30 feet up, and nowhere to go but down. Just keep those sights set on the next ring and keep swinging – if you want to earn that headband.
This swinging-based obstacle might remind you of King Kong, and its named just so. Why? Because you’re going to have to learn how to swing like a gorilla–or, more accurately, like a chimpanzee. To begin, you’ll climb up to a platform where you’ll find yourself 30 feet off the ground and five rings away from the platform on the other side. From here, swing from rope to rope until you reach the other side. Once safely on the opposite platform, climb down. Be careful not to slip–you’ll be cushioned by a soft landing pad, but the fall will still bruise your ego. To avoid slipping, ensure you swing confidently. The rings can, at times, get muddy so be sure to wipe your hands before grabbing on.
How to train: Practice makes perfect, so now is a good time to start swinging. Head to your local playground to practice swinging from monkey bar to monkey bar, or try climbing at your local gym. Having the grip strength to hold onto the rings is an important aspect, so test your grip at the local gym by working on your dead hangs. Be sure to watch the training video at the bottom of this post.
Harder than it sounds? We asked World’s Toughest Mudders Stefanie Bishop, Ryan Atkins, and Nickademus Hollon how they completed Kong each lap:
Atkins: “Keep your arms straight and use a swinging momentum to go through. Try to use as little muscle engagement as possible.”
Bishop: “Try to keep your movement fluid when you grab onto another ring. If you have good momentum you will be able to grab each ring with both hands, which is a lot more secure than one. It helps when the rings get muddy. If you do this, keep moving or else you may get stuck hanging from a ring.”
Hollon: “I preferred the one-handed transfers to use the momentum to get from ring to ring. Don’t rush on this: just focus on back-forth-transfer.”
