Are you ready to start completing the rope climb at obstacle course races? If you're doing a Spartan Race, this is an obstacle you will to have to face on race day. Our climbing rope is the same diameter and material as the rope you'll be climbing at the race, (ours is just a different color). It's super easy to hang our climbing rope. All you need to do is find something that you can loop it around and that will support the weight of you hanging and climbing off of it. In the photo below, I'm just looping the climbing rope around one of our monkey bars. First, you'll take the end with the spl ..read more

We get it, doing Obstacle Course Racing (aka OCRs) is expensive. Not only do we do obstacle course racing for fun, but we also build for several events so we know what goes into putting them on. But we wanted to share a few ways you can save some money when doing them. #1 - SIGN UP EARLY! The absolute best way to save the most money is signing up early. Events that are held once a year usually have an EARLY BIRD sign up period where you can save a lot of money when you register right after their event for the next year's race. For example, Abominable Snow Race, Frontline OCR and Highlander Ass ..read more

One of the most common questions we receive from people after they have purchased one of our OCR training spears is "What do I use as a target?" While we see a lot of OCR racers using bales or straw, which is what we first used several years ago, because that's what you would see at a Spartan Race, straw can get messy really fast after countless throws with your spear. Since Spartan has started using the foam targets a few years back, we went to using a foam target as well, and it has worked perfectly for us. Here's a link to the one we have been using https://amzn.to/3O6KD4N (Also, this is ou ..read more

If you have done a Spartan Race or have been looking to see what obstacles are at a Spartan Race, chances are you know what the Spartan Twister obstacle is. And if you don't, click HERE to watch a video of it. (It's the first obstacle you'll see.) If you're anything like we were when we first started doing obstacle course racing, every time you get to the Spartan Twister, you already know that you'll be headed to the burpee pit, because let's face it, one attempt at it during a race isn't enough practice. That's the whole reason why we started making twisters in the first place, we were sick o ..read more

So many times people message us and say they want to train on grip attachments, but can't build a backyard rig. While having an outdoor ninja rig or OCR rig is nice, you can utilize other spaces inside your home. Let's take a garage or basement, for example. If you have either of these two, the easiest way to add hanging grips is to screw in eye bolts right into your ceiling joists. If you have an unfinished basement or garage, and the joists are exposed, it makes it super simple. Otherwise, you just drill through the drywall and make sure you go through the joists, and you'll know if you don ..read more

If you're new to the world of obstacle course racing, aka OCR, or you're thinking about signing up for your first OCR, here are a few things you may want to consider and know about different race brands. There are many different companies that put on OCR events.A few of the well-known ones include Spartan Race, Savage Race and Tough Mudder, but there are many local OCR events all around the country. In fact, a few of my absolute favorite ones, such as Frontline, Highlander Assault and Abominable Snow Race are all within a couple of hours from where I live, near Chicago. Check your area for loc ..read more

Whether you're training for your first Spartan Race, Savage Race, Tough Mudder or some other kind of OCR event, there's a few things they all have in common that you'll want to be prepared for. First, you'll want to incorporate trail running into your training regimen because you can guarantee you'll be running through the forest, creeks, and other technical terrain throughout the race. Which brings me to my next tip: Make sure you're wearing the proper shoes and socks. You'll likely be going through mud and water, so you don't want to be wearing your normal tennis shoes. You'll want to wear t ..read more

Let me start by asking if you have ever raced a local OCR event? Sure, most of us race the "big" brands like Spartan, Savage and Tough Mudder, but if you haven't checked out a local OCR, then, you my friend, are missing out, and let me tell you why. With a local OCR, you're typically going to see some obstacles you've never encountered before. Local events are a bit more innovative in their obstacles, so they tend to be a bit more challenging in that respect, whereas, a race like Spartan, you always know what obstacles you're going to see, so there's no surprises there and you can easily train ..read more

If you've done any type of obstacle course race, I can bet you have probably come across the rope climb. While it does take a certain amount of grip and upper body strength to get up the rope, there are techniques such as the J or S-Hook that can be used making it much easier to get up it, by using more of your legs, instead of all of your upper body. Either way, having your own rope to practice climbing and strengthening your grip can be quite helpful. While there are several kinds of rope out there, the two most commonly used ones in races are either Manila or Poly-Dacron. And while both kin ..read more

When it comes to building your own backyard obstacle course or ninja course, one of the questions I get asked all the time is how far you should dig the holes when setting posts into the ground. I like to go 1/4 of the size of the post into the ground. So, if you have a 16FT post, then 4FT of it will be in the ground. A 12FT post, then 3 FT into the ground. and so forth. And depending on where you live digging the holes can be the most labor intensive part of the entire build if you get to digging and run into rocks, concrete, or other fun things in the dirt. I've been on a build where it sho ..read more