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Kettlebell Spartan Super Prep

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Sean Mulcahy

Sean Mulcahy

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Certified Instructor
Hey SF Team. Looking for some feedback on my program to prepare for a Spartan Super (8-10 miles and 25+ obstacles) in Jan 2019. Time is the limiting factor (4-5 days per week, and 60 mins per session, with the exception of one long run per week).

LSD:
- 2-3x/week, 30-90 min MAF run ... usually looks like one long run (6+ miles) and one short run (3-4 miles) per week, maybe one ruck if I can get the 3rd day in

STRENGTH:
- Session 1, S&S swings (heavy 2H) & getups, then strength triplet of 5x5 double C&P, 5x5 double squats, 5 sets strict C2B pullups, finish with 3 sets farmer carries
- Session 2, S&S swings (1H) & getups, then strength triplet of 10 sets pushups, 5 sets heavy lunges, 5 sets batwings, finish with 3 sets farmer carries

Thoughts?

Ways to make this simpler (things I could cut out)?

Maybe just one strength session, but repeated 2-3x/week? Haven't figured this out yet because it would make the individual session too long, upper limit of 1 hour.
 
Looks pretty good to me. If someone told me I had to prep for another Spartan Race by doing that, I'd be ok with it.

Take the running seriously, it is a running race, and the people who do best are runners who can do the obstacles, not strongmen who can run a little. Try to do most of your running, or at least your long run, on terrain similar to what you'll race on. I did most of my run training on flat ground, and didn't realize that less that 20% of the race was over flat ground. I should have hit the mountains at least once a week. If you can find out what your terrain will be like, it will help.

As @kenaces mentioned, make sure to familiarize yourself with the less common obstacles. Even if you don't do rope climbs, wall climbs, and spear throws as part of a workout, at least figure out how to do them properly before race day. Sometimes they have a set up where you can practice them the day prior, too, so take advantage of that if you can. Loaded carries seem to be very popular as well, but your prep in that regard seems fine.
 
offwidth said:
Running, running, more running.
Grip strength
And a bit more running.

I trained spear throws all the time (and always missed them on race day)
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This.

You need more specificity, not swings.
 
Agree w/ everyone above -- practice running and grip. None of the obstacles really require a ridiculous amount of strength. The problem is that you will be fatigued by the time you have to climb a rope, or jump 8 ft walls repeatedly etc.

To practice grip strength I would:

1. Do a long cycle clean & jerks where I don't put the bell down
2. Do lots of pullups, or bar muscle ups to help climb walls
3. Do lots of burpees to get used to them
 
offwidth said:
I used to think that way also.
Having to do burpees in the race means you failed an obstacle. Train stuff to help you clear the obstacles. Don't train for failure:)
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I totally agree. But it can´t harm to grease the groove of the movement. Doing a few OCR´s per year and I´m able to clear most of the obstacles. Sometimes there are slippery ones you just have bad luck with. I never "trained" burpees, but I definitely recognize the difference in terms of energy preservation, if I do a few of them before the race or ignore them completely.
 
Quick update now that the Spartan race is complete. Here's what I eventually landed on for my strength program:

  • Double C&P - 3x5 (worked up to 3 sets of 5 with double 32's)
  • Double squats - 3x5 (could have pushed to double 36's, but kept at 32's)
  • Getups - 3x1+1 (working weight was usually a 36)
  • Swings - 10x10 (usually 2H with a 40 or 1H with a 32)
  • Farmers carrries - 3x60 sec (didn't always have time for these, but did with double 32's or 36's)
Did the first three on the list as a superset, around 1 min rest between movements, and 5 mins rest between rounds 1, 2 and 3. Then finished with 10 mins EMOM of swings, farmers carries after that if I had time.

Programming-wise, I did the above strength program 2x/week (Sat & Wed), and two MAF runs/week (Sun long run, working up to 9 miles eventually, and another short/maintenance run somewhere in there).

This plan worked! Grip was solid for all obstacles, and endurance base was there too.
 
Just to add: I did a spartan sprint very recently and did pretty well for a first time OCR (97/1988 in open and 11/184 for my age).

I added pullups, stair climbs, burpees in addition to my normal endurance and strength training. Specific obstacle training is super useful too, though a wkend seminar is probably enough.

The loaded carries were for me the hardest part of the race - its one thing to do it fresh, and another to do it when you are already low on hitpoints. For my next SR (probably a super) I will definitely do some of that.
 
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