RIRLift app icon RIRLift

Exercises

Spartan race workout: the gym sessions that get you over the obstacles

Published October 24, 2026

A good Spartan race workout is a 45-minute full-body session, done twice a week next to your running: a squat or step-up for the hills, a pull-up and a dead hang for the rigs and walls, a heavy farmer's walk or sandbag clean for the carries, and a short finish of burpees or bear crawls. The best exercises for a Spartan race are pull-ups, dead hangs, farmer's walks, sandbag cleans, step-ups, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, kettlebell swings and burpees. Keep most sets 2 reps short of failure so your legs are ready for the runs.

  1. Pull-Up Lats
  2. Dead Hang Forearms
  3. Farmer's Walk Forearms, Traps, Shoulders
  4. Sandbag Clean Glutes, Hamstrings, Traps
  5. Step-Up Quads, Glutes
  6. Single-Leg RDL Hamstrings, Glutes
  7. Kettlebell Swing Glutes, Hamstrings
  8. Burpee Quads, Glutes, Chest, Shoulders

Grip and pulling strength for walls, ropes and rigs

Upper-body obstacles are where most racers do their burpees. Every one of them starts with your hands holding your body weight, so train the pull-up for strength, the hang for grip endurance, and the row to keep your shoulders balanced.

Grip and upper-body pull for walls and rigs

Pull-Up

Lats

Walls, ropes and hanging rigs all ask the same thing: hold your body weight from your hands and pull it up. Pull-ups build that directly, and the number you can do fresh is a fair guess at how the upper-body obstacles will go.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with hands just outside your shoulders, palms facing away, arms fully straight.
  2. Pull your shoulder blades down first, then drive your elbows toward your ribs.
  3. Keep pulling until your chin clears the bar, keeping your legs still.
  4. Lower all the way back to straight arms before the next rep.

Cues

  • Shoulders down before you bend
  • Chest to the bar
  • Full hang every rep

Common mistakes

  • Kicking and swinging to finish reps: stop the set one rep earlier and keep every rep strict.
  • Stopping halfway down: half reps hide weakness at the bottom, where walls and rope climbs start.

Swap for: Band-Assisted Pull-Up, Neutral-Grip Pull-Up, Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Pull-Up

Grip endurance

Dead Hang

Forearms

Most failed rig attempts end because the hands open, not because the back gives out. Hanging for time trains exactly that, and it costs almost no recovery, so you can add it after any session.

How to do it

  1. Grab an overhead bar with a full, thumb-around grip about shoulder width apart.
  2. Lift your feet and let your body hang with arms straight.
  3. Keep your shoulders slightly engaged so you are not sagging into the joint.
  4. Hold until your grip is about to give, then step down under control.

Cues

  • Squeeze the bar like a towel
  • Breathe slowly
  • Ribs down, legs still

Common mistakes

  • Hanging with fingers only: wrap the thumb around and get the whole palm on the bar.
  • Dropping off the bar at the first burn: the useful seconds are the last ones before your grip opens.

Swap for: Farmer's Walk, Plate Pinch Deadlift, Pull-Up

Build a session with Dead Hang

Horizontal pull and scapular strength

Inverted Row

Upper Back, Lats

Rows balance the pull-ups and build the mid-back that keeps your shoulders stable when you hang. On a Smith machine or low bar you can scale them by changing how upright your body is, so they work for racers who cannot do many pull-ups yet.

How to do it

  1. Set a bar at about hip height and lie underneath it, with an overhand hold.
  2. Straighten your body from heels to shoulders, heels on the floor.
  3. Pull your chest to the bar by driving your elbows back past your sides.
  4. Lower until your arms are straight, keeping your hips from sagging.

Cues

  • Body like a plank
  • Chest to the bar
  • Squeeze the shoulder blades

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips drop to shorten the rep: brace your glutes and stomach for the whole set.
  • Shrugging toward your ears: keep your neck long and pull with the back.

Swap for: TRX Row, Barbell Row, Kettlebell Row

Build a session with Inverted Row

Carries and heavy objects

Bucket brigades, sandbag carries and atlas stones are slow and heavy. Practice picking up an awkward load from the floor and then walking with weight until your hands and trunk get used to it.

Loaded carry and grip

Farmer's Walk

Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Bucket and sandbag carries are slow, heavy and long, and they punish weak hands, traps and trunk. Farmer's walks with heavy dumbbells train all three and teach you to keep walking while everything burns.

