Spartan Race Obstacles

Over the last few years, I have grown quite comfortable with the Spartan Race obstacles. I can tackle most of them without issue. There are the few like the rig, the spear throw, and the Z-wall that usually have me doing burpees. Sometimes it is because of environmental issues (mud), sometimes it is because of grip strength, and sometimes it is just because the Spartan gods have a great sense of humor. In an effort to stay fresh and learn something new, I wanted to see what the Spartan Obstacle Specialist course was all about, and if the money spent on it would be worth the time and the effort.

The vertical cargo net is similar to the A-Frame obstacle. The idea here is to challenge someone's fear of height by climbing to the top via a cargo net, then transitioning to the opposite side of the obstacle for a decent. The transition is the most challenging part of this obstacle.

The A-Frame cargo net looks more menacing than it is.  Although the apex rises to a height considerably higher than most feel comfortable at, the obstacle is more mental than physical.  Cargo Net footing makes for a wobbly climb and unstable decent.

Getting down and dirty in the Barbed Wire Crawl is mandatory. There are few things more challenging on your entire body than trekking through a rocky creek-bed on your elbows and knees trying to avoid getting ripped up by barbed wire just a few inches above you. Arch your back a little too much and you will need a new shirt and some band-aids. Lift your butt a bit too high and you may be mooning everyone behind you.

The Fire Jump has become one of the signatures of any Spartan Race. This final obstacle is the only thing standing between you and victory. Jumping over the smokey remnants of once living forest and grab your finisher's medal.

The Bucket Brigade is one of those obstacles that makes you test the fabric of your willpower. The task? Fill a five gallon bucket with gravel and carry it in front of you up and down steep inclines. If your rocks settle below the holes, do it again. If you spill, do it again. Failure is not an option.

The dunk wall, while not all that challenging, will get you extremely muddy. The idea is to completely submerge yourself into a foul mixture of mud and water and navigate under a wall to reunite yourself with oxygen on the other side.

Like the Bucket Brigade, the Sand Bag carry is one of the more challenging obstacles. Although this obstacle doesn't require any amazing acrobatic skills, it will test your intestinal fortitude. Men and women alike will carry a bag filled with sand up and down steep inclines to insure that your legs feel the burn. Like the Sand Bag Carry, there are variations of this obstacle in which you will carry a heavy log around a similar stretch of landscape.

You are going to want to get real low to the ground to grab that stone, so hopefully your squat form is impeccable. You are going to pick up the stone, carry it to the other flag, do five burpees and come back. Keep a flat back as you pick up and lower the stone, and move quickly. Don’t cheat on those burpees either, chest to grass and feet off the ground for it to count.