We know that slipping and sliding through muddy trails and clambering all over giant obstacles might not bring cycling to mind, but you could be missing a trick by leaving it out of your training plan. Cycling is a great low-impact workout that can boost your physical fitness in a myriad of ways, as well as aiding mental health and helping you explore your local countryside. But aside from all of that, it could help you feel stronger and more capable on the course. This is how cycling can help you train for Tough Mudder.

The Benefits of Cycling

Hopping on two wheels in any form is a great aerobic workout. This means that it’s going to boost your cardiovascular system, including your heart and blood vessels. Running and brisk walking can do the same but the real benefit of cycling is that it’s low impact. So won’t be putting as much strain on your bones and joints.

It isn’t just your physical health that can be improved by cycling though. We all know keeping active can help us with our mental health too and as with most regular exercise it can reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. But cyclists also enjoy higher feelings of wellbeing because cycling can be an incredibly enjoyable and fun experience especially if you’re getting outside in nature.

How Cycling Can Help You Train for Tough Mudder

1. Stronger Leg Muscles

When you’re stuck in Mud Mile and you feel like your legs are in quicksand, you’re going to really regret skipping leg day. But getting a good leg workout doesn’t have to mean lifting heavy weights or smashing out hundreds of squats. Hop on a bicycle and you’ll be working your glutes, quadriceps, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles (that’s your calves FYI), hamstrings and flexors. Plus, your core will be working to keep you upright and stable while your arm, shoulders and hands grip the bars and steer. That’s a full body session if ever we heard one.

2. Feel Fitter

At TMHQ we always say you can take on the course without training. Believe us when we say we’ve seen countless folk turn up hungover, with no gear but go on to cruise through the Classic course. BUT we also know that if you train for your Tough Mudder you may just surprise yourself, enjoy it even more and kick start a health and fitness journey that could last a lifetime. So, if you want to get round 10 miles and 25 obstacles with as little discomfort as possible add some cycling into your training. It will boost your cardiovascular health, strength, endurance, help you lose weight and even protect you from heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Win.

3. Better Spacial Awareness, Coordination and Balance

You might think that being big and strong will solve all your problems when it comes to Tough Mudder obstacles. Not so fast Mudder. Our obstacles aren’t just built to test strength, although some of them certainly will. Instead you’ll find that you need a mix of physical strength, mental grit, balance and coordination AND of course one hell of a lot of teamwork. A session on your bike will demand balance, good posture, spacial awareness and coordination as you take on turns, climb and descend all the while using your body to get the bike where you want it to go.

4. Improves Joint Mobility

We’ve already mentioned that cycling is a great low-impact workout that will help protect your joints and bones. This is because it takes the weight off joints like your hips, knees and feet. But the movement of cycling can also help lubricate your joints which can reduce pain and stiffness. On the course mobility and flexibility is key as you climb up and over beasts like Mudderhorn and Hero Walls.

5. Find Your Team

Almost all Tough Mudder obstacles need to be tackled with teamwork. That means you’re going to need a band of plucky Mudders willing to give you a muddy leg over or haul your filthy muddy out of the dirt. Cycling is a notoriously social activity, so what better way to find your people? You could join a local cycling club or group and find yourself with a ready-made Tough Mudder team.

Take on the Brand New Cycling Tough Mudder Milestones

Has lockdown transformed you into a cyclist? Or maybe you’ve always had the bug. Either way Tough Mudder Milestones is the perfect way to boost your motivation, push yourself to achieve something epic on your bike and earn a collectible coin. Choose a distance, work towards it throughout the year and then celebrate when you crush that goal.

Conquering Everest is a daunting task, nearly impossible to some. It requires fortitude, determination, and overcoming of fears, which are also need to take on Tough Mudder events and Challenges. Everest 2.0 tests participants physical ability, but also requires a mentality to conquer, just like Mt. Everest. The Everest Milestone requires participants to set a goal and strive towards it, conquering the height of the mountain via walking or running hills, climbing stairs, or hiking your local mountain. Both of these will test you, but here is how you will be able to overcome these when you take them on.

So, if you’re planning on conquering Everest on course, you’ll need to train appropriately. Everest requires strength, power, stamina, and grip. One of the best ways to work toward this goal is by completing the Everest Milestone. Gain the elevation of Everest (29,029 ft) by climbing stairs, hills, or local incline and you will be so ready to summit the obstacle. 

