How I Won a Race

WOW - the first couple months of coaching flew by.  Here I am, already at my parents' house for the holidays.  I'm enjoying the time off, so I'm going to catch up and write the bunches of blogs that you all deserve from me.

On Sunday November 11th I won a race for the first time in my life.  Ever.  I did come in first once in the slow  heat of the 400 m dash in eighth grade, but that doesn't really count because everyone in the fast heat beat me.  The closest I ever came was taking second place in a cross-country meet in eighth grade that only consisted of my team.  Although I am an above average runner, I am in no way a very elite runner.  So how did I manage to win a race?  Because it wasn't just a running race - it was a 5k obstacle course.

Obstacle courses and circuits are tailor-made for wrestlers.  I may not be the best runner, but I kick butt at the obstacles. Running is one thing.  Doing the obstacles is another.  Intermingling the two is an entirely different animal.  I don't care how fast you are or how much weight you can lift, if you can't complete intense anaerobic and aerobic circuits, your metabolic conditioning has lots of room for improvement. 

The race I did had obstacles such as the following: tire flips, sand bucket carrying, army crawl, bear crawl, potato sack hop, pumpkin carrying, pullups, slack line walking, balance beam crossing, tire hops, and stair and hill running.  Most athletes have done these or similar exercises, but the difference is that most workouts have the trainee perform an exercise, rest a few minutes, and then do a different one.  When you train like that it's no wonder that a circuit is a shock to your system.  Here are some suggestions to get in fighting shape:

• I don't know if we had a name for it, but my high school team often finished practice with a 6 minute routine where we all started by jogging around the mats.  Periodically the coach would call out different calisthenics or would yell for us to sprint for 30 seconds.  All it was was 6 minutes!  Six minutes - but it was a killer, especially after a tough practice.
• 10 minute drill - my college coach liked to throw this one at us at the end of practice.  The time wasn't always 10 minutes; it varied between 7 and 15 but the intensity level didn't.  Since our room was small we would alternate jogging in place for 30 seconds with 30 seconds of an exercise or stance and movement/sprawls.  Sometimes we'd start out alternating but would finish the last few minutes with continuous exercises every 30 seconds.
• Intervals - if you don't have a place to work out inside or are just looking for some fresh air, intervals are an excellent training tool.  Sprinting is always tough, but those workouts allow you to rest in between each one.  Intervals, on the other hand, require you to keep moving following each sprint - not easy.  Simply alternate periods of sprinting with periods of jogging.  The distance and/or duration can be gradually altered as your conditioning improves.
• Or, you can still do sprints, but do some pushups, situps, etc. after each one.
• Bring a jump rope with you to the gym, and skip rope for a minute or so between each exercise.
• You-call-it - part of the beauty of these is that the possibilities are endless.  In fact, it is even better if it's not the same every time, that way you don't adapt to the workout and get stale.  Use your imagination and make use of whatever random material is available to you.  My college team sometimes did a routine that consisted of: 2 laps around the indoor track, 2 sets of stairs, 10 pullups, and 25 situps.  We'd try to do it as many times as possible in the allotted time.

Conquer obstacles,
Jeff