Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 08

ForEliteAtheletes to FunRunners 01732 452404 27 RACE : TRAINING 3 Make you stronger, faster and more efficient Strength training increases your bone density, increases the strength of muscles, ligaments and tendons and in turn allows your body to be in more control when in full momentum. With your body working in the correct way and all muscles strong enough to work properly and do their job correctly, your whole body becomes more efficient. Obstacle course races are a bodyweight sport that relies heavily on the runners’ relative strength, or strength relative to a runner’s particular bodyweight. Being strong enough to control and lift your bodyweight and more, through a range of compound movements and single limb work will make you more efficient during running, jumping and crawling. Building relative strength helps athletes absorb force better when their feet crash onto the grounds surface and produce force to propel themselves back off the ground. Every bit of energy you create from your head to your toes travels efficiently through your body to help propel you forward stride after stride. You won’t lose any energy through instability or lack of coordination. Although obstacle course races are a bodyweight sport, we all still weigh something. And that amount of kilos is being placed specifically through our lower body muscles and joints with no assistance, through one leg at a time as well as momentum. With increased strength your running gait improves, you’re able to take less strides yet cover a further distance.