Why is preparation underrated? Don’t you just love it when someone says, “You’re lucky”? If you are anything like me, it’s like lighting the fuse to a 10-ton payload of dynamite in my mind. The natural response from any hard worker is, “Luck had nothing to do with it.” And luck has zero to do with Spartan race preparation.
It’s also hard to be lucky when you are getting ready for a race. This is why Spartan pushed forward their “couch to the course” campaign: to not only create enthusiasm about racing, but also get you ready for it before you do so. In a Spartan race, the only luck you may have is that you picked the winning numbers on a scratch-off you picked up while getting your post-race protein shake at a local stop. Everything else is achievable through effort. Luck has nothing to do with racing!
Since most Spartan racers are hardworking, motivated, dedicated, limit-pushing athletes, it would be likely that luck has nothing to do with racing or the preparation that goes into getting ready. Racing and racing preparation follow the same model: work hard, stay motivated, dedicate to your training, and push the limits.
Make no mistake, competing in any Spartan race and eventually completing a Trifecta is guaranteed to challenge you. It’s a lot of hard work, but it is absolutely doable. Once you have the correct mind-set and training plan and you spend the time implementing your plan, you will be well on your way from the couch to the course and entering the ranks of the Spartans.
Here are some tips to start your Spartan race preparation:
You can start to work out on your own, find a gym or trainer, or download the Spartan Fit app, which is filled with Spartan-designed workouts and race-like simulations. There are also new videos, tips, and helpful suggestions daily on Spartan.com, and on Spartan's social media channels, where you can find a community of Spartans that will help you get ready. Working with a trainer or a group of people can be fun and helpful, so the more the merrier.
The trick to getting ready is consistency. You can start your plan, but you need to continue to push the needle forward. If you slack, pick up the slack and get your plan moving again.
Start to focus on other aspects other than just physical preparation. Yes, you should get physically fit and work hard, but you also need to focus on other aspects of preparation. Your mental readiness is fed by knowledge and consistency. Once you start to get ready and learn more about racing, your self-confidence will rise. Not only are we telling you that you can get through a race, you are now starting to believe it.
Does any of this sound like luck? Exactly. It didn’t sound that way to me either.
That’s right. It’s science. Exercise boosts your body’s ability to make certain chemicals that have been shown to enhance mood and decrease negative feelings like depression and anxiety. Christopher Bergland, author of The Athlete’s Way: Sweat and the Biology of Bliss, describes seven happiness-inducing chemicals in his article, If you read closely, you will notice that each of those chemicals is closely related to training—from the physical impact of moving to the psychological effects of setting and achieving goals.
One of these well-known neurochemicals is dopamine, the chemical that reinforces reward-seeking behaviors. In Christopher Bergland’s words, “If you want to get a hit of dopamine, set a goal and achieve it.” If Bergland is right, then Spartans must be swimming in dopamine every day. In training for a Spartan Race, athletes set and achieve short-term goals on a daily—even hourly—basis. When they finally reach the finish line, dopamine is activated again, telling their brains that crossing that finish line was the most amazing thing in the world, and they need to do it again.
Besides dopamine, training releases endorphins and adrenaline. Once your brain learns to associate endorphins with the feeling of a “runner’s high,” endorphins act like a natural, internally-produced form of morphine. the fight-or-flight hormone, exercise can help both increase its production and release built-up tension from excess adrenaline caused by chronic high stress. In other words, doing your burpees can help relieve and reduce stress as well as release chemicals that improve your mental and physical health.
Not only will exercise make you stronger and more physically fit, but it will also boost the feeling that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, on and off the course. The physical exertion of exercise causes a spike in serotonin, a chemical that is associated with a heightened sense of confidenc in the face of challenging tasks.
According to James Maddux, Ph.D., who teaches positive psychology at George Mason University, self-efficacy “is one of the most important ingredients—perhaps the most important ingredient—in the recipe for success” (Maddux, 2005). Because of the relationship between exercise and serotonin, training is a great way to cultivate a belief that you can set and accomplish your goals. As you train more and more and overcome greater and greater obstacles, your sense of self-efficacy will rise. As Maddux says, “To have a resilient sense of self-efficacy requires experience in overcoming obstacles through effort and perseverance.”
What better way to build this than by training for and conquering a Spartan Race?
Not only will exercise make you stronger and more physically fit, but it will also boost the feeling that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, on and off the course. The physical exertion of exercise causes a spike in serotonin, a chemical that is associated with a heightened sense of confidenc in the face of challenging tasks.
According to James Maddux, Ph.D., who teaches positive psychology at George Mason University, self-efficacy “is one of the most important ingredients—perhaps the most important ingredient—in the recipe for success” (Maddux, 2005). Because of the relationship between exercise and serotonin, training is a great way to cultivate a belief that you can set and accomplish your goals. As you train more and more and overcome greater and greater obstacles, your sense of self-efficacy will rise. As Maddux says, “To have a resilient sense of self-efficacy requires experience in overcoming obstacles through effort and perseverance.”
What better way to build this than by training for and conquering a Spartan Race?
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