How to do it

  1. Set two heavy dumbbells beside your feet, hinge down and grip them in the middle of the handle.
  2. Stand up tall with the weights at your sides and your shoulders pulled back.
  3. Walk with short, quick steps, keeping your torso upright.
  4. Set the weights down under control once you cover the distance.

Cues

  • Tall spine
  • Short steps
  • Crush the handles

Common mistakes

  • Leaning forward as you tire: if you cannot stay tall, the weights are too heavy for the distance.
  • Letting the dumbbells swing into your legs: stay smooth and keep your arms locked at your sides.

Swap for: Dumbbell Suitcase Carry, Plate Overhead Carry, Trap Bar Deadlift

Build a session with Farmer's Walk

Lifting awkward objects from the ground

Sandbag Clean

Glutes, Hamstrings, Traps

Spartan courses make you pick up bags and stones that do not have handles. A sandbag clean teaches you to hinge, grab and drive an awkward load up to your shoulder, which is the hardest part of every heavy carry.

How to do it

  1. Stand over the sandbag with feet a bit wider than your hips and grab it along the sides.
  2. Squat down with a flat back until your hands are under the bag.
  3. Drive through your legs and hips to lift the bag, pulling it in close to your body.
  4. Pop it up onto one shoulder, stand tall, then lower it back to the floor and switch shoulders.

Cues

  • Hips do the lifting
  • Bag close to your body
  • Stand tall with it on the shoulder

Common mistakes

  • Rounding over the bag to rip it up with your back: sit your hips lower and lift your chest.
  • Curling the bag up with your arms: finish the hip drive first so the bag floats up to the shoulder.

Swap for: Kettlebell Swing, Trap Bar Deadlift, Power Clean

Build a session with Sandbag Clean

Legs for hills and uneven ground

The course is a trail run with climbs, descents and mud. Single-leg work builds the strength and balance for that terrain, and the squat covers the general leg strength you need to jump and lift.

Single-leg strength for climbs

Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

Spartan courses climb: hills, stairs and stadium steps. A dumbbell step-up loads one leg at a time through the same motion, and it builds the quads and glutes that keep you moving on the uphill without wrecking the legs you need to run.

How to do it

  1. Face a sturdy bench or box holding two dumbbells at your sides.
  2. Put your whole right foot on the box.
  3. Push through that foot to stand on the box without pushing off the back toe.
  4. Step down slowly with the left foot first, finish the set on one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Whole foot on the box
  • Lead leg does the work
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing off the back foot: keep the trailing leg relaxed so the top leg lifts you.
  • Picking a box so high that your knee is far above your hip: start at knee height.

Swap for: Dumbbell Reverse Lunge, Bulgarian Split Squat, Kettlebell Step-Up

Build a session with Step-Up

Bilateral leg strength

Goblet Squat

Quads, Glutes

Squats give you the leg strength for jumping walls, climbing out of mud pits and lifting heavy objects. The goblet version keeps your torso upright and is simple to load, so you can spend your effort on hard reps instead of technique.

How to do it

  1. Cup the top end of one dumbbell with both palms, tucked under your chin.
  2. Stand with feet about shoulder width, toes slightly turned out.
  3. Sit down between your heels, keeping your elbows inside your knees and your chest up.
  4. Drive up through your whole foot to standing.

Cues

  • Elbows inside the knees
  • Chest proud
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Heels lifting off the floor: widen your stance a little and sit back between your legs.
  • Letting the dumbbell drift away from your chest: keep it pinned there for the whole rep.

Swap for: Front Squat, Dumbbell Squat, Box Squat

Build a session with Goblet Squat

Hamstrings and balance on uneven ground

Single-Leg RDL

Hamstrings, Glutes

Trail running on rocks and roots asks every stride to balance on one foot while the hamstrings brake. A single-leg Romanian deadlift trains the same hip hinge on one leg, so your ankle, knee and hip learn to stay lined up when the ground is not flat.

How to do it

  1. With the dumbbell held in the right hand, balance on your left leg with a soft knee.
  2. Hinge forward from the hip, letting your right leg reach back behind you.
  3. Lower the dumbbell toward the floor until you feel a stretch in the standing hamstring.
  4. Drive your hips forward to stand up, then finish the side and switch.

