6 Ways To Train & Prepare For OCR World Champs
Nice work! you’ve qualified for the worlds and you’re ready to take your training to the next level.
Whether you’re entering journey man, age category or fancy your chances in the elite wave, training for the worlds is going to require grit, consistency, determination & damn right hard work if you’re to keep that band & be successful.
Your 8 weeks out now so below are some simple training tips you can follow over the next couple of months that will help you prepare for your big day:
1. Sports Specific & T.U.F Conditioning
Its one thing to perform your OCR skills when you’re fresh and when the pressure is off, but OCR athletes also need to display coordination. & composure when they’re tired, grip is fatigued and when the pressure is on.
A typical sports specific OCR session is where we start to mix skills with aerobic output.
These type of conditioning sessions are great for 8 weeks out from your chosen A Race. And perfect as the worlds are around the corner.
We call this T.U.F Conditioning here at Unbreakable which stands for technique under fatigue.
The goal here is to train skills under fatigue. Then we replicate race conditions and to get used to transitioning from running to obstacle with an elevated heart rate.
SAMPLE TUF CONDITIONING SESSIONS
OCR-Intervals
For example 30 secs of an obstacle skill into 30 seconds of running sprints, 30 secs of an obstacle skill into 30 secs of running sprints.
Repeat that for 5 minutes & go pretty hard.
Then take a 2–3 minute rest. Then do another 5 minute block like that, perhaps pairing a different OCR skill with sprints.
Tempo Zone
A steady prolonged effort transitioning between running & obstacle, running & obstacle.
Working comfortably hard for a duration of 30–50 mins at an intensity of somewhere between hard & easy, it should feel like an 8 out of 10 on the RPE scale.
These 2 TUF conditioning sessions will toughen you up for race day for sure!
If you live near an obstacle gym then great, but if not then that’s cool, you can still replicate T.U.F Conditioning just as effectively in your gym or in your local woodlands.
2. Running
Firstly, if your outcome goal is to just keep the band then I wouldn’t worry too much about following a detailed running plan at this late stage. If you’re already following one then great, but it’s likely that you’re already fit enough & have developed a good aerobic base by now now, your main focus now is obstacle technique & T.U.F conditioning so simply adjust your training accordingly.
If, however, you want to go for a top 25 position in age category (for example) then yes you’ll need to increase your speed so you’ll want to focus on getting faster over the next few months.
3. Grip Endurance
Increasing your dead hang time is still going to improve your grip endurance which in turn is going to increase your chances of obstacle completion.
Take elite obstacle racer Ryan Atkins for example, he has a cast-iron grip & can dead hang for 10 minutes.
Do you think he has problems on obstacles? 🤔
He also doesn’t do any regular obstacle specific type training. He does however do ALOT of bouldering & climbing though and has done for many years. His grip endurance has been a long term process.
Dead hanging isn’t sexy but still remains an effective way to boost grip endurance. It can be easily incorporated into your workouts & you’ll only need 5–10 minutes a couple of times a week to start seeing results.
Yep we know that obstacle proficiency is important too and you should practise that too but upping your hanging game too will double your chances of obstacle completion.
🎯 Target – 3 minute + dead hang before worlds
4. Eat Well & Stay hydrated.
Dehydration has a big say on your running performances. It can also have an affect on your recovery for tomorrow’s workout too.
We also know that being dehydrated can decrease physical performance by 1% and cognitive performance can decline by up to 5%.
^^ that’s just a 1% body water deficit. If it’s more then performance will drop even more.
That 1% you might need for that strength over that last obstacle & that mental focus could be the difference between completing an obstacle first time round or making a silly mistake.
Food-wise,
your energy levels are a by-product of the food that you’re eating. If you’re feeling tired all the time or you’re not getting the best out of your workouts then it’s very likely that you’re not fuelling correctly.
Make sure you drink 2 litres of water a day. with high magnesium levels, add a pinch of organic sea salt in it too to help your body retain it. (it’s no use slugging down 2 litres a day if you’re pissing like a race horse),
& get a healthy breakfast, lunch & dinner inside of you when you’re training.
Keep it simple. You’ll notice the difference.
Again, you probably already know how to eat healthy, but how frequently are you applying it?
5. Get to a worlds training day
There are some great worlds training days here in the U.K. coming up soon. Rumble Fitness, Wild Forest and The PT Barn are all hosting worlds training days where you can get some coaching tips & practise on the most common obstacles that you’re likely to see at the worlds.
100% book one in. It will be a wise investment.
6. Everyone Needs A Coach
^^ I love this quote from coach Dan John from his book Never Let Go.
As obstacle racers, myself included, we tend to choose the training methods & systems that we like & are comfortable with.
Its very rare that we’ll accurately choose the exercises & training components that we suck at & need to work on.
Moral of the story?
Identify your BIGGEST weaknesses & training components that you NEED to do but haven’t been doing, and then DO them.
Although if you’re not doing them, for whatever “reason” then consider that you’ll need to get more accountable to someone & demonstrate the art of consistency… for a while at least.
Accountability is the glue that ties the commitment to the result.
^^ Yep, read that again
It’s one of the reasons why I created my new OCR Players Club actually,
it’s a place for obstacle racers of all levels who have the same objective in mind – to train hard, have fun & improve on their OCR performances.
At the end of the day, and when you reach that start line come-what October , it’s simple, and we have a choice,
we’ll have either done the work required or not.
And when you cross that finish line you’ll either have a band ….or an excuse
What’s it to be?
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That’s it,
follow those 6 simple tips, be consistent with them and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your OCRWC goals.
And if you need any help with any of the above then let me know.
Best of luck & make sure you bring that band home for us.
You’ve got this!
Sam Winkworth
#KeepTheBand
PS – did we miss something? What does your OCR world champs training schedule. look like?
Tell us below as we’d love to hear it 👇👇
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Sam Winkworth is the creator of the unbreakable project designed for OCR athletes who want to podium on a world stage. He is also the co-founder of the OCR Players Club. A group for obstacle racers of all levels who want to train hard, have fun & improve on their OCR performances.
