Tough Mudder 2012 Twin Cities - Full Review
I've always known that I had the mental grit to be in the military. While my life experiences led me away from that path, I've always had the urge to salute those that make the sacrifice for our country in a meaningful way. Tough Mudder was my way of making that salute. PREPARATION The training regimen that Tough Mudder suggests on their website is not enough to truly prepare you for the event. In my opinion, it is the bare minimum that's needed to participate. I suggest that prior to participation that you take a serious look at your overall fitness level, upper body strength and stamina. If you don't feel confident, don't attempt this event.
With that said, I used various Beach Body tools, Kettlebells, running, push-ups and pull-up routines to prepare for the event. I'm a BeachBody Coach so I am biased, but the programs were the majority of my preparation for the event. I trained with Insanity: The Asylum and P90X2. In addition I created my own CrossFit like routines with Kettlebells as the lead weights used along with no kip pull-ups.
Some days were purely push-ups and sit-ups. Maxing out on each, resting for 2 minutes, then maxing out again until I drop to the ground. Other days I did brick running, mixing in bear crawls, push-ups, high knees, sit-ups, etc. And one 24 hour day in particular I had a goal to do 1000 pull-ups in one day. I didn't reach it, but you get the picture. Layer all this in with cold showers, eating healthy and drinking gallons of water at a time; I felt confident going into the day.
GEAR What gear to use highly depends on the environmental conditions for the event. Be smart and arm yourself with the right gear for the day. Tough Mudder Twin Cities 2012 was held on May 19th and 20th. I participated on the 19th and the weather called for highs around 85 degrees. It was very windy that day with a chance of rain.
My gear included: Nike Pro Combat Dri-Fit sleeveless shirt, Adidas Dri-Fit running shorts, Merrell Barefoot Trail Shoes, Double lined wool socks made for barefoot running, Carhartt C-Grip Pro Palm Gloves, Under Armour Forearm Pads, Clif Gel Packs and a GoPro Hero2 camera.
THE COURSE With my GoPro Hero2 I captured most of the obstacles from the event. Take a look below to see what my day was like and experience a piece of the Tough Mudder.
What I can say about the Tough Mudder 2012 Twin Cities is that the hills were a thing of beauty. It was very difficult to train for that type of terrain and it was the most difficult for me. It made all the other obstacles more difficult and stalled or was too much for many participants. Well done by the designers of the course.
AMAZING TEAMWORK While completing the course I saw and participated in some amazing activities that showed the commitment to teamwork. We helped each other over, under and through the tough obstacles which alone would have been impossible for many. One occasion there was a truck that Watson the course and happened to be stuck in the mud at a rest stop. While on break, Mudder's literally pushed a huge eight wheel truck carrying cargo out of the mud and to a safe place so it could move on its own. I wanted to join but was too late as they has already competed the job. It's this kind of commitment though that makes me proud to be a Tough Mudder and represent those of the Wounded Veterans of America.
