Europe’s Toughest Mudder is the next big step for a Mudder Legion, 12 hours of obstacles, mud and water, and it’s a special experience taking on the course at night. If you’re taking on Europe’s Toughest Mudder (ETM) for the first time, then read these five tips to help you conquer the course.
Without doubt, this event is known to be the toughest event on the OCR (obstacle course racing) calendar. We asked Tough Mudder trainer and previous Europe’s Toughest Mudder participant, Born Barikor, on his top five tips ahead of the September weekend.
Bodyweight Circuits
Obstacles will require you to be comfortable holding your bodyweight – working against it is a great way to train, therefore these exercises are perfect.
- Press-ups
- Box Jumps
- Walking Lunges
- Jump Squats
Reps: 15
Sets: 5
2 minutes rest in between sets.
Grip Strength
Throughout the course, you will be faced with obstacles that require you to have a good grip, the stronger your grip, the quicker you will be able to complete that obstacle and move on, resulting in saving precious time.
- Chin-ups
- Fingertip press-ups
- Negative pull-ups
- Hanging knee raises
Reps: 5
Sets: 5
2 minutes rest in between sets.
Agility and Balance
Being able to stay on your feet and keeping your balance whilst being agile across obstacles and terrain is an asset. To Improve your overall agility and balance, incorporate these exercises into your workout:
- Bear Crawl (10 seconds)
- Burpees
- Lateral Box Jump
- Press up to Side kick
Reps: 8
Sets: 5
2 minutes rest in between sets.
Leg Strength
Don’t expect to be running on a flat surface for the entire time, ensuring that you legs don’t burn out after completing obstacles whilst also running at different elevations is key, so here are some leg specific exercises to try out:
- Deep Squat
- Reverse Lunge
- Hip Thrust
- Lateral Lunge
Reps: 8
Sets: 5
2 minutes rest in between sets.
Know Your Limits
Once you stop, that’s when it becomes hard. Therefore when you are tackling the course it’s important to become efficient, fight the urge to go as fast as you can at the start as you’re bound to gas out towards the end. Don’t worry about anyone running past you, if you struggle with this, remembering to follow a set pace can help.
At my Europe’s Toughest Mudder I learnt that there was no need to go so fast in the early stages, it was much better to build my pace up throughout and when I felt like I was near enough to the finish line, that’s when I decided to dig my heels in.
