Berlin Walls℠ – Push Ups

Scale 12′ walls with the help of your teammates.

Sure, it’s easy enough when dry, but slightly trickier when they’re covered in mud and slop. Build your chest and arm muscles with our push-up series.

Mudderling:

Place your hands directly under your shoulder and make sure your hips are in-line with your back- no hiking or sagging. Slowly lower yourself to the ground. Your chest should touch the ground. If you can’t get your chest to the ground then drop to your knees. (We won’t tell.)

Maybe Mudder:

Once you have mastered the Mudderling push-up then try to get some air time during an explosive pushup. As you push your torso up, power off the ground so that your hands come an inch or more off the ground. Land softly as you begin the next push-up to absorb the shock.

Tough Mudder:

Take the Middle push-up and add a clap during your airtime to reach a clapping push-up. If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

You Don’t Know Jacks – Shoulder Jumping Jacks

Just like you did in elementary school, jumping jacks can be used for the cardio portions of your training. Only this time only bring your arms down to your shoulders (not your hips) and all the way back up. We want to see your hands graze each other when they go up.

CLIFF Hanger – Tough Squats

Summit a muddy mountain track

Scramble up our muddy mountain track and use anything along your way (fellow Mudders) to help you reach the top. To summit the cliff hanger you’ll need some monster leg strength, which you’ll get from the Tough Squat.

Mudderling:

Stand with feet hip distance apart with your toes, knees and hips in a straight line. Pull your belly button towards your spine and contract your abdominal muscles. Slowly lower your body, as though you are sitting in a chair. Lower until your butt is in line with your knees (knees at 90 degree angles). Make sure your knees are BEHIND your toes, your back is straight and the weight is in your heels.

Maybe Mudder:

Take a dumbbell, kettle bell, or large stone, anything you can find, and hold it in front of your chest. Follow the Mudderling form: stick your hips out behind you, bend your knees, and lower yourself until you’re in a full squat position. Pause for a second for the burn to really set in and then push yourself back to the start position.

Tough Mudder:

Take the Maybe Mudder to the next level: squat with a heavier weight and press the weight over your head as you return to the standing position. Now, go faster.

Do Work: Jump Rope

If the jump rope is good enough for Rocky, it’s good enough for you

Start with the standard jump by pushing off the ground evenly, with both feet. Resist the urge to bounce between jumps because that just means you should be going faster. Work up to the running jump rope and even double jumps.

Everest – Slippery Mountain Climbers

Conquer a slippery quarter-pipe

You’ll need speed, leg power and, most likely, the help of your teammates.

Mudderling:

Find a wooden floor or flat surface and place your feet on two washcloths or a folded hand towel. Assume a high plank position and keeping your upper body still, draw one knee in at a time towards your hands, moving as quickly as possible. If you are on carpet you can often complete the exercise with sheets of printer paper under your feet.

Maybe Mudder:

Follow the Mudderling level and build up speed.

Tough Mudder:

Find a wooden floor or flat surface and place your feet on two washcloths or a folded hand towel. Assume a high plank position and pull BOTH legs in towards your chest at the same time and then push them back out to resume the plank position. Repeat and build up speed on these in-and-outs.

Log Bog Belly Bombers – Burpees

Jump over & under fallen logs

During the Log Bog Jog you’ll be jumping over and under fallen trees that have littered our course. To conquer this you’ll need to perfect the belly bomber (also known as burpee). Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you. Kick your feet back to a push-up position. Immediately return your feet to the squat position. Leap up as high as you can from the squat position. Repeat, moving as fast as possible and maintain a fast pace. As you build endurance, begin adding a push-up as you hit the ground.

Hangin’ Tough – Turkish Get Ups

Traverse a series of hanging rings Tarzan-style

Embrace your inner Tarzan to traverse this series of hanging rings spaced 4′-5′ apart above an ice pit. To get your arms tuckered out and get your arms and torso prepped for swinging, practice the Turkish Getup. It’s a funny name, but you won’t be laughing if you’re doing this one correctly.

