His goal makes me grin. This guy is living proof of a statement I'd just read somewhere: CrossFitters didn't know what they were training for until obstacle racing came along. But it's not a one-way relationship: the obstacle racing phenomenon could not have happened without CrossFit.
Last-Chance Workout with Erik Taylor
Erik wanted me to leave home feeling strong but not too sore. Four days before the Ultra Beast, he took me through this final, full-body workout:
- Mummy walks (about 20): Swing a leg forward, touch your toes with the opposite hand, repeat.
- Walking lunges (about 10)
- Foam roll renegade rows (3 sets of 10 reps with 20-pound dumbbells): In plank position, holding on to dumbbells, do a row on one side, return to plank, repeat on the other side.
Circuit (five times through each of the following):
- 5 reps assisted chin-ups
- 20 lunges
- 16 wood chops (8 on each side)
More: Take the 30-Day Lunge Challenge
Extras
We did these with Erik's cable pulley machine. Facing out from the machine, I pulled the cable from my right foot across my body and up above my left shoulder, then repeated on the other side.
1. 15 V-ups: Place feet in the TRX machine. Start in plank position, then raise hips up, like you're making a V-shape with your body. You can also do this with an exercise ball.
More: How to Execute a V-up and Two Other Core Exercises
2. 30 seconds battle ropes: This takes two long, thick ropes. Hold one in each hand, then create waves with the ropes by squatting and standing while you raise your arms up and down.
3. 1:30 rest
4. Stretch and roll
More: 10 Self-Myofascial Release Exercises for Runners
For more on Erik and training, go to taylorsfitness.com.
Excerpted from OFF COURSE: Inside the Mad, Muddy World of Obstacle Course Racing by Erin Beresini. Copyright ? 2014 by Erin Beresini. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
More: The Secret Recovery Weapon of Obstacle Course Racing's Most Famous Athlete
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