5 Mistakes Beginners Make in a Spartan Race

[@DevinCooper-p1h]

Just completed my first spartan race 3 days ago in the 30-34 age group heat for the Super. Was definitely an eye opener in my strengths and weaknesses. I've always loved having variety in my workouts and doing heavy carries, plyometrics, and even martial arts (mobility/power) helped me a lot in the race. But my stamina can definitely improve since doing some road work months before the race was very new for me. My grip strength could also improve even more since that was the limiting factor in 3 of the 4 obstacles I failed. All in all though, it was a very humbling and exciting experience and I can't wait to see my progress onto the next one.

[@lanisemckenzie5011]

Hey hey big thanks Josiah, big love and appreciation! I'll be running my first spartan in 3 months. I decided to begin with the 5k obstacle sprint. I'm grateful for these tips and all the knowledge and inspiration you share here. Question: I am curious to know your thoughts on gloves or no gloves for the race? Or if you can speak to equipment such as wearing a waterbag or knee braces etc. Again, much appreciation and all the best to you🙏🏿🙂

[@JosiahFitness]

Congrats on choosing a race!! Personally i don’t use gloves. I chalk up my hands prior to the race with lifting chalk. Gloves get too wet and slippery. Big tip is to crawl on your elbows and forearms if going through mud or wet areas. Keep your fists clenched if going under water. Try to keep your hands out of water at all costs unless you’re swimming. Worst case try and grab some grass or leaves to dry your hands off prior to an obstacle. Most importantly- have fun!!!! Which race are you doing ?

[@lanisemckenzie5011]

@@JosiahFitness For sure! Im confident it will be a next level fun. I'm REALLY excited about it, about the training prep journey and the race day, I'm looking forward to the experience. I like that it will be both challenging and stimulating for my mind body health etc.

[@NikolaTeslaEE]

I’ve completed multiple Spartans and Tough Mudder, including a Beast and an Infinity. Running trails or run/walking trails AND grip strength, grip endurance is the vast majority of what you need for OCR (Obstacle Course Races). Other important stuff is running gear, nutrition and hydration before AND during the race. Take note of aid stations with water and bananas. Drop some electrolytes on that water. Test your gear, electrolytes, and nutrition before race day. Do a trial run with heat on, eating and drinking. I’m 49 (in 2024) and still going strong. Been doing this since 2011. Best of Luck to everyone. God bless!

[@davidcummings3573]

Thanks for the practical advice.

[@douganderson4091]

Great video. Thanks!

[@fahadshub]

i have a 10k coming up next weekend, I think my mistake is not prepping at all. LOOL havent even ran a mile in like 4 years

[@linux5min]

in 2 days from now I am joining a spartan race, sprint 5k, its my first time and I am very unprepared... I will be careful to not hurt myself, but will do my best... the cool thing is I am already thinking of keep on training so I can see how much more I can do with a full year of training :)

[@JosiahFitness]

Let me know how it goes ok?

[@linux5min]

@@JosiahFitness I'll add it here :)

[@linux5min]

@@JosiahFitness here the report... I finished the sprint, 1h42m, I was happy that I finished, that was the objective, but now I feel like I should have pushed harder and finished a bit earlier... got cramps for the first time in my life and fixed them well enough to finish the race... Over all I think I did more than I expected to do, I just got left with a bad taste on my mouth I want more... As in I want more than be the 95 percentile xD I had a blast tho was a fun different day, but next time will be a serious competition against the guy who ran yesterday... :) PS: today everything hurts, am expecting it to be worse tomorrow and then tuesday start to get better :)

[@JosiahFitness]

@@linux5min well done!!! Next time you’ll be 10x better because you’ll know what to expect

[@linux5min]

@@JosiahFitness I will be better prepared for sure... have a year to work on my upper body strength :)

[@marek2013]

#1, wear gloves, you'll get blisters so quickly, and once you pop a blister the rest of the obstacles really suck. #2, upperbody stregth, make sure you can do lots of monkey bars or tricept pushes. Everything else is easy enough.

[@britamapule3862]

Very helpful thank you

[@larryfarkas]

Thank you brother.

[@Beazlilly80]

Thanks for the tips!! My first race is in February 2024 !!

[@caspian531]

How was it? Mine is in fall

[@adamwoodcreations]

How did it go? I have my first TRIFECTA this weekend. Sooooo a lot of this advice is too late

[@Krystal-d4z]

I'm 13 and I have my first race on October 1st, this helps a lot! Thanks :)

[@itsrealbrayan]

I recently quit smoking and started to improve my way of life and I joined this beginner race in Sparta and wish for some advice and suggestions

[@CdtFabio]

Fix for Mistakes 1&2: find a running plan that fits your goals and your current run base. Couch to 5k for your first sprint, 5k under X mins if you have a baseline 5k, hal higdon for your beast distances. Bonus tip: make sure you train your runs as much as possible on trails even if it's just one run a week.

[@NikkiNexo777]

I have my first sprint spartan race at the end of march. When should I start running and training for this race? I've been consistently weight training for the last seven years and consider myself in good shape. I'm 54.

[@alfredoalvarado8803]

Just finished the Sprint in Big Bear and it was crazy, I did it with almost no training. For the next one I’m definitely going to work myself up, to where I need to be with time.

[@WholeHealthConnections]

Thanks for the video. Some good tips and reminders. About to do my second Spartan race this weekend. First 10K 🤘🏼

[@adrianskiadi7461]

Just did my Spartan super 10k yesterday and I must say I rather to run one mile up the hill than 0.5 mile down the hill 😅. Top tips thanks💪👍

[@JosiahFitness]

I know that feeling

[@andrewziem370]

I just did my first Spartan Super 10K yesterday, and I feel the opposite way. I never ran up or down 1200 ft before, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I saved energy for running downhill, which is where I passed many people to help my ranking.

[@whips8]

Good video, I did the Sprint in Big Bear last year and just did the Super in Big Bear 2 days ago. I do a lot of pull ups so it helped a lot with the obstacles.

[@JosiahFitness]

That’s one of the races I want to do.

[@whips8]

@@JosiahFitness it’s a whole lot of incline and rocky terrain but very scenic and challenging

[@NotoriousFear]

Thanks for the tips. I got four months to train for it 🙏🏽

[@HCheatNcool]

Bro trust me I am running slow. No worries

[@pmoneyish6869]

I'm running my first sprint in Co Springs this Sat and was thinking the same thing lol. Being my first I'm more interested in the obstacles.

[@HCheatNcool]

@@pmoneyish6869 I’m running my first super in Asheville in August lol it is my first 10k

[@RGoodman-G5]

First time beast in two weeks can’t wait. Going for #1.

[@JosiahFitness]

Enjoy my friend.

[@misterry4067]

Man AG place 13 with over an hour is crazy. In most places i race even sub 1 doesn't get you near top 10 AG

[@donut6191]

I just finished my 10k 2 days ago. And joints were hurting 😭

[@savagesmite1911]

what if pee is clear clear😀

[@jcollins052006]

It's SOOOO true

[@baldymtngrizz2527]

Have you raced and Ultra? If so, was it difficult to meet the cut off times during the race?

[@ozzieserrano1888]

Depends where you do it. Some courses are more difficult than others. As long as you keep moving and keep a consistent pace, you can finish.

[@baldymtngrizz2527]

@@ozzieserrano1888 , yup. Finished my first Ultra Easter Weekend in San Jose. That course was fairly mild.

[@anthonyphillips6030]

❤❤