Mudderling:

Start lying on your back, holding a kettle bell, dumbell, rock above one shoulder. Then simply stand up, using your free arm to help you up, while keeping the weight above you at all times. Keep the arm fully extended – don’t bend that elbow – as you lie back down and repeat. Switch sides halfway through. Start with a 5-pound weight and increase as needed.

Maybe Mudder:

Add weight and speed to the Mudderling version. And seriously – quit bending that elbow.

Tough Mudder:

Add more weight and go faster.

Greased Lightning℠ – Skates

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and balance your weight on your right foot. Then pick up your left foot and loop it back behind you and toward the right leg, tracing a D-shape with your toes. Your left foot should be behind your right leg. Bring your left arm to your right foot. Now push with your right leg and transfer your weight to your left leg and bring your right leg behind your left. Bring your right arm to left foot. Continue skating, gaining speed and distance between each skate.

Turd’s Nest – Crawl Outs

Make like an Avatar and crawl through a cargo net suspended 15″ in the air. Prepare with crawl outs.

Mudderling/ Maybe Mudder/ Tough Mudder:

Stand with your legs straight and your hands flat on the floor. Depending on your flexibility you’ll probably need to begin with your hands a couple of feet in front of you. Keeping your legs completely straight, walk your hands forward as far as possible. Concentrate on keeping your stomach tight, with your navel pulled in toward your pelvis. Then take small steps to walk your feet forward to your hands, ending in the starting position. Repeat. Faster.

Glacier Ski Jumps

Ski jump like you’ve never ski jumped before

Stand with your feet together on the side of a crack in the side walk or floor or next to a folded towel. Bend the knees and jump to the right as far as you can–think of jumping laterally rather than vertically. Land with soft knees and immediately jump laterally to the left. Repeat.

Bale Bonds – Side Plank Series

Planks, side planks, plank dips, oh my

Hurl yourself over a stack of hay bales – and watch out for the pitchfork inside. You’ll need a strong core to get over this mountain and help your teammates. Practice with side-plank variations.

Mudderling:

Start in a low plank position: laying face-down and propping yourself up on your forearms. Slowly drop your right hip down to the ground with your core engaged. Switch to the left side and repeat until you feel the burn.

Maybe Mudder:

Lie on your left side with right on top of left and right hand behind your head. Lift your hips so that your legs are off the floor, keeping your forearm on floor for support. Slowly lower hips to 1 to 2 inches off floor and raise them back to the starting position. Switch sides halfway.

Tough Mudder:

Once you’ve mastered low plank dips, take it up to high plank. Keep your both side arms fully extended so that your body forms a T-shape. Start to lower your hips and pull them back up. Switch sides halfway.

Spider Web Climbers – Standing Mountain Climbers

From a standing position, raise your left hand reaching as high as you can, while driving your right knee up and out. Switch by pulling down with your left hand and reaching high with your right hand. At the same time, let your right foot fall to the floor, then drive with your left knee up and out.

Dirty Ballerina® – Leap Frogs

With the grace of a Black Swan, leap muddily over these 3′-5′ wide pits

To maximize your leap-span, work on leg explosions with leap frogs. Regardless of your ability, leap frogs should leave your bum and quads a’burnin.

Mudderling:

Focus on your leap frog form. Begin by lowering yourself into a low squatting position. Place your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, bend your knees and lower your bum toward the ground. Continue lowering until your knees are as close to a 90-degree angle as possible. Stay in this position as you jump forward. As you leap, keep your head, neck, shoulders and arms relaxed. The quality of the jump is more important than the speed or quantity at this point.

Maybe Mudder:

Following the Mudderling form, start to lower your squat beyond the 90-degree angle so that your bum is almost touching the ground. Go faster.

Tough Mudder:

Leap longer, leap faster. When the burn hits remember you’ll need to leap 3′-5′ feet or you’ll find yourself submerged in freezing, muddy water.

High Steppin’ – High Knees

Hurdle 3′ walls for 100 meters

Practice with a series of high knees. Stand in place with your feet hip-width apart. Drive your right knee toward your chest and quickly place it back on the ground. Follow immediately by driving your left knee toward your chest. Continue to alternate knees as quickly as you can. Hold your arms out to the side at shoulder length as you high step.

