Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 12

Whether it’s climbing, walking or leaping, cats are energy proficient in everything they do 01732 452404 ForEliteAtheletes to FunRunners 31 RACE : BOULDERING & developing problem solving skills rather than ‘ego lifting’ or chasing the sweat that you may find yourself succumbing to in a gym environment. Climbing is for everyone of all levels which means the kids will love it, you can take your friends or your partner too and as an added bonus you’ll secretly be working on your grip endurance for OCR too! (or maybe that’s just me that does that?) 4 Proficiency A climbing coach once told me that to be a good climber you should observe how a cat moves. Whether it’s climbing, walking or leaping, cats are energy proficient in everything they do. They only use energy when they need to. To be a good climber we must learn the art of conserving energy when climbing. Smooth, effortless, energy efficient climbing is the name of the game. This is exactly what obstacle racers should be striving for on things like low rigs, high rigs, hang tough rings & monkey bars etc. It’s no use doing a rig in record time only to come off it absolutely exhausted & blowing out of your ass. Think of your energy in an obstacle race as currency. If you spend your pay check in the first month of being paid without budgeting you’re going to have a pretty rubbish time for the rest of the month. Obstacle course racing is exactly the same, if you use all your energy up on obstacles then you’ll find you’ll go “broke” and won’t have any more energy left for the rest of the race. Spend and INVEST your energy wisely during a race. Be energy efficient. 5 Relaxes the mind. OCR is a sport. I’ve coached beginners right through to seasoned pros and I’ve yet to meet anyone in OCR that isn’t competitive. If you’re doing OCR then you’re either openly competitive or secretly competitive. Either way, you are competitive. It’s healthy to be competitive but being like this with everything you do can often be counter-productive and quite often mentally and physically draining. Low intensity activities like climbing where you can mentally relax and focus on growing and developing in your own time are useful to include into your OCR training plan. Final Thoughts Bouldering & climbing skills shouldn’t be replaced for strength & conditioning but can be a useful way to develop grip strength & upper body endurance naturally over time. It can also help you to build confidence with your movement quality too, meaning you’ll learn to become a more efficient climber. The problem-solving element to climbing may also help improve your cognitive skills too e.g. not cracking under pressure and to also be able to work out the best way to navigate your way through a rig. Bouldering could also be applied as a useful active recovery workout where you can have some fun with your training & mentally switch off from the serious workouts that need to get done like strength training & energy system development. Not every session needs to be a serious beasting remember, so choose your battles wisely. Know when to go hard & when to go easy with your workouts. Sam Winkworth is the creator of OCR Virgin designed to help obstacle racers of all levels train & prepare for their first/next OCR. He is also the head coach at the Unbreakable Project, an elite coaching programme designed to develop obstacle racers who want to podium on a world stage. For more training tips & techniques from Sam, then visit OCR Virgin on Facebook or if you’d like some guidance with your OCR training this season email [email protected] Tips For Your Next Bouldering Session 1 Don’t worry about what grades you’re doing, just go climbing. 2 Climb with your legs not your arms. 3 Straight arms. 4 Watch other climbers. 5 Seek out instruction if needed. 6 Have fun.