Cues

  • Hips square to the floor
  • Reach back with the heel
  • Soft standing knee

Common mistakes

  • Opening the hip so the back leg turns out: point both hips at the floor through the whole rep.
  • Rounding your back to reach lower: stop where your back stays flat.

Swap for: Romanian Deadlift, Dumbbell B-Stance RDL, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Single-Leg RDL

Burpees, crawls and race conditioning

These are the moves you will actually do on the course, or close to it. Use them as the fast finish of a strength day rather than as the whole workout, so your running and lifting stay fresh.

Penalty work and repeat effort

Burpee

Quads, Glutes, Chest, Shoulders

Missing an obstacle means a set of burpees on the spot, so you might as well get good at them. They also train the get-up-and-go rhythm of the race: drop to the ground, get back up, start running again.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, then crouch and put both palms down just ahead of your toes.
  2. Jump both feet back into a plank and lower your chest to the ground.
  3. Press up out of the floor and hop both feet in under your hips.
  4. Stand up and jump, reaching your arms overhead.

Cues

  • Hands down, feet back
  • Chest to the floor
  • Steady pace, not fast

Common mistakes

  • Starting too fast and dying after ten: pick a pace you could hold for the whole set.
  • Landing the feet wide and flat-footed with a sagging back: keep the plank tight on the way down.

Swap for: Half Burpee, Mountain Climber, Dumbbell Burpee

Build a session with Burpee

Crawling and shoulder endurance

Bear Crawl

Abs, Shoulders

Barbed-wire crawls and low obstacles are hard on shoulders and hips that never crawl. Bear crawls get you used to moving on all fours with a braced trunk, and they double as a warm-up before running or lifting.

How to do it

  1. Start on hands and feet with knees bent and hovering a few inches off the floor.
  2. Move your right hand and left foot forward together.
  3. Then move your left hand and right foot forward together.
  4. Keep crawling for the distance with your hips low and back flat.

Cues

  • Knees just off the ground
  • Opposite hand and foot
  • Hips level

Common mistakes

  • Hips high in the air like a downward dog: lower them until your back is flat.
  • Big, sloppy steps: small steps keep the trunk working.

Swap for: Mountain Climber, Plank, Gorilla Walk

Build a session with Bear Crawl

Hip power and work capacity

Kettlebell Swing

Glutes, Hamstrings

A swing trains a fast, powerful hip snap for many reps, which carries over to jumping onto walls, throwing a spear and lifting heavy objects. It also builds the hamstrings and glutes that handle long descents.

How to do it

  1. Stand with feet a little wider than your hips and a kettlebell a foot in front of you.
  2. Hinge, grab the handle with both hands and hike the bell back between your legs.
  3. Snap your hips forward to stand tall, letting the bell float up to chest height.
  4. Let it fall back between your legs as you hinge again, and repeat.

Cues

  • Hike it like a football
  • Snap the hips
  • Arms are just ropes

Common mistakes

  • Squatting the swing instead of hinging: knees bend a little, hips go back a lot.
  • Lifting the bell with your arms: the height should come from the hip snap alone.

Swap for: Dumbbell Swing, Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift

Build a session with Kettlebell Swing

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

First Sprint, eight weeks out

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets28 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Pull-Up Bar, Flat Bench, Barbells +1

You signed up for your first Sprint, you run two or three times a week and you have done some gym work but never trained for obstacles.

Two full-body sessions on non-running days build the grip, carry and leg strength the course needs without eating into your runs. Most sets stop 2 reps short of failure, because a first-timer gains strength fast at that effort and stays fresh for running. Each session ends with a short burpee or crawl finish so penalty burpees feel familiar, and the whole session stays near 45 minutes.

Session A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Pull-UpUse a band if you cannot do 3. 3 × 3–8 2 2 min
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. 3 × 8–10 2 1 min
Farmer's WalkSteps, not reps. 3 × 30–40 2 90 s
BurpeeSteady race pace. 2 × 10–15 3 90 s

Open Session A in the session builder

Session B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Step-UpPer leg. 3 × 8–10 2 1 min
Inverted Row 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Kettlebell Swing 3 × 15–20 2 1 min
Dead HangSeconds. 3 × 20–45 2 90 s
Bear CrawlSteps. 2 × 20–30 3 1 min

Open Session B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Session A and Session B on two days that are not your longest run day, with at least one day between them. Warm up with two lengths of bear crawl before the first lift.
How to progress
Add a rep to each set until you reach the top of the range at the target reps in reserve, then add weight or, on pull-ups and hangs, add a few seconds or a rep. In the last week before the race, do one session at half the sets.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Super or Beast: strength next to high running volume

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Pull-Up Bar, Flat Bench, Barbells

You run four or more times a week to build up to a 10K or 21K course, and you need strength that holds up for hours without stealing from your runs.

