Team Superhuman

What To Expect At Vermont Spartan Beast

Kirk WaidellLeave a comment

It seems like only yesterday I was slogging up the mountains of Killington at the 2014 Spartan Beast in Vermont. It was an enormous gut check on that mountain. Physically I was prepared. Earning my trifecta the previous year via the Carolina Beast, it was time to tackle the Super Bowl of Spartan Races, the Vermont Beast.

Race day approached and the morning was crisp with a chilly wind coursing through the air. The scene at the bottom of the mountain was electric, anxiety was flooding my body. No doubt, this would be a long day.

I finished the course in 9 hours, not to shabby. There were however, many lessons learned that day about Vermont Beast that I pass on to the people I train for Spartan, and will share some here with you.

There will be at least two sand bag carries, up a mountain, close to a mile hike for each one. Prepare your legs by carrying heavy stuff up and down a hill repeatedly. Lunges and squats are your friend for training.

Trail running is another huge part of this race. At least 3 miles running through a dense forest. The trails will be wet, muddy and slick, some points will barely be able to handle one person at a time. Prepare by running in the woods, off the beaten path.

Burdens. There will be several burden carries. Rock buckets, logs, atlas ball and sandbags. Prepare by carrying awkward stuff for mile walks. If it’s horrible, heavy and uncomfortable, use it to train.

It seems never ending. The ultimate mind fuck comes when you seem like you’ve been on the course forever, you ask the course Marshall how much further, they say “Two more miles” which is always bullshit. It will always be two more miles five miles ago, people will say all kinds of shit, “My fitbit says we’ve already gone 16 miles” blah, blah, blah. Don’t let the desire to get the mileage in your head. Just go. You will be up and down the mountain several times. Just when you think it’s got to be over, it’s not. Stay out of your head

Your ankles and knees will take an epic beating. So will your toes, especially the tips of your toes and toe nails. Keep your toe nails trimmed for race day. Wear proper compression gear for your joints if necessary.

Pull ups. A lot of your upper body will be used in this race. Pull ups are your ultimate muscle builder. You will be pulling yourself up over a lot of obstacles. You will also encounter the rig which will absolutely test your upper body strength. You will pull stuff on ropes, pulling is essential in your training. Become a pull up master.

Snacks and hydration. I found eating small amounts of gel packs to be a decent way to stay energized on the course. I had plenty of water, it’s the fuel that needs to be consumed on the course that is important. Find what works for you. I can’t eat protein bars or bites of any sort. They make me sick. Some people eat mustard packs, I saw people eating pizza and hoagies on the course. Find what fuels you and bring it.

*Don’t be afraid to bring some Advil or Tylenol or whatever. If your knees or back or ankle or whatever is hurting half way into the race, a few pain pills may help ease the pain for the duration of the course.

Cold swimming. Vermont water is freezing cold. Take your breath away cold, and it sucks. Get out of the water and keep moving. Not walking, but running, do burpees, but keep moving the moment you get out of the water.

There will be two barbed wire crawls, two spear throws and a rope climb with no knots. If you have access to a rope for climbing practice, use it.

So there you have it, some of what to expect at Vermonts Spartan Beast. Good luck to all of you participating in this years event. If you have any questions about training please don’t hesitate to contact me, and also join our newsletter!

Need a place to start for training for the 2016 season?

Check out my guide…

Spartan Race WODs

Kirk WaidellLeave a comment

This week the team shifts gears from Olympic style lifting and more towards the “Arnold” as I call it, style of lifting. Basic weightlifting with focus on specific muscle groups, biceps curls, dips, shoulder presses etc.

We will also be adding a running element to these workouts because Spartan race season is upon us, and the team will need to be in peak condition for the runs. This style of workouts will be the norm for the next three months. The workouts will address all elements of strength and endurance necessary to excel at an OCR.

WOD 1

Chest and Back

WOD 2

Biceps and Triceps

WOD 3

Shoulders

WOD 4

Legs

Thanks for reading. And good luck with this years Spartan Season!

60 days 20 Workouts, A Beginners Training Guide For Obstacle Course Racing

Kirk Waidell1 Comment

 

INTRODUCTION

Who this is for

Anybody who wants to prepare to run their first obstacle course race. Not just workout or lift weights, but utilize a training system designed for obstacle course racing. If you are a member of a gym, excellent you have all the equipment necessary to get started right away. If you train from home, this system will work for you as well. However, I strongly recommend training at a gym, everything you need for this training model should be at any gym. Finding a workout partner to help keep you motivated and accountable is a huge key to success. Get a friend to run with you, it will make the experience much more rewarding.