Combine this with power and grip strength training below and you will be conquering heights up Everest and beyond.

We recommend starting with Explosive training because this combines strength and speed to increase your power output. Explosive power drills are often used by athletes who need to generate a quick burst of maximum effort. This type of training is helpful for Everest 2.0

The goal of explosive exercise training is to build enough power to ultimately move body weight or heavy weights very quickly.

Let’s break it down:

Everest 2.0 you must run, jump and pull yourself to the top.

So, in order to maximize strength, power, and speed of movement, a combination of heavy and light explosive exercise. Standard explosive exercises use large muscle movements. A good example would be squats.

Here are a few other great exercises that can help with you conquering Everest.

Plyometric Rebounding

1.       Box jumps

2.       Burpees

3.       Jump Rope

4.       Squat jumps/ Jumping Lunges

5.       Slam Ball Squat Thrust

Disclaimer: Plyometric moves are a powerful exercise where safety considerations should be practiced in order to perform the moves correctly and without strain.

Resistance Sprint Drills for Speed

1.       Sprinting Hills

2.       Stair Running

3.       Sand sprints

4.       Sleds/Parachute Runs

5.       Walking Lunges/ Sprints

Upper Body Training

1.       Pull-ups

2.       Push ups

3.       Renegade Rows

4.       Farmer Carry’s

5.       Kettle Bell Swings

Here is a Fun and Challenging Bodyweight Workout:

1.       20 Burpees

2.       10 push ups

3.       5 pull-ups

3 Rounds for Time

Then:

2 times 8-10 x 100m runs with 75 percent effort

With 30 second rest and 3-minute rest between sets

One final thought: Tough Mudder is more than conquering Everest 2.0 , it’s a way of thinking. By participating in a Tough Mudder event you will unlock a true sense of accomplishment, push your limits and have a good time. As always, you will have the community on course, by your side to help you if you so need. 

Let’s GO!

Childhood is a time of life that we tend to remember fondly. When we are children, we have an endless supply of enthusiasm for any activity, any adventure, anytime. As we become adults, we tend to stress and responsibilities become masters of our lives. We often forget to leave time to play and bring out our inner child. It is important to shake hands with the child in all of us and connect with our own children. We need to relearn to approach life as a big playground.

Children, especially in open environments, run, jump and climb over everything they encounter. However, as adults, what we do naturally is usually more passive. The key is to do unstructured activities that break our routine. Put the body in an unusual situation and practice skills, like climbing, swinging and jumping.

Whenever possible, get rid of your insecurities and go play, run, jump, lose your balance, etc.  So, grab your kids, get outside, get yourself moving. In fact, the simplest location to achieve this is at your nearest playground, believe it or not.

Here is an example of a family fun day obstacle course on a playground:

1. 10 Step ups on a bench
2. 10 Bear Crawls
3. Swing and long jump off the monkey bars then sprint 
4. 10 Frog Hop
5. Crawl under all the Swings
6. 10 Toe Taps on a Bench
7. Pistol Squat with Swing
8. 10 Star Jumps
9. Monkey Bars (once across)
10. 5 military crawls

Rest 2 mins repeat 2 or 3 times

As you can see, there is great variety of equipment on a playground. By exercising at the park or playground you’ll begin building better stamina, strength, and energy. An added bonus is that you’ll be modeling self-care and the importance of movement to your children, showing them that grown-ups still play and have fun, too.

Remember that it’s important to warm up before you do any physical exercise and just as important to stretch afterwards. If you REALLY enjoy bringing out your inner child, join us on course in 2021 for the most creative obstacles in the industry. We’ll see you in the mud.

Here at TMHQ we’ve been pretty busy transforming Tough Mudder Challenges and making sure that there’s something for everyone. With so many Milestones to choose from covering Stride, Ride, Elevation and Group Challenges, you might need some help deciding which Milestone is best for you and where you should start.

Find your match made in Tough Mudder Challenges heaven, faster than you can say Block Ness Monster.

Want to take it to the next level?

Now that you’ve chosen the best Milestone for you. It’s time to sign up, get conquering and the sooner you can celebrate your achievements.

So you’ve training hard, you’ve built your upper body strength and improved your explosiveness. You’re ready to tackle one of our favorite obstacles on course and conquer Everest.

