Here's a Special Workout Designed Just for Saturdays

A Marine participates in a pull-up challenge. — Lance Cpl. Matt J. Mistretta, team leader, 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, pulls himself up during the Campbell Cup Pull-Up Challenge in the gym of the USS Peleliu, Nov. 24, 2012. (Cpl. John Robbart III/U.S. Marine Corps photo)

Military.com | By Stew Smith, CSCS®

Published June 10, 2015

On Saturdays, there is a group of vets and active duty in the Annapolis, Maryland, area that enjoy a moderate distance run warmup, a few obstacle courses and a cooldown run to close out the workout.

If you have a standard U.S. Marine Corps obstacle course or access to other courses like an Army, Navy or Special Ops obstacle course, you can make a great workout out of it if you like to train outdoors. It is a great way to do for free what many are paying for these days or a great way to prepare for these highly popular obstacle course races.

Here is a recommended workout if you want to mix in an obstacle course or at least simulate an obstacle course workout:

With an obstacle course available:

Without an obstacle course available:

Run 2 miles
Do USMC obstacle course 4-5 times with extra rope climbs for a total of 10 rope climbs
Run 2 miles

Run 2-3 miles

Obstacle course simulation workout:

1 pull-up -- run 50 meters -- 1 burpee
2 pull-ups -- run 50 meters -- 2 burpees
3 pull-ups -- run 50 meters -- 3 burpees ...

Keep going up the pyramid until you fail at pull-ups. After the fifth set, change the method of travel -- adding in bear crawl, fireman carries, walking lunges, low crawl, etc. ...

Run 2-3 miles.

The simulation workout focuses on pulling and pushing muscles and full-body movements, as well as some of the other elements such as crawling, carrying objects or climbing hills. Enjoy the workout. Both options are fun to do if you do or do not have an actual course to use for the day.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you're looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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Related Topics: Workouts Fitness Military Fitness Tactical Fitness

Stew Smith, CSCS®

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle, check out his Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive on Military.com. Contact Stew with your comments and questions at stew@stewsmith.com. Read Full Bio

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