Who am I?

It has been almost a dozen years now, I was driving down the road, stuffing my face. There was a nice glaze of glistening Krispy Kreme donut goodness caked to beard, my gut provided a great shelf for any morsel of food that didn’t make it down my gullet.

I caught a glimpse of this gluttony and had a moment. A moment where I realized I was a fat pig. Again. Peering into my rear view mirror, glaze shining on my cheeks, I had a sad view into how disgusting I was. This was not the first time my grossness disturbed me. Like always, I would say I need to get in shape, but never really commit to anything other than a bag of chips and a six pack.

At home I would see my fatness in the mirror, clothes shopping had become another moment where I realized I was a slob. My waist was pushing forty inches and I began to develop man boobs. But still I procrastinated. What really got me was the view of food dripping from my chops like blood from the jaws of a wolf feeding on a fresh kill. Only my kill was sugary goodness and hot donut glaze. I had to do something.

I ordered the P90X series and got ripped. It was a tough journey, but worth the pain. It did however inspire me to become a personal trainer, which lead to Spartan training, not just for myself but a host of others who became Team Superhuman.

In the past few years I have run over a dozen Spartan races, earned two trifecta medals, competed in countless 5k’s and other OCR’s from Warrior Dash to Tough Mudder. The years of experience I have gained has only gone on to benefit others to reach their inner Superhuman.

 

Over the last several years I have designed workouts for people from all walks of life looking to train for their first obstacle course race, or fifth. The training methodology has produced amazing results not just aesthetically but physically and mentally as well.

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The Team Superhuman training program has produced over a dozen Spartan trifecta champions, five Spartan World Champions (including myself) and a host of other medalists in many other obstacle course races all over the country. people in their fifties to professionals in their twenties have all excelled with this system. This program works. Now, let’s get to it.

Exercises

Push up

Pull up

Deadlift

Squat

Sit ups

Leg raises

Push press

Chin up

Lunge

Burpee

Turkish get ups

Thruster/squat press

Dips

Running

Russian twist

15 exercises is all you need to get in perfect condition to tackle any obstacle course race. The system will help you strengthen your body in all aspects that are crucial to obstacle course success. We will also add a few of the Team Superhuman benchmarks to the WOD list as well, since this is a crucial element in measuring your progress.

The WODS

The workouts are broken up into three tiers. Beginning, intermediate and advanced. Since we are working on completing this program in 60 days it is up to you to measure your progress and advance to the next tier. Each WOD is designed to help you mimic the muscles used in an obstacle course race. Pulling yourself over walls, or hanging from monkey bars, lifting and carrying heavy objects over rough terrain and of course mental toughness. We will include running in the WODS since this is a great conditioning element. These workouts can be done in the order they follow and you can advance to the next tier when you are ready. For squats and lunges if you start out with just body weight, that is great, but by the the third tier you will want to be doing weighted squats and lunges. Leg strength and endurance is a crucial element in your obstacle course success.

The jargon. EMOM, Every Minute on the Minute. You will do the prescribed number of exercises in a minute, before moving on to the round again at the top of the minute. This is a great cardio and strength conditioner and tests your mental toughness.

AMRAP, As Many Rounds As Possible. As many rounds as of the workout that you can do in the prescribed time. Simple enough. Let’s get started.

Tier 1

WOD 1

EMOM 12 mins

4 burpees

5 thrusters

3 sit ups

WOD 2

“Gina” benchmark

50 squats

40 Turkish get ups

30 push ups

20 sit ups

10 burpees

*record your time

WOD 3

400 meters

12 deadlift

12 push press

12 dips

400 meters

12 lunges

12 thrusters

12 burpees

400 meters

WOD 4

20 Turkish get ups

*for time

WOD 5

10 chin ups

10 burpees

10 sit ups

10 deadlifts

10 pull ups

10 lunges

10 push ups

*amrap 30 mins

WOD 6

800 meters

20 Squats

20 deadlifts

20 lunges

400 meters

20 squats

20 deadlifts

20 lunges

800 meters

WOD 7

60 sit ups

50 push ups

40 pull ups

30 push press

20 leg raises

10 thrusters

WOD 8

“Gina” for time

50 squats

40 Turkish get ups

30 push ups

20 sit ups

10 burpees

*record your time

WOD 9

EMOM -24 mins total

4 deadlifts

8 lunges

10 sit ups

*12 mins

12 dips

12 Russian twist

*12 mins

WOD 10

Run 1 mile for time

TIER 2

This tier will increase in intensity. You know your body, so increase weight if you can.