But being strong isn’t everything in the face of such an intense challenge, you’ll need bravery, brains and a few hands waiting to pull you to the summit. There are a few different tactics you can take to get to the top, but we’ve narrowed it down to 3 main points.

TOP 3 TIPS FOR CONQUERING EVEREST

It’s one of the most common question asked my first-time Mudders is “how do I get up Everest?” We won’t lie. It isn’t the easiest obstacle and it requires teamwork, but these three tips will help you get there.

1. PUMP YOUR ARMS

You’re going to need to build momentum, so start from as far back as possible and pump your arms and legs to really help you explode up the face of the obstacle and conquer Everest.

2. AIM FOR THE HANDS

Keep your eyes on the prize. The prize being other Mudders hands of course. When you jump you’re going to want to reach out and grab them, so make sure you know where you’re grabbing.

3. DON’T JUMP TOO EARLY

Almost everyone who fails on Everest makes this easy mistake. You need to jump at the very last possible minute, go any earlier and you’ll be sliding back down.

Want to see which other obstacles await you? Check out our obstacles page. Ready to conquer Everest? Get your Tough Mudder Ticket for the 2021 season today.

“A Badass Woman “ is a strong, bold, and confident woman who knows her own mind. Real badass women come in all sizes and shapes.

Question?

“How does a girl become strong? How does she enact change? How does she grow into a strong woman? It begins with a step that sounds simple but is not. She finds her voice.” — Melinda Gates

Real badass women are passionate when it comes to their values. They are relentless when it comes to their cause.

What we admire so much about badass women is their courage. But, courage is not something you possess; it is something you DO.

Being a female athlete / fitness advocate in today’s chaotic and noisy age can be overwhelming. From distractions, to comparison, to jealousy, to social media pressure, it is hard to stay sane and prevail above the nonsense.

In this article, we highlight 3 women who are a beacon of light and have inspired women to infuse their lives with fulfillment, drive, self-love, and passion.

Meet Allison Tai – Bad Ass #1

Allison Tai is a bad-ass Ultra Distance OCR athlete, former Ironman athlete and ultramarathon runner. But her real full-time (and most important) job is a proud Mom to two little girls. She’s won numerous races from Sprints to Ultra Beasts, came in second twice at World’s Toughest Mudder, was the first Western Canadian to win the Spartan Canada Point Series in 2015, and even won the CBS televised Toughest Mudder series in 2017. She amassed over 50 podiums in the sport of OCR. In 2006, she broke her back, pelvis, and arm when hit by a truck on her bicycle. While recovering, Allison turned her focus to coaching running, fitness, obstacle racing and nutrition coaching to help other athletes reach their goals. FYI—You do not have to be an ultra-distance runner to train like one.

A Few Exercises Allison Tai uses for her training.

DUMBBELL THRUSTERS:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold your dumbbells in front of your shoulders.

Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Stand up and extend your arms over your head.

Bend your arms, return to the starting position and repeat the exercise.

BURPEE MULE KICKS:

Start in a squat position with your knees bent, back straight, and your feet about shoulder-width apart.

Lower your hands to the floor in front of you so they are just inside your feet.

With your weight on your hands, kick your feet back so you are on your hands and toes, and in a pushup position.

Keeping your body straight from head to heels, do one pushup. Remember not to let your back sag or to stick your butt in the air.

Do a frog kick by jumping your feet back to their starting position.

Kick or step your legs back into a plank position.

shift your weight onto your hands, and kick your feet up into the air, spreading them wide as you extend your legs.

Land softly, reset, and repeat.

PULL-UPS

Leap up and grip the bar with your hands shoulder width apart and your palms facing away from you. Hang with your arms fully extended, you can bend your legs at the knee if they are dragging on the ground.

Keep your shoulders back and your core engaged throughout. Then pull up. Focus on enlisting every upper body muscle to aid your upward endeavor’s.

Move slowly upward until your chin is above the bar, then equally slowly downward until your arms are extended again.

Meet Jessamyn Stanley – Bad Ass Woman #2

Yoga Teacher. Writer. Body Positivity Advocate.

Jessamyn is a Yoga teacher, body-advocate, author and creator of The Underbelly Yoga. Her new book ‘Everybody Yoga’ aims to break all the stereotypes in the yoga community and inspire all shapes and sizes to practice. Her classes use high energy vinyasa flow to move past mental and emotional barriers. She encourages her students to ask, “How do I feel?” rather than “How do I look?” when practicing yoga.

