Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 09

obstaclemudrunner.co.uk ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners 28 26 endurance as well as strength RACE : TRAINING 2 Conditions There’s no getting away from it, conditions play a huge part at races, especially here in the UK and if the obstacles are wet & slippery then they will genuinely feel about 5 times harder. If you haven’t conditioned your grip then it will 100% find you out. It’s no secret that some of the best pro division athletes who are phenomenal runners really excel in dry conditions but notoriously struggle on the obstacles when it’s wet, muddy and cold. 3 Going clean Let’s be clear here, it’s not ‘all about grip’. Your obstacle technique & how proficient you are on those obstacles will also play a huge part too and I’ll get to that in a second, but when you have a strong, durable grip you’ll definitely enhance your chances of completing obstacles first time round, regardless of whether they are wet or not which means not getting time penalties or queueing up in those dreaded retry lanes wasting times. Going clean is extremely important if you’re serious about performing at a higher level and its marginal gains at an elite level. Types of Grip Endurance The key with your grip training plan is balance & variety. Below I’ve highlighted the different types of things you’ll need to consider if you’re looking to strengthen your grip for obstacle course racing in a safe and effective way and avoiding muscle imbalances & injury in the process: Flexor Training Clench your fist now & make a fist, when you did that you engaged your forearm flexor muscles? Flexor training can be divided up into 3 areas: 1 Crush Strength – this can be defined as the strength you can create between your fingers and palms. 2 Pinch Strength – similar to crush strength but it’s the strength you can create between your fingers and thumb. 3 Support Strength – this is the strength you can create from holding onto something for a certain period of time. Think hanging from a bar or holding dumbbells by your side. Ideally for obstacle course racing, you’ll need to incorporate exercises that involve crush, pinch & support strength. You’ll find you’ll need both crush and pinch strength for obstacles like Spartan’s Z-wall, OCRWC’s floating walls & Stairway to heaven. Monkey bars & rigs require support & crush strength whilst any type of hoist obstacle involves crush & support too. Traditionally most OCR grip strength workouts you’ll see in magazines and on the internet are very forearm flexor dominated and will direct their focus onto those 3 areas. Bouldering as an activity is also extremely forearm flexor dominated too. Which, is all fine by the way and flexors should STILL be trained and trained hard but my concern with too much of this type of training is that over time can lead to a muscle imbalance in the forearm, the flexor muscles become too dominant and the extensor muscles don’t get worked as much which in turn can lead to injury, especially in the wrist and elbow. Extensor Training Now clench your fist and open it up, stretching your fingers out when you do. When you opened your hand & stretched your fingers out, you used your forearm & finger extensor muscles. Now...THESE are the muscles that will typically be weaker & need more work. If you can get these guys stronger then they will help to improve your grip, not only that but your grip strength will be more rounded and balanced too which means you’ll be reducing the risk of injury & muscle imbalances and strength deficits of the fingers and forearm. Bouldering as an activity is extremely forearm flexor dominated ...continued James Husband