Want to be at YOUR fittest? – Or just want the edge on your mates?
Survival events are certainly no walk in the park and our mix of unique routes and infamous obstacles means there’s nothing quite like them. For those that live in Survival Cities and who want to get a good feel for what Survival will throw at them, the next best thing is the Rat Race Urban Gym. Designed by the same folk that are behind the Survival Events, the Urban Gym uses the city landscape to provide an all-over workout. It covers strength, endurance, mobility and technique, using active recovery principles and an adventurous, free-running mentality.
The Urban Gym is available throughout the year in Cardiff, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Bristol and London and the sessions are purpose-built to develop the kind of "real world" fitness you need to leave the competition standing come Race-day in October.
Build a solid foundation with a Training Block from just £45, or dip in and out with our prepaid 10 session "Ratpack" for £65.
You can join the Urban Gym on weekday evenings NOW and sign up for as much or as little as you like. As Race Day approaches, you’ll also get the inside track on all the Survival routes with our exclusive weekend "Survival Sunday" sessions, starting in July.
Exclusive Offer! To save 20% on any Urban Gym training options, go to RatRaceUrbanGym.com now, and join using promocode SFT20
www.RatRaceUrbanGym.com
So how do you prepare to take on the course (and your buddies)?
You’ll have around 10km of running (or jogging) to deal with in Survival events, but this is no place to go for that Personal Best. With ten major obstacles en route your strength, endurance, mobility and technique are all going to be tested to the max. Plan on being on the go for double your normal 10k time and feeling achey in places you had forgotten existed, for a good day or two afterwards.
At this stage of the game and with six months to go until the Survival is upon you, the majority of your training should focus on basic body conditioning and if you do nothing else, your event performance will be much improved by simply being fitter.
Basic conditioning will make you leaner and meaner, it’ll increase your ability to sustain effort and the amount you can achieve, plus improve the speed at which you’ll recover. If managed as a regular activity, it’ll also decrease stress, help you sleep better and improve your immune system, keeping you in tip-top condition all round.
Recommended plan:
Type:
Varied aerobic exercise, with short anaerobic efforts. Run, cycle, swim, row, kayak, windsurf, whatever - providing it gets you hot, sweaty and out of breath and you can increase the intensity for short bursts. Keep it varied, to keep it interesting – the key is to pick activities you enjoy, or you’ll struggle to build a solid foundation.
Frequency:
Three to five sessions per week – just keep getting them in the bank, but don’t overdo it to begin with; recovery is a vital part of development.
Intensity:
As high as you can comfortably manage for the duration of the activity. This will change on a daily basis depending on how you feel, but should gradually increase over time.
Duration:
From 45 to 75 minutes of solid activity. 60 minutes is the magic number. Much less, and you’re working too hard; much more and you’re not working hard enough. But don’t feel like you have to slot into a routine; anything over 45 minutes goes in the bank, so do what you can, when you can.
Session format:
Start gently to ensure the body is warm and mobile. After approximately ten minutes of sustained activity, put in a cardio-burst of sixty seconds high intensity, as hard as you can sustain for a whole minute.
After this sixty second burst, return to your regular pace for four minutes, keep moving and keep your heart rate up. After four minutes, another sixty second cardio-burst. Repeat this five minute cycle to give you between six and ten efforts in your session.
For the last five minutes of your session, lower your intensity to let your body recover gently and once you’ve stopped, a comprehensive stretch of major muscle groups will speed recovery and promote muscular development.
Coming soon – strength, stamina, technique and co-ordination training.
To get cracking on this sort of work-out on a regular weekly basis with fellow Survivalists, get on down to www.RatRaceUrbanGym.com and sign up today! Remember you can save a massive 20% on Urban Gym membership by using the SFT20 promocode.
www.RatRaceUrbanGym.com