Long courses are lost to fatigue, so the gym work here is heavier with fewer reps and few sets: strength gains come from load, while the running already supplies the endurance. Sets stop 2 to 3 reps short of failure to keep soreness low before long runs. The carries and sandbag cleans go up in weight, not distance, because the trail will provide the distance.

Strength A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat 3 × 5–8 2 2:30 min
Pull-UpAdd weight once 6 is easy. 4 × 4–6 2 2:30 min
Sandbag Clean 3 × 4–6 2 2 min
Farmer's WalkSteps. Go heavy. 3 × 30–40 2 2 min

Open Strength A in the session builder

Strength B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Step-UpPer leg. Heavy dumbbells. 3 × 6–8 2 2 min
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. 3 × 6–8 2 90 s
Inverted RowFeet raised once it gets easy. 3 × 8–10 2 90 s
Dead HangSeconds. 2 × 30–60 1 2 min

Open Strength B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Strength A after an easy run or on a rest day and Strength B at least two days later. Keep both away from the day before your long run.
How to progress
Add weight when you hit the top of the rep range at the target reps in reserve. Every fourth week, drop one set from each exercise and keep the weight the same, then build again.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Grip gives out on the rigs

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets25 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar, Dumbbells, Barbells, Kettlebells +1

Your running is fine but you fail the monkey bars, multi-rigs or rope and pay for it in burpees.

This plan puts hanging and pulling first in both sessions, when your hands are fresh, and adds the swing and carry so your forearms get trained on every day you lift. Hangs and pulls run close to failure, at 1 rep or a few seconds in reserve, because grip and pulling strength respond to hard sets and recover fast. Legs get one maintenance exercise per session so your running is not affected.

Grip A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dead HangSeconds. First thing in the session. 4 × 20–60 1 90 s
Pull-Up 4 × 3–8 1 2 min
Farmer's WalkSteps. 3 × 30–50 1 90 s
Goblet Squat 2 × 8–12 2 90 s

Open Grip A in the session builder

Grip B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Inverted RowPause at the top. 4 × 8–12 1 90 s
Kettlebell Swing 3 × 15–25 1 1 min
Sandbag Clean 3 × 5–8 2 90 s
Step-UpPer leg. 2 × 8–10 2 1 min

Open Grip B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Grip A and Grip B on non-consecutive days. Use the monkey bars at a playground or gym for a few easy traverses on a third day if you have them.
How to progress
Add five seconds to each hang or one rep to each pull-up set when you hit the top of the range. Once you can hang for a minute, hang from towels or thick handles to make it harder.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How should I train for a Spartan race?

Run on hills and trails two to four times a week, and lift twice a week with the exercises on this page: pull-ups and hangs for grip, carries for the heavy objects, step-ups and squats for the climbs, and a few burpees at the end. Put the lifting on easy or rest days so your hard runs stay hard.

Can a normal person do a Spartan race?

Yes. A Sprint can be walked between obstacles, and you can do burpees for any obstacle you fail. If you can walk briskly for an hour and do a few push-ups, eight weeks of the first-race plan here will make the day much more fun.

What are the best exercises for a Spartan race?

Pull-ups, dead hangs, farmer's walks, sandbag cleans, step-ups, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, kettlebell swings and burpees. Between them they cover grip, carries, climbing and the burpee penalty.

How many burpees do you do if you fail an obstacle?

A failed obstacle is paid for with a set of burpees on the spot, and the count can differ by race format and wave, so check the athlete guide for your event. Either way, a couple of sets of 10 to 15 at the end of each session gets you used to them.

Is a Spartan race harder than HYROX?

They are hard in different ways. HYROX is a set sequence of indoor stations between 1 km runs, so pacing matters most; a Spartan race is a trail run with unknown obstacles, hills and mud, so grip and terrain matter more. The strength work overlaps: carries, sleds or sandbags, and leg endurance.

How many days a week should I lift for a Spartan race?

Two. That is enough to build grip and leg strength while leaving three or four days for running, which is still the biggest part of the race. A third day can be a short hang and pull-up session if your grip is the weak point.