Want to know the most underserved training trick to conquer upper-body obstacles — think: monkey bars, cargo nets, rope climb — like a Spartan champ? It's simple: foster joint motion with mobility exercises, so you can engage the right muscles to hold you up. In fact, increasing your functional joint mobility is just as important as working on a strong core and upper body. Many Spartan obstacles involve hanging, which requires your arms to be directly overhead. To do this comfortably, you need proper shoulder mobility. Without it, your weight dumps pressure into the low back, which is typically how people get injured. "The body is funny in the way that it works," says Sam Stauffer, Spartan's Director of Training. "If one thing isn't working right, it will figure out how to overcompensate." 

Think of your body as a kinetic chain — if the weight stops at one point due to immobility, that's where the weight stays. "That's why it's crucial to have enough mobility to recruit the appropriate muscles, like your lats, to hold your weight up so you're not relying on your joints and ligaments," says Stauffer. Similarly, it's a must to build lower-body mobility (even for upper-body obstacles!) because you use your feet and hips to get through them. Take the Olympus Wall — it's primarily upper-body focused, but if you can get your hips and ankles into the right position to propel you forward, you're not torquing with your shoulders and you actually save energy for the next obstacle.

That's why we've incorporated several key lower mobility exercises into this workout, too. Think about it: most people, being at a desk or on the phone all day, struggle with shoulder mobility. "It's one of the easiest things for your body to cheat on," says Stauffer. "You will extend your back and open your rib cage to overcompensate — but if you don't have a good range of motion in your hips and are unable to get your feet under you on the Olympus Wall, there's no way to overcompensate. You just can't get there." And we all know the consequence: burpees on burpees.

Stauffer says this is the slow workout stuff you can't ignore, but most people skip it because it's boring. "It's so much more important to have a good range of motion and muscle extensibility than strength, to avoid the faulty foundation." So consider these your main mobility exercises to master upper-body obstacles. You should complete the entire workout three times a week on non-consecutive days (follow Spartan on Instagram for additional cardio and recovery workouts to fill out the week). You can condense the warm-up if you’re short on time, but keep in mind that these warm-up moves were designed to prep your body for this specific sequence.

You’ll need: a mini-band (small resistance band), kettlebell, sandbag

Mobility Exercises for Upper Body Obstacles: Self-Myofascial Release + Static Stretching Warm-up

Perform 1 set of the number of reps indicated.

Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch: 30 on each side 90s Stretch: 30 on each side Kneeling adductor stretch: 30 on each side Half-kneeling hamstring stretch: 30 on each side Prone lat stretch: 30 on each side Half-kneeling pec stretch: 30 on each side Seated neck stretch (scalenes, SCL, levator): 30 on each side

Mobility Exercises for Upper Body Obstacles: Mobility + Joint Stabilization

Perform 1 set of the number of reps indicated.

Half-kneeling ankle drive: 6 on each side Band-assisted leg lower: 6 on each side Quadruped T-spine rotation: 6 on each side Quadruped neck nods: 6 on each side Quadruped wrist rock: 6 on each side Y, T, W, L: 8 on each side: 6 on each side Hip lift with 3-second hold: 15 reps Overhead squat with mini band: 10

Mobility Exercises for Upper Body Obstacles: Power + Speed Circuit

Perform 2 sets of the number of reps indicated.

Squat jump: 12 Lateral bound: 10 on each side

Mobility Exercises for Upper Body Obstacles: Strength + Conditioning Circuit

Perform 3 sets of the number of reps indicated.

Overhead squat (alternative: bodyweight squat): 12 Kettlebell shoulder press (alt: overhead reach OR birddog): 10 on each side Kettlebell deadlift (alt: bodyweight deadlift OR dual kettlebell deadlift): 12 Goblet squat: 12 Goblet lateral squat (alt: bodyweight OR goblet lateral lunge): 8 on each side Sandbag clean to squat (alt: sandbag clean OR clean to squat to press): 10

WATCH: A demo of Lateral squat from the Spartan experts