WOD 11

20 Push up

20 Pull up

20 Deadlift

20 Squat

20 Sit ups

20 Leg raises

20 Push press

20 Chin up

20 Lunge

20 Burpee

20 Turkish get ups

20 Thruster/squat press

20 Dips

20 Running

20 Russian twist

WOD 12

400 meters

15 chin ups

15 squats

400 meters

15 pull ups

15 lunges

X3 rounds

WOD 13

8 Thruster

6 Turkish get ups

X7 rounds

WOD 14

1 mile run for time

WOD 15

“Gina” benchmark

50 squats

40 Turkish get ups

30 push ups

20 sit ups

10 burpees

*record your time

TIER 3

WOD 16

1200 meters

20 thrusters

800 meters

15 pull ups

800 meters

20 dips

800 meters

15 lunges

1200 meters

WOD 17

30 push press

400 meter walking lunge

X5

WOD 18

2 mile run

WOD 19

400 meters

25 deadlifts

400 meters

25 squats

400 meters

25 push ups

400 meters

25 pull ups

400 meters

WOD 20

25 Push up

25 Pull up

25 Deadlift

25 Squat

25 Sit ups

25 Leg raises

25 Push press

25 Chin up

25 Lunge

25 Burpee

25 Turkish get ups

25 Thruster/squat press

25 Dips

25 Running

25 Russian twist

There you have twenty amazing workouts to take your Spartan training to the next level. Depending on your workout schedule you can spread these WOD’s over 60 days, add to the benchmark, and even shoot for a 5k. This is a great goal and will certainly more than prepare you for your first Spartan race.

Looking for more tips on Spartan races?

Check out this post.

And this one is good.

And of course this one.

Thanks so much for checking out this training guide, please feel free to share it with your friends!

*********Disclaimer***********

The content displayed on my Superhumanbarbellclub.com including blog posts, articles, videos, tips, and testimonials are my personal beliefs and are meant for informational purposes only. These tips, opinions, and writings are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any health problems. In addition, this information is not meant to replace your doctor’s recommendations or the advice of other qualified healthcare professionals. Always check with your doctor before beginning a new fitness or nutrition program.

To the best of my knowledge, the information provided within this blog/website (including testimonials, videos, and blog posts) are believed to be true and accurate; however, the reader should assume all responsibility for consulting with his/her doctor regarding any health matter. Superhumanbarbellclub and its owner deny any liability, loss, or injury in relationship with any opinion, tip, or exercise shared on this site. Lastly, Superhumanbarbell club makes no claim to be a physician, healthcare professional, registered dietitian, or expert in the healthcare field.

Kirk Waidell

Founder

Team Superhuman

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Spartan Race Training (Weapon X Super WOD)

Kirk WaidellLeave a comment

Benchmark WOD’s are an important resource in any OCR training in which you participate. This workout we do at Superhuman HQ, the Weapon X workout is one of the top benchmarks we use for training. The goal of this workout is to complete all ten rounds in 60 minutes or less. Some of our top athletes have completed only seven rounds, nobody has hit the ten round mark…yet. This WOD will push you to the limit. The snatches and cleans can be any variation you prefer, squats are air squats and the weight is 65# or more depending on your ability.

Good luck, try this workout and list your results to the comments below!

Please check out our Superhuman newsletter ! It’s filled with some great stuff to help you live a Superhuman life!

2015 CMC New Pit Options

Kirk WaidellLeave a comment

 

Last week Civilian Military Combine announced the changes to their pit options and the challenge is looking pretty awesome. If you are not familiar with CMC, here is what they do:

CMC is the world’s fastest growing community of Hybrid Athletes, combining 4+ miles of obstacle racing with our revolutionary first challenge, The PIT.

The pit element is a lot of fun and a heart pumping experience that you won’t find in any other obstacle course race. Here is what CMC is doing for their 2015 season.

 

Last year Team Superhuman hit the Newtown Pa course and had a great time. It was a cloudy summer day that quickly turned to a horrid downpour when we ran the course.

The pit is an intense challenge that will push you far beyond your limits. People screaming, music pumping and the MC cheering you on. If you have never experiend CMC, you need to take the event.

 

CMC does a great job of spreading the obstacles over the course and you will see everything from mud crawls to massive structures for climbing and jumping.