Whether you are a full out yogi or can barely touch your toes, we encourage you to add the yoga-inspired stretches below into your routine. 

Goddess Pose: 

1. Goddess Pose is a static plié squat and is a major external hip opener that fires everything below your waist! 

2. Begin standing in Mountain Pose (Tadasana) at the top of your mat with your arms at your sides. Bring your hands to rest comfortably on your hips.

3. Turn to the right and step your feet wide apart, about four feet. Turn your toes out slightly, so they point to the corners of your mat.

4. On an exhalation, bend your knees directly over your toes and lower your hips into a squat. Work toward bringing your thighs parallel to the floor, but do not force yourself into the squat.

5. Extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder-height with your palms facing down. Then, spiral your thumbs up toward the ceiling, so your palms face forward. Bend your elbows and point your fingertips toward the ceiling; your upper arms and forearms should be at a 90-degree angle.

6. Tuck your tailbone in slightly and press your hips forward as you draw your thighs back. Keep your knees in line with your toes. Soften your shoulders. Gaze softly at the horizon.

7. Hold for up to 10 breaths. To release, slowly return your hands to your hips. Keeping your spine upright, inhale as you press firmly into your feet and straighten your legs. Step your feet together and come back to the top of your mat in Mountain Pose.

Downward Dog:

1. Start in an all-fours position, with your hips above your knees and shoulders above your wrists.

2. Bring your hands slightly forwards of your shoulders, with your middle finger pointing forward, spread your fingers.

3. Think about creating a suction cup in the middle of your palm by pressing through the outer edges of the palm, the base of the fingers and the fingertips.

4. Create a spiral action in your arms by rolling your upper arms away from you and your forearms spiraling inwards

5. Tuck your toes under, and on an exhalation, engage your lower belly drawing the navel back to the spine. Press through your hands and lift your hips back and up to bring yourself into an upside-down V pose.

6. Keep your knees bent at first as you find length in your spine.

7. Slide your shoulder blades down along the spine, collar bones spread. The base of the neck relaxed.

8. Maintaining length in the spine, ‘walk your dog’ by alternately bending and straightening your legs. Eventually bringing both heels towards the floor. They do not have to touch the floor.

9. Inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Stay for 5 breaths.

Camel Pose:

1. Begin kneeling with your thighs perpendicular to the floor and your knees and feet hip-distance apart. 

2. Extend your big toes straight back, pressing down with all 10 toenails and firming your outer ankles into your midline. 

3. Spin your inner thighs back, and gently release the flesh of your buttocks toward the backs of your knees. 

4. Your pelvis is neutral, neither spilling forward nor spilling back, and stacks directly over your knees. 

5. Root down from the tops of your feet to your knees; rebound up with your chest. 

6. Bring your palms together in front of your sternum and drop your chin toward your sternum. 

7. Take an inhalation to emphasize the lift of your chest, (palms facing forward). 

8. With the next exhalation, keeping your chin dropping and your pelvis over your knees, take your hands to your heels. 

9. Immediately press your shoulder blades forward and up and coil your thoracic spine to lift your chest any amount more. Having created more space/extension in your upper back, your head can now drop back and hang freely. Continue pressing down with your feet and lower legs in order to lift with your thoracic spine and chest. 

10. Hold for 5–10 breaths, then, leading with your sternum, use an inhalation to come up (head is the last part of the body to exit).

Finally, meet Dr. Stefi Cohen – Bad Ass Woman #3

Dr. Cohen is a 25x world-record-holding powerlifter and the first woman in history to deadlift 4.4x her body weight. Among her exceptionally long list of accomplishments, she has the all-time world record in the squat, deadlift, and total in two weight classes. Not only is she a multiple world record holding powerlifter, but she is also an exercise physiologist and Doctor of Physical Therapy. She is also leading the Hybrid Performance Method, a coaching company aimed to help you look like a bodybuilder, lift like a powerlifter and move like a weightlifter. We broke down a few of the exercises she performs along with her powerlifting.

MED BALL SLAMS:

1. To start, stand tall with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, your knees and hips slightly bent, holding a medicine ball in both hands at your torso. Engage your core, drawing your abs toward your spine and rolling your shoulders back to start with perfect posture.