Funky Monkey℠ – Pull Ups

These monkey bars have an incline and some have been greased with butter & mud

Sure monkey bars were easy when you were 5 years old, but these have an incline and some have been greased with butter and mud. If you fall, you’ll land in an icy bath…again. Practice with standard monkey bars or pull-ups. Once you’ve mastered the below exercises test your skills at the nearest playground.

Mudderling:

Just like your old man used to do, hang from a bar with either an overhand or underhand grip and pull yourself up – be sure to try and touch your chest to the bar, or get as close as you can. If you can’t do a full pull-up, practice first with arm hangs.

Maybe Mudder:

Continue with a normal pull-up and become comfortable with the overhand grip since this is how you will conquer the Monkey.

Tough Mudder:

Build on the overhand pull-up and between each one shuffle slightly to the right or left between each pull on the pull-up bar to get comfortable with movement.

Fire Walker Quick Feet

Quick feet with a firey twist

Stand with your legs hip-width apart and start running in place on your toes. Increase your speed so that you feel like you are digging into the ground. Every 20 seconds drop completely to the ground as fast as you can and jump back up to resume Quick Feet.

Twinkle Toes – Balance Series

Traverse a balance beam over a pit of ice-cold water

Balance beam work may sound dainty but we bet you’ll think it’s pretty tough if you fall and end up in yet another ice pit. Build up your leg balance to tackle this log bridge with Robin Hood-type finesse.

Mudderling:

The ideal place to practice this is in side-walk cracks or on a wooden surface with a plus-sign drawn. Stand on one leg and hop clockwise to each quadrant (four hops makes one rotation). After one rotation begin hopping counter-clockwise. Switch legs.

Maybe Mudder:

Place one leg directly behind you on a Bosu ball, small medicine ball or uneven surface. Slowly lower in lower into a forward lunge and return to starting position. Switch legs.

Tough Mudder:

Stand atop a Bosu ball or small medicine ball with both legs. Slowly lower your bum towards the ground to complete a full squat. Make sure that your knees are behind your toes.

Tired Yet? – Tire Run

We bet you are. Make your way through a field of tires. Watch out for mud splashes!

Like a high school football team, you can practice Tired Yet with or without the tires. Start by standing on one leg then shifting your weight to the opposite side and remain standing on the opposite leg. Pull your non-standing leg up towards your waist for balance. Keep your butt down and pick up the pace.

Kiss of Mud – Plank Series

Eat dirt as you crawl under barbed wire set 8″ from the ground

Prepare for the height constraints with our Tough plank series.

Mudderling:

Low plank. Lie face-down and prop yourself up on your forearms. Your ands should not touch, rather your forearms go straight out like a sphinx. Hold. Keep holding.

Maybe Mudder:

High plank. Lie face-down and extend your arms straight. Your arms should be directly below your shoulders and straight. Hold. Keep holding.

Tough Mudder:

Move from low to high plank and keep alternating between the two as quickly as you can.

Running Man – Get Movin’

You know what to do: Sidewalk, treadmill, mountain, whatever

We know running in a straight line is boring, but our course is 10-12 miles and you’ll need to prepare with some running. The best way to break the monotony is to add in speed work and obstacles, if you dare – climb that tree, scale the picnic bench, chase dogs – whatever.

Boa Constrictor℠ – Tricep Dips

Crawl through a series of pipes that also force you into muddy, freezing water

Give your triceps a workout so you’re prepared for the crawl that lies ahead, sans rock and rubble for now.

Mudderling:

Sit on the floor with your legs and feet pressed together, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your hands about a foot behind your butt, palms shoulder-distance apart, fingers pointing toward your butt. Straighten your arms to raise your butt off the floor. Bend your elbows and lower your butt as close to the floor as possible without actually touching it. Raise yourself back up and repeat.

Maybe Mudder:

Repeat the Mudderling tricep dip only place your hands on a bench, chair or elevated surface. Make sure your elbows go straight back each time you lower.

Tough Mudder:

Get in between two chairs, bars, or if at a gym, a dip machine. Grab each bar or handle with each arm and lower yourself slowly and with control and push yourself back up. If this is easy then try exploding off the bar and lifting yourself completely away from your support.

