Hello, warriors! It’s crunch time, and we are down to the home stretch before our big weekend to shine! Considering this isn’t a see who can cover 20.13 miles the fastest type of race, I figured we should focus on survival and comfort for this last series of tips! With proper preparation and planning, your time on the course will be fun, exciting and carefree! To start things off, I want to mention what a special treat you are all in for this coming weekend. I had the luxury of spending this past weekend out at the Ranch with Vol, his family, and the rest of the RPR crew while myself and about 50 contenders participated in the Spartan Race along with about 12,000 + other people! We had an amazing time and left very excited (and muddy) knowing we would be back for the beloved Carry the Load event. Be prepared for a first-class experience for you and all who are attending.

At this point in your conditioning, your legs should feel powerful, your abs should feel tighter and your cardio should be pumped up! Hopefully, you have found some durable athletic shoes or hiking boots, spent some time in them under a load (no matter how small) and hit the dirt for some off-road experience. I would encourage you to spend the next three days going at it hard: squats, cardio, abs and stretching everyday (remember to utilize YouTube for examples of calf, hamstring, quads and hip stretches). You should make Wednesday your last hard workout day, take an active recovery day on Thursday and use Friday as an off-day.

On Wednesday, you should implement the plan I had mentioned in early threads regarding hydration (drink 1 gallon per day through Saturday), nutrition (don’t skip meals, have snacks readily available) and salt (apply liberally at least 1 meal per day). You want the extra salt to help your body balance with the hyper-hydration you are putting it through! Additionally, I would encourage everyone to be prepared and consume an electrolyte drink/supplement throughout the day on Saturday (Gatorade, Accelerade, Nuun, Cytomax, etc.) Most of us will have spent the majority of the day out in the sun before the physical part of the event even takes place; so, please realize that even when standing out in the elements your body is using up energy that you could use later on the course! At the Spartan Race, I witnessed several people experiencing pretty severe heat-related issues, so PLEASE be prepared, as it’s going to be hot! Bring an ice chest with clean ice, water and fresh hand towels to put on your head or back to help keep you cool down between laps. Make sure you have spoken to all your teammates to figure out logistics. Strategies will vary depending on how many people are on your team; but, plan on being there for your teammates and put out as much effort as you can. Remember it is not a race, but you want to represent well and make it a fun, memorable experience for those around you!

Hope this helps and as before, these are just some guidelines to help steer you through a successful adventure. Feel free to contact any of your team captains with specific training, nutrition, or even logistical questions you may have! Keep in mind our company motto is “Live Adventurously” and we like to back it up!

Happy training and hydrate well, my friends!

Brant Hatton, Primary Trainer Camp Gladiator/CG Arena

I hope you were able to spend some precious time with your moms on Mother’s Day!  Or, at least had a moment to honor them and got a chance to overindulge! After all, that is why we train so hard, so we can enjoy the “spoils ” of our labor. With 13 days until our Carry the Load event, it is time to lace up those heavy duty athletic shoes and get to laboring! This week’s installment will once again focus on just that. Two weeks ago, I encouraged all of you warriors to start spending time walking, hiking, or just moving with some weight in a pack to help your core, shoulder, and back muscles get used to bearing load. Now, it’s time to ramp up lower body strength and mobility by implementing this basic routine six of the next 13 days, never to be done two days in a row. Disclaimer:  Depending on your fitness level and current workout regimen, it may be done on top of an existing program or combined with the cardio recommendations from week 1.

CIRCUIT TO BE COMPLETED ONE TIME THROUGH, NO TIME LIMIT.

80 air squats:  Use a chair or bench as a guide and simply squat down until your butt just touches the edge of the seat, then return to full upright position. You should be able to wiggle your toes throughout the whole squat. Do as many as you can without stopping. Hold weight to progress movement.

50 hip bridges: Lie on the floor as if you are going to do a sit up. With upper body and arms relaxed on the floor, squeeze your glutes and hamstring to lift your hips up towards the ceiling. Emphasize pushing through your heels and squeezing at the top for 3 seconds each rep.

40 calf raises: Stand on the edge of a step or curb to allow adequate range of movement at the ankle joint.  Lower one leg at a time, keeping your toes on the step and lowering your heel toward the ground.

30 stationary lunges: Get into a stagger stance as if doing traveling lunges; go up and down on one leg at a time (30 one leg then 30 the other).  Be sure that the heel of the rear foot stays off the ground and just your toes are touching.

20 narrow prisoner squats: Follow the air squats mentioned above.  Add the arms overhead and feet close together (shoes are touching).  No weight and do them fast but controlled.

10 squat jumps: You decide how high, just be smart about it.

That takes care of strength, now to finish off with some stretching!

Hold each stretch 20-30 seconds.

Quads: Reach back and grab one ankle. Pull your heel into your bottom and hold.

Hamstring: Prop one heel up on a chair or stationary object about knee level. Keeping your hips square and the foot on the floor facing the same direction, lean and push hips forward at the same time.

Butterfly (inner thighs): Sit on the floor, bring the soles of your feet together and heels in towards the hips as close as you can. Allow the knees to relax towards floor.

Calves: Stand and drop one heel off a curb or a stair step to allow for a deep stretch.

As always, these are just basic recommendations. For specific or custom exercises, feel free to contact  Camp Gladiator, our official fitness sponsors of Carry the Load-Austin. www.campgladiator.com or your favorite local fitness professional. Also, if you’re unclear on any of the above exercises or stretches you may YouTube them for a quick demo.

*Once an individual/team has reached their fundraising goal of either $150/$500, Camp Gladiator will send a coupon code from infoaustin@campgladiator.com that will allow them to register online for the full value of 1 boot camp ($160). New campers only.