The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training – a review

Many may recognize the name David Magida for his recent role as an announcer for NBC Spartan Races.  Others may know him as the owner of Elevate Interval Fitness – a high energy gym in Washington, D.C.  Still others, like myself, may know him more as the hotshot obstacle racer and one of the earliest Spartan Race Pro Team members.  Now he has another label – author.

Magida teamed up with trainer, Melissa Rodriguez, to write the now-published The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training.  This new 226-page book provides a nice complement to previously published works by Margaret Schlachter (Obstacle Race Training) and Matt B. Davis (Down and Dirty).  Magida and Rodriguez cover a wide range of obstacle racing topics in a somewhat surprisingly appropriate level of detail. [Note: Although that sounds like a slam,  it’s actually a compliment. It is difficult to describe many aspects of obstacle race training in sufficient detail without descending into the realms of tedium.] In addition to the obligatory description of obstacles and strategies for completing them, there are chapters devoted to nutrition, gear, injury prevention, mental training, and race day preparation.

The bulk of the book however, focuses on training exercises, types of workouts, and workout plans.  This is where many readers will find the most value.  With plenty of descriptive illustrations, the authors detail a plethora of individual exercises and then combine them to form easy-to-follow workouts (28 to be exact). They finish with a full-blown workout plan that can be followed and customized from beginners to elites. The book covers just about everything one would need to know and do to compete in obstacle racing.

From the back cover: “Most important, it presents the tools and the plan to prepare – physically and mentally – for the unforgettable adventure that awaits.”

If nothing else, you can read how Magida’s first obstacle race took a turn for the worse and then went quickly downhill from there!

OnMyWayToSparta is also on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.