Swamp Stomps – Hand-to-toe Kicks

Stomp through a swamp – watch out for the boogie man!

Standing upright, contract core and lift one leg off the ground directly infront of you while simultaneously bringing your opposite hand down to touch your toe. Your hand and toe should meet at a 90 degree angle from your body. Alternate sides.

Braveheart Charge – Lunges

Embrace your inner William Wallce as you prepare to run full speed down, up, and all over a mountain

Build up your leg strength with our Braveheart lunge series.

Mudderling:

Stand in a split stance with one leg forward and one leg back.. Slowly bend the knees, lowering into a lunge while keeping the front knee and back knee at 90 degree angles. Either return to starting position or continue stepping forward for walking lunges.

Maybe Mudder:

Add weight to the traditional Mudderling lunge. Start with 5 pounds in each hand and increase from there.

Tough Mudder:

Once you establish a weighted-lunge base, take it up to the scissor jump. Lower yourself into a forward stepping lunge for your starting position. From there, explode off the ground, getting enough air under you to scissor kick your legs and land with your opposite leg forward and ready to crouch down to the lunge position. Keep doing this, alternating your legs on each jump/repetition.

Loggin’ Boggin’ Belly Bombers

More Burpees!

During the Log Bog Jog you’ll be jumping over and under fallen trees that have littered our course. To conquer this you’ll need to perfect the belly bomber (also known as burpee). Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you. Kick your feet back to a push-up position. Immediately return your feet to the squat position. Leap up as high as you can from the squat position. Repeat, moving as fast as possible and maintain a fast pace. As you build endurance, begin adding a push-up as you hit the ground.

Rope A Dope – Towel Pull Ups

15′ free climb

We’re taking you back to high school gym class where you had to free climb up 15″. This time we hope you have more muscle to show for it than you did then. Here are some ways to prepare your shoulders and practice your grip.

Mudderling:

Drape towels over the pull-up bar and grip the ends. You might have to start with just hanging and holding the towels.

Maybe Mudder:

Work up on full towel pull-ups until your hands fully adjust to the grip.

Tough Mudder:

Find a rope (or tie one to a tree) and start climbing.

Über-Greased Lightning℠

Skates

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and balance your weight on your right foot. Then pick up your left foot and loop it back behind you and toward the right leg, tracing a D-shape with your toes. Your left foot should be behind your right leg. Bring your left arm to your right foot. Now push with your right leg and transfer your weight to your left leg and bring your right leg behind your left. Bring your right arm to left foot. Continue skating, gaining speed an distance between each skate.

Death March – Bench Jumps

The ants go marching one by one, OOH-RAH

To prep for the Death March, get to bench jumping.

Mudderling:

Start by standing in front of a step, stack of books, or riser (8-12 inches tall) facing forward. Place one foot in the middle of the step and step up as you balance your body for 1-2 seconds on your raised leg. Step down with your opposite leg first and continue alternating legs.

Maybe Mudder:

Stand in front of a bench, chair, or box (24 – 36 inches) and step up as you would in the Mudderling step-up. Alternate legs and feel the burn.

Tough Mudder:

Stand in front of a bench, chair, or box and using both legs jump onto the object. Make sure to maintain a neutral spine and explode from a squatting position.

Glacier Ski Jumps 2

Ski jump like you’ve never ski jumped before…again

Stand with your feet together on the side of a crack in the side walk or floor or next to a folded towel. Bend the knees and jump to the right as far as you can–think of jumping laterally rather than vertically. Land with soft knees and immediately jump laterally to the left. Repeat.

Devil’s Beard – Mountain Climbers

Crawl through our annoyingly-low cargo nets

To tickle the Devil’s Beard, you’ll have to crawl through our annoyingly low cargo nets – like a fly you’ll get caught in the spider’s web every time. Use our mountain climber series to build your arm and core strength:

Mudderling:

Start in a high-plank position and keep your butt down. Bring one knee straight to your chest, keeping it barely above the ground and tap your toe at the top. Alternate legs and move as quickly as possible. Keep your core as stable as possible, shoulder blades together, and chest out.

