hercules Hoist.
Fire Jump.

The A-Frame Cargo Net is a Popular Obstacle in the Spartan Sprint

Forcing people out of the gym mindset and into functional fitness is a by-product of the Spartan Sprint. People see that their regular dumbbell workouts aren’t enough. The A-Frame cargo net is one obstacle that exposes people’s fears of heights and weakness in their core muscles.

A cargo net is treacherous because it is unstable. Moving quickly will force the net to shift while moving and will throw off your foot and hand placement. The trick is to move slowly with purpose and no wasted movements.

A few ways to train for the A-Frame Cargo Net are:

Climbing – Gyms around the country are beginning to realize that functional movements are the best way to train. Climbing gyms for rock climbing are a great place to prepare your body for the A-Frame. These guys are the grip gurus, and after a few climbs on a challenging route, you could forsake your weights and plates gym for rock climbing.
Bear Crawls – People aren’t used to moving on all fours with power. Adding some Bear Crawls into your workout regimen will prepare the core and shoulders for the shift in how you carry your body weight. Also, using crawls for distance is a great way to build up the shoulders and legs to power through all the climbing.
Yoga – While the A-Frame looks like something you can muscle your way through, having some balance will be a big help. When your weight shifts, your core will take control, and doing a few Yoga stretches will prepare your core for the assault of the cargo net.

An old Army adage says, ‘we fight as we train.’ So spartan wannabes would be wise to find a cargo net in their area and get after it. While most nets will be vertical, the odd playground has just what obstacle you are looking for.

MORE FROM ODT: 10 BEST MUD RUNS TO TRY IN 2021.

The Hercules Hoist is a Test of Your Grip Strength and Endurance

The human body can do some amazing things. In the Hercules Hoist, you need to rope-pull a sandbag weighing 70-90 lbs to the top of a large frame at 15 feet high. Pulling that amount could be hard for some, especially if the bag of sand gets wet overnight.

The Hercules Hoist is plain old-fashioned work. Pulling the sandbag up with the rope will test your entire body, especially your grip and back. The back muscles will take a pounding, and you could develop blisters.

A few ways to train for the Hercules Hoist are:

Pull-Ups – The undisputed champ of back and arm exercises is the pull-up. Not the kipping kind we see at Crossfit stadiums, but the straight arm, dead hang pull-up. Being able to bang out pull-ups is excellent, but if you are starting work on supporting your feet and gradually reducing support until you can complete your sets.
Curls – Curls will be the best way to add some muscle to your biceps. Choose a weight that becomes a struggle with the last couple of reps in your set. Push yourself to do high-rep sets, too, as they fight off a lactic acid build-up that will take over during the Hoist.
Pull Downs – Another great way to train overhead pulling is with pulldowns. These machines are a staple at gyms and can do wonders for your lats. If possible, concentrate on using a narrow grip or a rope to avoid undue stress on the low back.

The Z-Wall is Hard Obstacle on Your Grip and Legs

Holding on for dear life is a common theme in Spartan races. The Z-Wall is a series of sheer walls with tiny hand footholds strategically placed along with them. The small surface forces you to grip and use leg pressure to navigate. The placings are spaced weirdly and are slim.

This one could blindside some people. The Z-Wall works on two things people neglect in their training, grip and leg strength. You must contract your inner thighs to create traction and use your hands to keep yourself attached to the wall.

Some ways to get trained up for the Z-Wall are:

Plate Pinch – Training with mountain climbers or old-school bodybuilders will show you a thing or two about the plate pinch. For decades, athletes have grabbed weight plates from the gym and held them between their thumb and fingers. Holding weights of more than 25lbs builds up the grip and the forearms.
Add and Abduction – Some of the least often used machines in the gym are the abductor/adductor machines. These machines train the inner thighs by stretching them out and closing the legs together. This works wonders on the thighs and will build quality strength if done with proper mechanics.

The Z-Wall is simple in its brutality. You are forced to wedge yourself onto the wall, and you are supposed to traverse to the other side by grip and grit. Legs and grip must be in concert to cross the Z-Wall.

Some Monkey Bars are Always a Great Spartan Obstacle

Remember the monkey bars from elementary school playgrounds? They have grown up and are a critical piece of the Spartan Sprint. Like you, the monkey bars have leveled up over time and come with some interesting new additions that you might not have encountered as an adult.

Like the other Sprint obstacles, the monkey bars will tax your grip and arm strength. However, these new and improved monkey bars will rotate as you touch them, which means your grip is pushed to the max from the instant you grab the bar.

The best ways to train for the monkey bars are:

Farmer’s Carry – The wrist and grip need to be like iron to get across the monkey bars. The moving rungs will start a fire in your forearms that will burn until you leave the obstacle. Farmer’s carries will fire up the grip and forearm strength in the same manner. Choose a heavyweight for a short distance.
Climbing Drill – A famous Army PT exercise is the climbing drill. At a pull-up bar, you grab hold and do a series of maneuvers to loosen the shoulders and prime the hands and back for long periods of exercise.
Playgrounds are an excellent place to find developmental grip and strength apparatus. Children are learning to use their muscles the same as their brains. The playground will have a small set of monkey bars that will be perfect training wheels until you are ready for your race.

The monkey bars are an old-school device that brings nostalgia and anxiety equally. Those who don’t understand the upgrades since elementary school will be in for a shock. The others should come prepared for a set of sore forearms.

Mud is a Major Obstacle that is Everywhere on the Sprint Course

You wouldn’t think it, but adding tiny amounts of weight over time will eventually engulf an athlete. The Spartan Sprint 5K uses this principle with mud along the route. They go out of their way to create ditches and mudholes that will induce panic and make competitors nervous.

Be assured that mud is everywhere on the course. The spaces that don’t have it will be sloped and rocky. Mud shouldn’t seem like an obstacle, but when you have run a 5k and are forced to slop through knee-deep mud for 10 yards, it will seem like an ocean instead of a puddle.

A few ways to train for the mud on the Spartan Sprint are:

Heavy Ruck Marching – One of the things that are guaranteed to increase leg strength and endurance is a ruck march. A ruck is another name for a heavy, more than 25lbs backpack. The pack will alter your movements and gas you much faster than usual.
Squats – There isn’t much intersection between Spartan Sprints and powerlifting. Squats should be done to increase endurance, not to pack on size. Being heavy will be a curse during the Sprint. Find a good weight to squat 10 to 15 times for six sets. If you want to push the envelope, try 4-minute Tabata front squats.

Getting the legs strong is going to be essential for the Sprint. There is no shortcut to solid legs. Remember that you are working towards endurance, and don’t load the squat bar with extreme loads until you are ready.

Conclusion

The Spartan Sprint 5K is an organized obstacle race. It covers a distance of 3.1 miles and has over 20 unique obstacles littered around the course. The exercises are function-based and are guaranteed to test your mental and physical limits.

Preparing for the Sprint should involve many trail runs paired with pull-ups and climbing. Choosing carries is also a good idea as some course obstacles could require you to carry a heavy rock for miles.