2. Squat down slightly to load the spring. Then, in one powerful motion, inhale and press through your heels before rising on the balls of your feet. Extend your knees and hips as you rise to power the upward swing of your arms and lift the medicine ball overhead. The ball should be almost straight overhead with your arms extended at the height of the movement. Keep your arms straight, not leaning back so the ball is behind you.

3. Use your core and your arms to slam the medicine ball straight down between your feet with as much force as you can. Press your hips back and bend your knees to further power the slam. Exhale as you slam the ball down.

4. Squat down to pick up the ball from the floor, then immediately move into the next slam by powerfully using your calves, quads, hamstrings, and glutes to rise to standing. Come up on the balls of your feet again as you lift the medicine ball overhead.

5. Continue for a full set of slams (either several reps or a time interval).

SPRINTING INTERVALS:

1. Run your intervals. Mark off a distance where you are running that is 40 to 50 yards long. After doing your warm-up, come to this location and sprint as hard as you can for the whole distance. Jog back to your starting point and sprint again. Repeat this sequence five to six times.

DUMBBELL LATERAL TO FRONT RAISES

1. Start standing with dumbbells in hand and a slight bend in the elbows. Inhale. Raise your arms out laterally to shoulder height. Move the dumbbells horizontally as you end in a front raise. With control lower the dumbbells down in front and return them to your side. Repeat.

All of these women embody being a BADASS and living life with passion and courage. They are powerful, unique, and fearless. Give these movements a try.

There is one thing you should be doing to improve your health and fitness, and it’s not doing an extra set, adding a mile to your run or eating kale (especially this one). If you take the pillars of health – nutrition, exercise, and sleep – how would you rank them when it comes to boosting health, fitness, and living longer? If you ranked sleep third, you’ve got the order wrong, according to Dr. Kirk Parsley, M.D., a globally-recognized health-and-wellness authority and sleep expert, he says: “Sleep literally affects every aspect of your physiology, psychology, or any other ‘-ology’ out there”.

6 Reasons Sleep Has Crucial Health Benefits

A good nights sleep can payoff and these are the benefits you get from plentiful, robust sleep: 

1. Immune function recovers and improves. A good offense is the best defense when it comes to fighting off a bad cold, flu or worse.
2. Diseases are fought. Chronic sleep loss is linked to heart disease, obesity, and chronic stress. Consistent quality sleep contributes to prevention.
3. Sleep benefits memory. There’s a considerable amount of science describing the role sleep has in forming memories. Cognition as a whole benefits from good sleep. This could translate to a connection between only getting five hours of sleep a night and constantly losing your car keys.
4. Hormones are rebalanced. If you work the night shift, you have probably encountered myriad issues related to metabolism and health. The same goes for chronic sleep loss or lack of quality sleep. Essentially, poor sleep undercuts hormonal regulation — hormones being the chemical messengers that coordinate complicated systems like growth, recovery, and energy.
5. Muscles grow and tissues are repaired. Exercise and healthy foods are a good combination to spur the growth of muscles and the healing of beat up joints. Sleep is where the bulk of this restoration is performed. 
6. Your “willpower” tank is filled. The Stanford School of Public Medicine is blunt about how poor sleep shreds your ability to fight off cravings and dig up the motivation you need to get in your daily workout. Lack of sleep impairs discipline and self-control: “Unchecked, the brain overreacts to ordinary, everyday stress and temptations. Studies show that the effects of sleep deprivation on your brain are equivalent to being a little bit drunk!”

In short, it’s during a good night of sleep that your body churns sound nutrition and exercise into health. Sleep also offers a plethora of benefits when it comes to your mental function. You’ll be more motivated, emotionally stable, better able to focus, and will make better decisions. Mudder take heed.

A Power Routine To Boost Your Sleep

To begin to boost your sleep, treat yourself like you would a child; establish a bedtime routine.

Set a time for lights out. Just like you were managing five-year-old. Pick a bedtime and work backward from there through the tips that follow. Stick to the same bedtime nightly for best results.

Just say no to screens. Avoid TV, your laptop, smartphone and the like for at least two hours prior to your bedtime. The blue light from digital media triggers brain chemistry that wakes you up. Think of it this way, we still have the wiring of our cavemen ancestors — who were not wired for much more than moonlight after sunset. Certainly not blue light from screens that stimulates the brain and inhibits the production of sleep-inducing melatonin.

