The Tough Mudder Training Workout

16 November 2011 | by Julia Buckley

Dubbed by some as toughest on the planet Tough Mudder events are 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by Special Forces to test strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie.

Forget finish times. Simply completing a Tough Mudder is a badge of honour. And in 2012 Tough Mudder is coming to the UK.

This workout, created by Tough Mudder trainers consists of 16 exercises that collectively work every part of your body. Some of these can be found in our favourite YouTube Tough Mudder training video (shown below), although be aware that one contains some extra crazy exercises as well.

Each exercise is a 60-second station designed to challenge your heart and lungs, as well as your muscles. The final product is a high-intensity circuit designed to torch everything from your chest and legs to your abs and arms, sending your fitness to an elite Tough Mudder level.

Do the Get Fit circuit 3 days a week and perform each exercise once, one right after the other, spending no more than a minute on each one. Do as many reps as you can in that time, then move on to the next station, limiting yourself to 15 seconds of rest in between. Build your endurance to the point where one week before Tough Mudder you can comfortably do the circuit twice. Make sure to use a weight that’s challenging for the 20 or so reps you’ll be doing for each exercise.

You can use dumbbells, kettlebells, or anything heavy with a handle for most, if not all, of the exercises below.

Exercise 1 - RUNNING MAN

To get yourself in peak cardio condition, you can either:

1) Get on a treadmill. Start jogging at a slow comfortable pace for the first 5 minutes, then increase the speed to a full sprint for a full minute before reducing the speed back down to a jog for a minute or two. Alternate this jogging and sprinting for 35 minutes. Build up to 1 hr.

2) Free run. As you head outside for a jog, choose a point or landmark in the distance that’s reasonably far and sprint to it. Do this 10 or so times throughout the course of your run, paying attention to mixing in jogging and sprinting equally. Again, build up to running 3-4 times a week and increasing your distance gradually until you can comfortably run 5+ miles.

Related Obstacle: The Braveheart Charge (& all of Tough Mudder)

Exercise 2 – TM PUSH-UP

Start out in a regular pushup position with two dumbbells in each hand. As you push your body upwards, rotate your torso at peak height and bring your right hand up behind you so that your hands are in a vertical line. Lower the weight so that you are once again in push up position. Do a push up, repeating with your left hand.

Related Obstacle: Boa Constrictor

Exercise 3 – THE FIST AND THE FURY

Grab a dumbbell, kettlebell, or anything heavy with a handle, in one hand and let it hang in front of you. Lower the weight below your hips and let it swing between your knees and legs. Try to keep your core sturdy and straight, explode upwards and swing the weight up to about eye level in a fully upright position. With control, do this as many times as you can, spending about 45 seconds on each arm.

Related Obstacle: Berlin Walls

Exercise 4 – SCISSOR KICK

From a regular standing position, take one big step forward and lower yourself into a forward stepping lunge. This is the start position. From there, explode off the ground, getting enough air under you to scissor kick your legs and land with your opposite leg forward and ready to crouch down to the lunge position. Keep doing this, alternating your legs on each jump/repetition for 60 seconds.

Related Obstacle: Fire Walker

Exercise 5 – BACK ROW

Grab a pair of dumbbells or kettle bells and bend over, holding them in each hand, making sure your back is parallel to the ground. Keep your core steady and pull the weights in a controlled manner up to your chest, hold at the top for the rep, pause, and repeat.

Related Obstacle: Hold Your Wood

Exercise 6 – DUMBBELL SIDE LUNGE

Grab your dumbbells and let them hang by your sides. Take a lateral step with your right leg, completely straightening your left leg. From there, bend forward at your hips, and touch the dumbbells to the floor by your right foot. Push off your right leg and make the same lateral lunge on your left leg. That’s one rep.

Related Obstacle: Swamp Stomp

Exercise 7 – PUSH UP + ROW

Grab two dumbbells and assume a pushup position, with your arms straight. Perform a regular pushup, but as you fully extend your arms at the height of the push up, take one dumbbell and bring it all the way to the side of your chest. Lower your arm and descend back ot the start position. Repeat with the other arm. That’s one rep.

Related Obstacle: Devil’s Beard

Exercise 8 – LUNGE + TWIST

Grab a heavy object and clutch it tight to the middle of your chest as you stand with feet shoulder length apart. Take a step forward as you would with a normal lunge, but as you lower your body with the weight, twist your torso to the right, pause, and return to a full upright position. Do the same with the opposite leg. That’s one rep.

Related Obstacle: Greased Lightning

Exercise 9 – SHOULDER PRESS

Grab some dumbbells or small kettle bells in each hand and spread your feet shoulder length apart as you would for a squat. Bring the dumbbells up to your shoulders as if you were doing a shoulder press. Lower yourself as you keep the weights cocked at the shoulder, as you explode upward from the squat position, push the weights up and above your head.

Related Obstacle: Cliffhanger

Exercise 10 – DECLINE PUSH UP

Simple, quick, and easy. Get into a normal pushup position, but put your feet on top of an elevated park bench or box, arms extended out in front of you so that your body is perfectly parallel to the floor above the ground. Begin to do as many pushups as you can in the next 60 seconds.

Related Obstacle: Kiss of Mud

Exercise 11 – QUICK FEET

Staying in the pushup position, rapidly bring each knee towards your chest, as if you were sprinting in place or pedaling a ridiculously small bike.

Related Obstacle: Cliff Hanger

Exercise 12 – TOUGH CHIN UP

Just like your old man used to do, hang from a bar with either an overhand or underhand grip and pull yourself up – be sure to try and touch your chest to the bar, or get as close as you can. This will get progressively harder as the set wears on. Remember to do as many as you can for the full 60 seconds. Even if you have to take a slight break, be sure to finish the set.

Related Obstacle: Underwater Tunnels

Exercise 13 – SUPERMAN PLANKS

Get back into the pushup position you’ve grown accustomed to, placing your forearms on the ground and keeping your core – abs and hips – tight as possible. Hold this position for a full 60 seconds.

Related Obstacle: Greased Lightening

Exercise 14 – DRUNK SUPERMAN SIDE PLANKS

Get on your side and hold yourself up by left forearm, creating a half triangle between your lats, forearm, and ground. Like a regular plank, keep your core tight – flex if you have to – and hold the position for 60 seconds, then alternate with your right side and repeat for another 60.

Related Obstacle – Walk the Plank

Exercise 15 – ANGELINA JOLIE

Get in between two chairs, bars, or if at a gym, a dip machine. Grab each bar or handle with each arm and lower yourself slowly and with control, as you push up with your arms try to explode up, lifting yourself completely off. Be sure to start out slowly until you get used to jumping off and regaining control of the bars.

Related Obstacle: Ball Shrinker

Exercise 16 – THE TOUGH SQUAT

Take a dumbbell, kettle bell, or large stone, anything you can find, and hold it in front of your chest. Stick your hips out behind you, bend your knees, and lower yourself until you’re in a full squat position. Pause for a second for the burn to really set in and then push yourself back to the start position.

Related Obstacle: Hell March

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