Spartan Beast Training

Five Devastatingly Effective Spartan Beast Training Tips

Ready to get into Beast mode? We’re here to help! What follows is the Fitness On Fire training tips for repeat Beasts or Beasts in the making. Use these tips as a checklist to enhance endurance, increase your mileage, strengthen your grip, improve your obstacle game and prepare for the fun that lies ahead!

1. Understand The Beast Difference - More Trails, More Obstacles

The Spartan Beast brings it. It’s a half-marathon on challenging terrain with no less than (wait for it!) 30 obstacles. Here’s how the Spartan Beast compares to the Spartan Sprint and the Spartan Super in terms of mileage and obstacles:

• Spartan Sprint: 5k/20 obstacles
• Spartan Super: 10k/25 obstacles
• Spartan Beast: 20k/30 obstacles

According to Spartan’s website, the Spartan Beast is “a soul-crushing half marathon, with brutal ascents and descents.” As Spartan Beast vets, we can attest to the sheer physical strength you’ll need to complete this course. When you cross that finish line, you’ll feel like a true warrior, and rest assured—you are. 

2. Increase Endurance and Overcompensate on Obstacles

During your Fitness On Fire training program, our main goal is to significantly strengthen your grip, increase your mileage, improve your endurance and get you through those obstacles. And, it bears repeating—the Beast has 30 obstacles.

We don’t want you to make the same mistake we see happen at least once, every single race. That is, don’t come to the gym one night before your first race hoping to learn every obstacle.

Learning any skill takes time. Even if you’re strong and fit, it takes repetition and preparation to understand the techniques and hacks that will serve you well on race day. Even developing a strong grip takes practice. Dedicate time to exercising your body, learning new skills, push past your boundaries and overcome your weaknesses.

There’s a process known as myelination. It’s a fancy way to describe how the brain gets sharper after each training session. We can’t argue with science!

3. Train for distance and terrain

To set yourself up for success, you must increase your mileage. The Spartan Beast is a half-marathon so to complete it successfully, you have to be comfortable running long-distance.

There is one caveat. It’s easy to forget to train the terrain. One of the biggest challenges in any OCR and especially a Spartan Race is the terrain. To train properly, you must run trails. This will give you the skills and endurance you need to bring it on race day. When you exercise on trails, you work the feet, ankles, connective tissues, and legs in an entirely different way than running on a flat road. 

4. Food is fuel and water is your BFF!

Physical strength is only one component of a Spartan Beast training program. When you combine solid nutritional habits with strength and endurance training, you become unstoppable.

We’re not going to tell you exactly what to eat in this article because everyone is different. For a personalized nutritional plan, we definitely recommend you seek out the advice of your Fitness On Fire coach. This section focuses on tips to help you use food and water the way nature intended—as fuel for your body.  

• Be consistent. The traditional daily food plan is three meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This works for some, but not all. Your eating plan might be a combination of traditional days of three meals, mixed with a few days of intermittent fasting. Or, you can decide to eat smaller meals frequently throughout the day. Your plan is unique, just like you. The important thing is to develop a nutritional program and stick to it. If you need help ironing the details out, feel free to contact us for an individualized program.  

Looking for a personalized checklist to help you prepare for your next Spartan Beast? Contact us directly at 949-502-5815 or [email protected]

• Plan ahead. Meal planning is one of the best ways to stick to a consistent diet and avoid going overboard. It’s not necessary to spend all Sunday prepping your meals if that’s not your thing. Small changes make a big difference. Whether it’s chopping up veggies to prepare for the week, pre-measuring and dividing your favorite snack foods to grab and go, or making a list of meals you want to cook during the week so you avoid impulse buying, every little bit helps. Planning ahead is crucial in helping you stick to a nutritional plan that works.
• Practice mindful eating. It’s best to eat until you feel satisfied, not sick. Remember, you don’t have to feel completely stuffed after every meal. Eat slowly, savor the taste and minimize distractions while you eat to help your body realize it’s satiated.
• Develop a love for water! Beast or no Beast, your body needs water. Hydration is crucial to your nutritional plan and your training regimen. Competing in the Beast means being outside for anywhere from 3-6 hours.  Competitive ultra runners sometimes calculate their sweat loss rate during a race, to replenish and rehydrate the water they lose while running. While there are often water stations throughout the course, not all Spartan Races are created equal. Do your body a favor and increase your water intake, stat!

5. Success Comes to Those Who Train

Perhaps you run often but avoid strength training. Maybe you’re the Hulk in the weight room but haven't run further than a 5k—ever. OCR is different from any other sport. It requires that all three of your energy systems work together in harmony. You need to be strong to carry, powerful to climb, and able to endure running long distances. To do this, you must follow a training program.

Use this simple circuit to start thinking about how to train your body for strength, endurance, and power. 

• 400m Run
• Wall Jump x 1
• Burpee Pull-Ups x 5
• Carry for 90 seconds
• Repeat as desired 

This simple circuit is one of the many OCR Circuits we use in-house at Fitness On Fire and on-demand. If you would like for us to help prepare you for your next race, give us a call, shoot us an email, or check us out here.

Contact us to book your free private workout session with a certified SGX trainer at 949-502-5815 or [email protected].