If you are into Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) and aren't including these 5 exercises into your routines, then chances are you are going to struggle with the various climbing obstacles. 

i.e.- Monkey bars, Rope climbs, Multi-rigs, Get to the Chopper, etc. 

 The good news is though, there are ways to help build that strength needed to Conquer ANY of these obstacles and it can be obtained by adding these exercises into your routine, as opposed to just trying to build them on the actual obstacle itself. 

Be warned though, the best way to build the skill necessary to conquer these obstacles is on the actual obstacle itself, but at the same time you need to build the strength up first. 

Here are my Top 5 exercises for you to start adding in;

1) Pull-ups 
This should be the obvious one and it is why it's the 1st one mentioned. 

Benefits: 
Not only will this exercise build your upper back and arm strength, it'll also help improve your grip...

One of the things I love about being an American Ninja Warrior athlete and involved in the National Ninja League competitions is the variation of obstacles in each of the challenges. 

Yes, there are a lot of repeats, and yes there are staple obstacles in most of these competitions. And yet each and every year there is something new and exciting to face. 

Which is why I plan on switching up my OCR races and have decided, at the moment, to stay away from any Spartan race in 2019.
I have yet to see Spartan races introduce a new obstacle since they introduced (or really reintroduced*) the Ape Hanger at the Palmerton Super in July of 2016. Instead they have decided to bring back the "Spartan Gladiators" so you can get hit as you cross the finish line.

THANKS FOR THE "EXTRA" CHALLENGE ;) oh wait maybe I should say beating at the end of the race.

Instead why not take a look at what other smaller OCR companies are doing, and coming up with new challenging obstacles that will...

Hey, Coach Bryant here, and today's question is all about length.

How long are these obstacle course races that I'm signing up for?

It's gonna vary depending on which length you sign up for. Some beginner level ones are usually, typically gonna be about three to five miles long.

Then as you start getting a little more advanced, into that intermediate level, most of those will be between about six and 10 miles.

Your more advanced ones are gonna be 10 plus, all the way up to some that I know are over 30 miles, which that can get a little crazy.

On top of all that distance, throw in all the obstacles and you got yourself a nice little challenge. So when you're signing up for these races, make sure you're doing your research and checking out the distance.

Most obstacle course races will be around 3-5 miles. You'll typically see 5K mud run around it, or obstacle course race distance somewhere on the site, so look for those if you're just starting out.

If you want more of a challenge, go...

Hey, Coach Bryant here, and today I'm gonna answer the question, how much strength training do I really need to do for these obstacle course races?

The answer is, a lot.This is the most overlooked aspect of most people's training when it comes to obstacle course racing. They're fine on the cardio, and then they suck wind
on the obstacles. You need to be doing strength training.

If you're not doing pull-ups, if you're not doing rows, if you're not doing push-ups, burpees, bench presses, lat pull-downs, all that stuff that's gonna be necessary to give you the strength to get over walls, up ropes, carrying buckets of rocks. If you're not doing that stuff, you're going to fail almost every obstacle, and you're gonna be exhausted, if you're even able to reach the finish line.

You've got to strength train. I cannot emphasize that enough. There are programs out there.
There are DVDs out there. There are trainers like myself that are here to help you with it. The reason this is the most...

Hey, Coach Bryant here, and today I'm going to answer the question, how do I survive a Spartan, Tough Mudder, or really any obstacle course race for that matter?

The answer is simple. You need to be prepared.
Which means you need to prepare for three major things, the physical, nutritional, and mental aspects of the race. 

If you can conquer those three aspects, then you'll be able to conquer any obstacle course race, or really anything that life can throw at you. The hardest part of being prepared, though, is knowing how to prepare, which is why I've taken some of that guessing game out for you, and I'm sharing one of my free cheat sheets to prepare for one of those aspects.

So by clicking the link above, you'll be able to grab my cheat sheet on race distances and the apps associated with training for those distances. Not only that, I'll share with you the benefits because I've done all the research for you. So make sure you grabt hat cheat sheet above and start preparing for...