 

Training for CMC is a great race and I really hope to see them blow up on the race scene this year. Training is fun and rewarding and in future articles I will be posting training articles specifically for CMC and will be looking forward to tackling the course and the pit in 2015.

 

Thanks for reading!! Join the Superhuman newsletter for exclusive content and training tips.

 

 

Best Leg Exercises For A Spartan Race

Kirk WaidellLeave a comment

Congratulations to our free Spartan Race giveaway winner, Casey Barreto!

Stay connected to this website for more giveaways in the future.

 

 

Leg strength and endurance for any Spartan Race will be a massive asset. Many courses will push the power of your legs to the limit and its a great idea to prepare all aspects of your leg muscles in order to prepare for the race. You want to be strong, durable and have ample endurance.

 

There are loads of great exercises for your legs, and if you are a member of a gym you should be able to access the necessary equipment to perform each of these exercises. Don’t be afraid to put some weight on the bar or use dumb bells. The stronger you are the better.

 

Goblet Squat

 

 

Walking Lunges

 

Calf Raises

 

Balance Lunges

 

Back Squat

 

Front squat

 

Wall Squats

 

Jump Squat

 

Plyo Lunges

 

Good Mornings

 

 

 

Thanks for reading! Want free WOD’s and a bunch of other Superhuman awesomeness delivered to you? Subscribe to our Superhuman newsletter!

 

FREE Reebok Spartan Race Giveaway

Kirk WaidellLeave a comment

That’s right, a free Reebok Spartan race. All you have to do is go to the link below jump through some minor hoops and you are entered. It’s really simple and will take less than a minute. The winner will be announced on this blog on 4/14/15 at 10:00am est. We are using the Rafflecopter utility to handle the contest to keep it fair! Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spread the word! The contest has already started and ends 4/13/15!

 

 

Need some help with training? Here is a great article to get you started, and here is another article to help you along!

 

Join our mailing list and get exclusive Superhuman content designed to make your life a bit more Superhuman.

Good Luck with the raffle!

 

 

Top 9 Fitness Icons

Kirk WaidellLeave a comment

The other day my daughter asked me who is the most famous fitness person in the world. Without hesitation I replied, “Arnold Schwarzenegger of course.”

However, some people might disagree. What about Bruce Lee? How about Chuck Norris? All very famous and have done incredible things for their craft. But who would be the most famous fitness ever? That's a question that will be debated forever. But as for my list of fitness icons, we'll start with the man I view as the undisputed king….

Arnold Schwarzenegger

If you don't know who Arnold is I feel bad for you. An incredible story of the American Dream. Read his auto biography.

 

 

Rich Froning

Crossfit Games Champion. I'm pretty sure he is from another planet. His athleticism shows the immense potential of the human body.

Richard Simmons

He may be a corn dog but the man has been an inspiration to millions of people and still works today inspiring others.

Tony Horton

The P90X mastermind and amazing trainer. His program helped me not be a fat pig anymore.

 

Jack lelanne

Legend. The first guru on fitness. He paved the way.

Jillian Michaels

Biggest loser fame and an amazing resource for anyone on any level getting fit.

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet

Queen of Crossfit 2014. She is an amazing athlete and goes to college full time studying bio engineering.

Chalene Johnson

Her Turbo kick classes and DVDs have inspired thousands of people to get fit not only physically but emotionally and financially as well.

Chuck Norris

Need I say more.

 

 

My top nine fitness icons, not just because they are famous or well known names, but because each and everyone of these people has inspired me personally to be a better athlete and person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Best Exercises

Kirk WaidellLeave a comment

 

10 best exercises

 

Pull ups

Dead lifts

Bench press

Squats

Burpees

Sit ups

Thruster

Turkish get up

Push up

Lunges

 

 

All ten of these exercises can be all you need to get shredded. What if I told you that in only 20 minutes a day, with the right schemes you can get amazing results. If you are just getting into a workout lifestyle, or you are a veteran in the gym, these 10 exercises will challenge you. The two schemes that maximize your efforts with these exercises are 10 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) as well as a 10 minute EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) These are great WOD’s that will not only give you a cardio boost, but build strength and definition as well.

 

These exercises work more than one muscle group at a time, and can challenge you in many different ways, especially since as you get stronger you can add weight or increase from 10 to 12 minutes and challenge yourself on a new level.

 

Here is a great example of a challenging EMOM.

4 pull ups

4 thrusters

10 minutes.

