You Can Prepare for a Spartan Race at the Gym with This Workout Plan.

Spartan races are extremely difficult. The competition’s namesake, the legendary Greek city-state and its martial culture, suggests just that. Normal road runs seem easy as competitors run, jump, and climb through an obstacle-filled course. To survive one of these races, racers will need to have strength, endurance, and tenacity.

According to Yancy Culp, Senior Director and co-creator of Spartan DEKA, most athletes struggle in one particular area of the course: grip and pull strength. Racers must swing on ropes, monkey bars, and drag themselves up and over barriers in order to complete the challenges. Crushing a Spartan race requires strength in the forearms and upper back, and you can exercise to get stronger in those areas without having to replicate a whole course at your neighborhood gym.

Culp offers a straightforward two-part program that uses grip work and vertical and horizontal pulling movements to improve your grip and pull strength. This can be helpful for exercisers from all backgrounds since you can scale these motions to change the effort based on your abilities.

For the aided pullups, grab a rope or towel and loop it around a pullup bar. For the assisted rows, use a barbell in a rack at a height that is difficult for you or a Smith machine. Choose weights for the farmers carry that will test you without causing you to lose form.

The Spartan Race Prep Exercise Section I
Do 10 repetitions, then take a break if necessary to recover. Keep your non-working time to a minimal, although you can take longer than the five seconds Culp describes in the above clip. Do 9 repetitions for the following set. Keep going down the ladder until you reach five repetitions.

Helped Pullup
Helped Row

Section Two
Do a farmers carry for 40 yards to begin. After completing the walk, proceed to the pullup bar and perform two assisted pullup repetitions. Take a break, then do it three times.

Farmers Pull Ups with Assistance