Fitness First: The Spartan Race

An obstacle racing series that’s designed to push your limits, the adventurous and number one obstacle race in the world is coming to Bahrain for the first time in its history! To test your strength and challenge your endurance, The Spartan Race is not your average race and here’s what we want you to know how to do.

Firstly, there is no need to be intimidated by the word Spartan; and you should definitely not be put off for it being an obstacle race - The Spartan race is the most exciting, thrilling and is designed to suit everyone! 

An opportunity to tackle unique and challenging obstacles that involve climbing, crawling and running across unknown terrains, the region’s first is expected to welcome a variety of participants of all ages, from beginners to seasoned athletes; though each will have a common goal of being involved in something active. Over the years, The Spartan Race has proven to be fun and challenging, but most importantly, it is open to all. Set up to test overall balance and mental tenacity, participants can seek challenges at their own pace either individually, with family, colleagues or friends within any of the three categories – elite, open or junior. 

The Spartan race events are always filled with high, positive energy. Expect obstacles that will make you climb, crawl and carry yourself over; and of course anticipate some of its signature burpees!  To push every participant further, obstacles vary and are dependent on each race, though each is designed to test endurance, strength and speed. 

Here are some key tips on how to prepare if you have never done it before:

The 4 components of fitness that are essential to the race are...

1. Cardiovascular training:

This is very important as the race is over a distance of 5kms. As much as it may not sound like too much, with the added obstacles rest assured that it will definitely challenge the adventurer in you. We recommend that you get familiar with running 5kms in intervals, 2-3 times a week, well ahead the race. 

Try sprinting 200m at your maximum speed before bringing it down to a more manageable jog for the next 200m – continue repeating this until you reach the 5km goal; and you will find that you’re engaging in a simulation of how your body will be working on the race day. 

1. Muscular endurance training:

Help your muscles continue to push through as you go through some of the obstacles, whether it is crawling under barbed wire or carrying atlas stones along the way. This will also reduce the serious risk of you injuring yourself during the race or even as you train. 

Here is a tried and tested barbell circuit example of how you can train for this; Barbell back squat, bench press, bent over row and military press repeatedly, one after the other five times. Maintain 15-20 reps with 1min rest at the end of each set. This should do the trick!

1. Full body strength training:

Prepare yourself for some of the more explosive obstacles like the fire jump and the wall climb. Keep in mind that if you fail any obstacle the penalty is 30 of those signature burpees we mentioned earlier - YES this will help you prepare for these too. We suggest High intensity interval training otherwise known as HITT to prepare your body. 

An example of a HIIT workout which is offered at Fitness First clubs would include exercises such as high knees, push ups, squat jumps and mountain climbers. Do each exercise individually with maximum effort for 30 seconds before resting for 30 seconds. Repeat this for each exercise 4 – 5 times through and observe how your body transforms steadily into Spartan warrior!

1. Rest:

Now after having hit the sprints as hard as you could, the enduring squats and the achievement of jumping higher than you have before; your body needs time to recover. These rest periods are magical and you’ll realise how you can come back stronger than the last, each time. Future Spartans, it is very important to take rest days.

The best part of Spartan Races is you never quite know what to expect. But this should be sure to get you on the way to feeling ready for the race and you can experience it all first hand with us, as we at Fitness First are hosting the Spartan workout tour. Each participant will have a different experience at The Spartan Race, depending on how hard you have trained for the event. So, look forward to working out with you future Spartans on the tour as well as watch you all pumped up on the race day. Train hard and good luck!