 

In this WOD you will give yourself ten minutes on a timer or stopwatch. Make sure you can see the timer change easily. Every minute you will do 4 pull ups and 4 thrusters. If it takes you 30 seconds to do the set, great you have 30 seconds rest until the top of the next minute.

 

Sounds simple right? Wait until you get to minute 7 or 8. A great way to measure strength is by adding weight each time you do this WOD. The key to seeing amazing results is to keep each workout intense, don’t pussyfoot through these workouts, really go all out. Take breaks when needed, and have plenty of water on hand.

 

For the AMRAP, here’s a great WOD to challenge you.

You will do as many rounds as possible of this set in 10 minutes.

 

5 Push ups

4 Deadlifts

6 Sit ups

 

Simple right? Push ups, deadlifts, sit ups as many rounds as you can in ten minutes. With these 10 exercises, you can achieve amazing results pretty quickly. This isn’t a theory or a concoction I cooked up. It’s based on results I have achieved, and have seen the amazing effect it can have on others. If you are short on time, but still want an intense workout, these 10 exercises, with the 10 minute time sets are a great choice. If you don’t know what some of these exercises are, Google them! It will be worth it, especially the Turkish get ups.

 

The schemes that you can create with these 10 exercises is only limited to your imagination. If you want a custom program created just for you, email us at superhumanbbclub@gmail.com.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading! I hope this article helps you realize that getting in shape doesn’t have to be a chore or require a major time commitment. Please share!

 

 

 

Training For A Spartan Race With No Running (almost)

Kirk Waidell1 Comment

If you are anything like me, you hate running. However, you want to run a Spartan race this year. So, therein lies our quandary. Is it possible to train for a Spartan race with out having to do run training?

 

The answer… Yes. How do I know? I did it. And didn’t die. Not only did I conquer the Spartan sprint, there was also three consecutive weeks in which I tackled a Spartan super, CMC and Spartan Beast, with an upper respiratory infection, and survived.

 

So how do you train for these events without running? By lifting weights. Quickly. But that’s not all. We need some jump rope, burpees, pull ups, dead lifts just for starters.

 

Squats and lunges are another key ingredient to maximizing your endurance and leg strength.

And of course, running. But can you really run a Spartan Sprint without run training? Shouldn’t you be running 5ks regularly to survive Spartan? No.

 

Most importantly, you need mental toughness. There will be times when you will want to quit, and question your sanity. Never quit. Just keep moving.

 

What are you training for? A Spartan Sprint? The trifecta? A CMC. In 90 days with no run training, you can conquer any and all of these events.

 

Is time an issue. What if you could train four days a week for less than an hour and still get the results you desire. You can. Obviously the more time you commit the better off you will be. But if you are in a time crunch like many others, this concept will work for you. As long as you keep it intense.

 

Here is a list of 10 WODS to get you started on run training without a lot of running. I recommend warming up with 2 mins of jump rope and some stretching before your workout.

 

#1

*AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)

18 MINUTES

12 Squat Press

25 Pull Ups

 

#2

*EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute)

10 minutes

9 Sit ups

8 push ups

 

#3

*AMRAP 30 mins

30 jump rope

10 weighted lunges

10 burpees

 

#4

*20 minutes. 1 minute of work, 1 minute of rest

Deadlifts

 

#5

*Sprint 200 meters

25 sit ups

Sprint 200 meters

10 pull ups

Sprint 200 meters

25 leg raises

Sprint 200 meters

25 squats

Sprint 200 meters

25 sit ups.

30 minute cap to complete this WOD

 

#6

*18 minutes AMRAP

12 shoulder press

8 plyo lunges

 

#7

*EMOM

12 minutes

6 hang clean

4 pull ups

 

#8

*6 rounds for time

800 meters

9 push jerk

 

#9

*24 minutes AMRAP

6 Turkish get ups

200 meters

 

#10

*EMOM 14 minutes

12 kayaks

9 leg raises

6 sit ups

 

These ten WODS are a great beginning blueprint as to what you can do in a short amount of time, if, you keep your work out intense. Always keep pushing yourself. The cardiovascular strength that you will build utilizing these types of workouts is awesome.

 

About running, I found sprinting and short distance runs mixed with heavy weight training go a long way in simulating the muscles and endurance test you need to tackle an event such as a Spartan. Also, you need to get a bit comfy with running, stay loose get good shoes. Combing two or three of these WODS into one workout will be more than enough prep to have you dominate Spartan, Tough Mudder, Battle Frog or any other OCR event you have in mind.

 

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