Maybe Mudder:

Do the standard mountain climber as in the Mudderling. Go faster and include a push-up every 8 climbs.

Tough Mudder:

Start in a high plank position and descend into a push-up. As you lower bring your right knee to your right elbow. Return to high plank and repeat on the left side. Alternate sides and work up to mountain climbing speed.

FireWalker℠ Quick Feet 2

More quick feet with a firey twist

Stand with your legs hip-width apart and start running in place on your toes. Increase your speed so that you feel like you are digging into the ground. Every 20 seconds drop completely to the ground as fast as you can and jump back up to resume Quick Feet.

Mud Mile

Run through mud, sludge, brush, whatever nature calls for

Brace your legs for the inevitable muddy slip with a side lunge

Mudderling:

Stand with your feet and knees together, hands on your hips. Take a large step with your right foot to the right side and lunge toward the floor. Make sure your right knee does not extend past your toes and keep your left leg relatively straight. Push off through your right foot to return to the start to complete one. Alternate sides.

Maybe Mudder:

Complete the Mudderling side lunge only this time place a towel under your lunging foot. It’s the MUD mile, Mudders, you’ll be sliding.

Tough Mudder:

Keep working with the towel side lunge and add weight if you aren’t feeling the burn, but we suspect you are.

Extra Abs – Turd’s Nest

Crawl outs

Make like an Avatar and crawl through a cargo net suspended 15″ in the air. Prepare with crawl outs.

Mudderling/ Maybe Mudder/ Tough Mudder:

Stand with your legs straight and your hands flat on the floor. Depending on your flexibility you’ll probably need to begin with your hands a couple of feet in front of you. Keeping your legs completely straight, walk your hands forward as far as possible. Concentrate on keeping your stomach tight, with your navel pulled in toward your pelvis. Then take small steps to walk your feet forward to your hands, ending in the starting position. Repeat. Faster. Use an ab roller if you aren’t flexible enough.

Obstacles

Each of our badass obstacles requires preparation in order to complete a Tough Mudder Obstacle Course.

Cardio

Use these exercises for the cardio portions of your Boot Camp. You’ll find plenty of alternatives to running and these exercises will also mirror some of the cardio-intense obstacles on a Tough Mudder course.

Warm Up

One minute for each of exercise: (1) running ; (2) grape-vine, alternate sides; (3)side-shuffle, alternate sides; (4) high-knees; (5) butt-kicks.

Mudderling Boot Camp Complete!

At the Mudderling level, you should strive to complete this Boot Camp three times per week and work out on two additional days with further cardio training (or repeat this Boot Camp if it’s your jam). As soon as this Boot Camp feels relatively comfortable you should advance to the Mighty Mudder level.

Mudderlings Cool Down

30-second slow roll-down to touch toes, 30-second roll-up back to standing; Stretch your quads, back, shoulders, arms (whatever needs it). Sit on the ground with your legs up on a wall (your butt is flush against the wall) for 2 min.

Maybe & Tough Mudder: 1 Minute Rest

Maybe Mudder Boot Camp Complete!

You should strive to complete this Boot Camp three times per week and work out on two additional days with further cardio training (or repeat this Boot Camp if that’s your jam). As soon as this level feels relatively comfortable you should advance to the Tough Mudder level.

Cool Down

30-second slow roll-down to touch toes, 30-second roll-up back to standing; Stretch your quads, back, shoulders, arms (whatever needs it). Sit on the ground with your legs up on a wall (your butt is flush against the wall) for 2 min.

Tough Mudder: 1 Minute Rest

1 Minute Rest – Take a Breather

Tough Mudder Boot Camp Complete!

Congratulations, you have proven that you can hang through an entire Tough Mudder Boot Camp. You should strive to complete this Boot Camp three times per week and work out on two additional days with further cardio training (or repeat this Boot Camp if that’s your jam).

Cool Down

30-second slow roll-down to touch toes, 30-second roll-up back to standing; Stretch your quads, back, shoulders, arms (whatever needs it). Sit on the ground with your legs up on a wall (your butt is flush against the wall) for 2 min.