Warrior Dash Training Plan

New fitness training plan! Because in my heart of hearts I want to be a ninja like Jessie Graff. I mean, how can you beat a real-life superhero? You can’t. End of story. My son and I both love her and think she’s beyond everything. My husband thinks her physical prowess is amazing. Every time we see her doing something (it’s always a physical thing like scaling a wall or leaping around like gravity is meaningless), we’re motivated to do an impromptu workout right then and there. Why fight it? So we do some pull-ups (or assisted in my case) and push-ups. Not much. Just enough to get our arms warm and a sense of productivity to make us feel good.

With my bad joints, there’s no way I can throw myself into ninja training though. I’ll most likely never be able to do that. And that’s okay. That doesn’t mean I can’t aspire to be stronger though.

“Be Your Own Superhero”

I read that on signs and shirts people had at American Ninja Warrior lately. Jessie Graff fans. I love that idea. It makes me want to work harder at my goals.

So! I may not be ninja quality, but I’m currently satisfied with becoming a Warrior. I saw there was a Warrior Dash race here in Nebraska just outside of Omaha. July 15th. HA! That is NOT happening! However, I can start training now for 2018. With that in mind, I took a look at their training plan and am trying to incorporate it into my weekly plan.

I have to modify nearly everything but you have to start somewhere and this gives me something to work toward while I wait. My goal is to not modify anything by the time the Nebraska Warrior Dash race comes around in 2018. And, yes, it’ll take me that long to safely train because my shoulders, having been injured in the past, are my weakest point.

---

Here’s what I did today:

Cardio & Strength Circuit 1

Warm-Up: 30s each, 1-2x (I did 1x)

• Squat
• Jumping Jacks
• Squat to Reach
• High Knees (walked for low impact)
• Reverse Lunge Rotation (realize now I did wrong – only a reverse lunge with a twist)
• Butt Kickers (walked for low impact)

Obstacle 1 – Crawling 10r each, 90s

• Army Crawl (on my knees)
• Frog Squat Thrust (walked through instead of jumping)

Rest 30s // RUN! 90s

Obstacle 2 – Pushing 10r each, 90s

• Tricep Dips
• Med Ball Slam (no med balls available and I didn’t want to slam anything down, switched to Kettlebell Swing…which I realized afterwards was not a good substitute because it worked my legs rather than my arms. I’ll find a new substitute later.)

REST 30s // RUN! 90s

Obstacle 3 – Jumping 10r each, 90s

• Bench Lunge Step Ups
• Tuck Jumps (modified to squat with calf raise)

Rest 30s // RUN! 90s

Obstacle 4 – Pulling 10r each, 90s

• Pull-Ups (equipment not available, substituted with shoulder presses…a pull-down machine would’ve been better but I was in the wrong room and didn’t feel like running all over the building trying to find it again)
• Squat Thrust to High Pull

Rest 30s /// RUN! 90s

Obstacle 5 – Agility 10r each, 90s

• Jump Rope (did without a jump rope)
• Over the Bench

Rest 30s // RUN! 90s

Obstacle 6 – Balance 10r each, 90s

• Squat on Toes (used a bar for balance)
• Plank with Ankle Touch

Rest 30s // RUN! 90s

---

I desperately needed some stretching after this so I added in the Core & Flexibility Workout as well.

Core & Flexibility Workout

45s each, Rest 15s between each

• Squat Chop (I messed up and did a squat with a twist)
• One Leg Front Bridge (alternated between on my toes in plank and on my knees in modified plank)
• Twist (no tubing available, used a 10lb BodyPUMP weight)
• Dead Bug
• Glutes Stretch
• Side Bridge Crunch (on one knee)
• Alternating Superman
• Scorpion Stretch
• Lower Back Stretch
• Hamstrings Stretch
• Hip Flexors Stretch
• Quadriceps Stretch
• IT Band Stretch

Felt good up till the end with the IT Band Stretch. I remember that move from physical therapy. OUCH!! My legs desperately needed it though. I haven’t used the foam roller in forever! It made me feel professional. Feel free to laugh at me, I am.

That core workout wasn’t really big for core moves but wow! That stretching felt good. I’m definitely going to be incorporating that a lot more from now on.

If you’re interested in this training plan, click on the picture below: