The race was a 3. These events can offer new opportunities for achieving a healthy and active life while still having fun with friends. This fun and supportive environment can be helpful in kick-starting or rekindling interest in physical activity, and can make a long and daunting obstacle course less intimidating.
Obstacle Races are part of another broad trend in fitness: mixed modal training. This type of activity combines various types of activities into single workouts, emphasizing total body fitness focused on equal parts cardiovascular health and strength-training. The advantage of Obstacle Racing comes in its team environment, in which friends experience the challenge and satisfaction of completing the course together, and often have to mentally and physically help each other reach the finish line.
There are also risks to this type of training, and as physical therapists we see the consequences often in our clinics.
Mixed modal training, when performed incorrectly or to a degree your body is not prepared for, can easily cause injuries such as muscle tears, sprains, strains and even broken bones. Your local PT can let you know where you may have muscle imbalances, deficiencies and movement limitations and provide you with exercises and techniques to correct these issues before they become bigger problems. If an injury does occur, a physical therapist will be able to diagnose it and set a course for recovery so you can get back to your activities as quickly as possible.
Obstacle Races marry challenging physical activity with the opportunity to have fun with friends, so their increasing popularity comes as no surprise. In addition, the combination of cardio and strength-training can yield numerous health benefits and get you on track to reach your highest level of physical fitness.