Be sensible with the coffee. This tip borders on the obvious but if you struggle to fall asleep at night take a hard look at how late in the day you sip on coffee, can of coke, or black tea. The caffeine could easily be messing you up. Experiment with cutting back and cutting yourself off at noon or even before. 

Make any evening exercise the low-key variety. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a potent way to improve your nightly dose of sleep. But here’s the rub, a butt-kicking workout in the evening is going to have you too wound up for anything resembling drowsiness. That said, soothing types of exercise like basic stretching can boost your sleep in a stellar way. 

No kidding around when it comes to lights out. Related to the previous tip about screens, make your bedroom dark — as in deep cave dark — for quality sleep. Shroud light-emitting clocks, watches and phones or better yet, stick them in a drawer. Check your curtains for incoming trickles of light. Could be time to invest in some blackout curtains?

Dr. Parsley says: “In my clinical experience, much of what most people think of as normal aging is actually more tied to sleeping habits than one’s chronological age. Forgetting why you walked into a room, continually misplacing things, hurting when you stand-up, getting fatter, weaker, dumber, slower, and colder are the markers of hormonal changes caused by inadequate sleep. Your body isn’t counting years, it is responding to your metabolic and physiologic environment.”

So if you have the desire to slow the aging process with a health-and-wellness lifestyle, then making seven to nine hours a night of good sleep a routine is a must.

Now put the screen down and go do something good for yourself. But before you go, make sure you sign up for our newsletter and stay in the loop on all fitness, health, and exercise expertise.

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Spring Back into Fitness ..

Spring is right around the corner, which means longer days and nicer weather. The long days of Spring and Summer are opportunistic for getting fit in the outdoors. Cool nights with more accommodating temperatures offer runners the option to get in some distance in the dark, while avoiding scorching daytime heat. Training once the sun has set does take getting used to, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. Nothing can compare to the escapism of the blissful silence, when bombing down lanes with just the comfort of your own moving bubble of light. Exhilarating, peaceful and addictive. 

With huge numbers of us now working from home now due to COVID-19, it is more necessary than ever to get out of the confines of your workspace. With a lot of daily responsibilities to still balance, training at night might be the only time to effectively do so. However, working out at dusk and night is different to working out in daylight. It is important for everyone to use common sense and practice safety. Be alert, Be prepared and most important Be Aware.

So, whatever your motivation for evening training, you should take a few precautions when training at night:

1. Bring your phone along

Your phone is not just good at taking Instagramable pictures, it is also imperative to have in the event of an emergency. Adding a GPS tracking App is easy and an effective way to staying safe. Additionally, ensure your phone battery is fully charged.

2. Make plans with a training buddy

If going out with someone is not possible, share your plans. Let someone know you are out and about training or leave a note just in case something unexpected happens.

3. Protect yourself

Carry appropriate lightweight gear, such as bear spray or loud whistles to scare off predators. At night when vision is dimmed, you will be relying more heavily on hearing to maintain awareness of your surroundings, so it’s best if you leave your headphones at home.

4. Invest in the right safety gear

That means clothing AND accessories. You should also avoid wearing an all-black kit, opting for at least one brightly colored item which can help you to be easily seen by traffic. In addition to brightly colored gear, it’s a good idea to use light up accessories. For instance, attaching flashing or blinking safety lights allow you to stand out more than your typical static reflective materials. 

5. Scout your route

Check out where you plan to exercise in daylight to identify potential hazards, since they will be harder to spot at night. In all, its best to head out for a few daytime runs in this new area to gather all the intel you can.

In many respects, working out at night is like many other outdoor activities you need to prepare for. If you think ahead and take these few precautionary steps, you will be set up for success and can head out more confidently.

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We’re all about keeping everyone moving, feeling good and making it fun along the way. With kids still home from school, there’s an opportunity to see an adventure where you can make the most mundane things into exciting activities and daredevil challenges.

Enter the home obstacle exercises, which activity will be your favorite? Will you beat the balance beam to avoid the lava floor, out scuttle the creepiest of crawlies, or maybe release your inner secret agent? Here’s 4 different activities to get your Mini Mudders moving.

Along with our friends at Lidl, we asked our official Tough Mudder trainer and father of three Born Barikor to create some new videos for you that your kids will love.

Looking for more ideas? Sign up for our newsletter for nutrition tips, workout guides, and more.

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Life is busy. Between work, family, friends and running your household, it can be hard to cram in a workout. There is plenty of pressure to be strong, fit and social, all at the same time.

Enter the group workout. Group workouts are so much more than catching up or making connections over burpees. Once you’re surrounded by a community, you will find it easier to work harder than you can on your own. Working out with others will also help improve your consistency because ˜no shows” are noticed and canceling on friends will earn you an earful. Positive peer encouragement can help cut the urges to skip or quit. A little friendly competition provided by your group can also boost the intensity of your effort. Here are a couple other reasons why working out with a group will help you level up.

1.Find support and accountability

Working out as a group creates a sense of camaraderie: everyone is working towards the same goal. Group workouts exude positivity, and serve as an open invitation for people of all different ages, backgrounds, and abilities to come together in one inclusive experience. Not to mention, build passion and intention, all without judgement or expectation.

Working with others is a key life skill.This culture has made staying fit a central aspect of our social lives. Making friends and spending time with them while exercising can give everyone common ground to build stronger relationships and live a healthier lifestyle 

2. Fitness and fun 

One of the most commonly cited reasons people choose to attend group workouts, is because of the fun factor. Group workouts prove that the old saying “no pain, no gain,” couldn’t be further from the truth. When in reality,, an effective group workout should be more  fun, than a painstaking one. .

In a world where we’ve become so dependent on mobile communication, working out with a group offers that much needed human interaction. Group workouts have the dynamics that technology will never replace. Get out of your cubicle, your car or your house and go meet other people that have a common interest just like you. You never know, you might just meet some real friends instead of the ones you find online.

Three Great Workouts You Can Do With Your Group :

TOUR THE PYRAMIDS 

On your exotic tour of the fitness pyramids, you will overcome three of the most challenging circuits. Luckily, they get smaller as you progress. Complete each pyramid as a group and take a 1:00 rest between each set.

PYRAMID 1 

50 Sit-ups

40 Push-ups

30 Box Jumps (24” Men / 20” Women)

20 Mountain Climbers

10 Bench Dips

PYRAMID 2

40 Sit-ups

30 Push-ups

20 Box Jumps (24” Men / 20” Women)

10 Mountain Climbers

PYRAMID 3

30 Sit-ups

20 Push-ups

10 Box Jumps (24” Men / 20” Women)

6 Mountain Climbers

Everything 8  AMRAP

This workout drill involves 4,  8 minute AMRAPs (As Many Rounds as Possible)

You will complete as many rounds of each circuit as possible within the 8 minutes. Record your number completed before progressing to the next circuit. This workout is 32 minutes of strength endurance.

After each 8 minute circuit, rest for 2:00 before progressing to the next one. 

AMRAP 1: Upper Body

1. 10 Narrow Push Ups

2. 10 Donkey Kicks 

3. 10 Hand-release  Push ups  

4. 20 Crab Toe Touches 

AMRAP 2: Lower Body

1. 20 Lunges 

2. 15 BW Squats 

3. 8 Lateral Bounds

4. 20 Side Lunges

AMRAP 3: Total Body

1. 5 Kneeling plyo push up

2. 5 triangle pushups 

3. 5 plank walk outs 

4. 5 Squat/tuck jumps 

AMRAP 4: Cardio

1. 20 High knees 

2. 8 Pushup then Sprint to Cone and Back (20 M)

3. 10 Burpees 

4. 20 Mountain Climbers

The Big Oval

Mark out a large circle of cones (or use sidewalk chalk to draw a circle) big enough to place eight different stations inside the circle and space for everyone in the group to perform the movement inside. You will need a timer to keep pace for each station. 

Designate each station with one of the exercises below.

After completing each station, the group will run a lap around the circle before going to the next station.

Make sure everyone is exercising inside the circle leaving the outside free for runners.

The group will go through the eight stations twice to complete the workout. 

For each station there is one minute of work then run a lap. 

Station 1. Ski Jumps 

Station 2. Kettlebell Swings

Station 3. Sandbag Thrusters 

Station 4. Lunges  

Station 5. Mountain Climbers 

Station 6. Goblet Squat 

Station 7. V-Ups Station 8. Jumping Jacks

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