The Official Four-Week Spartan Sprint Training Plan

Your first step is complete — you’ve signed up and committed to your first Spartan Sprint. Now you need a Spartan Sprint training plan to prepare for the 5K, 20-obstacle race. (And if you haven’t committed yet, what are you waiting for? Find a race already!)

When you have a decent base of strength and endurance, you should be well-equipped to persevere to the finish line (except for some of the upper-body obstacles). But if you’re looking to really push your limits and see what you can do, use the following tips below before diving into our official, four-week Spartan Sprint Training Plan.

The 4 Basics of a Spartan Sprint Training Plan

1. Build a Solid Running Base

Since a Sprint is the shortest of Spartan races, you won’t need to log loads of miles, but you don’t want to go in without having a base of running endurance, says Spartan Master Coach Trevor Franklin. He suggests working three runs into your Spartan Sprint training plan per week (depending on your fitness level), consisting of anywhere between 2 to 3 miles.

Two of those runs should be focused on running itself and controlling your heart rate – don't worry about your speed. The third run of the week could include intervals of running broken up by a mix of exercises like pull-ups, push-ups, and burpees to better simulate the actual race, he adds.

2. Improve Your Grip Strength

There is a lot of pulling in a Spartan race, regardless of the distance. That means your forearms, biceps, and back need strength and endurance. Coach Trevor recommends strength training two to three days per week.

“A sample schedule could be upper pull, upper push, and lower, and on the upper pull and lower days you should work in pull-ups, dead hangs, and farmer carries,” he says.

3. Practice Other Full-Body Functional Movements

Aside from needing a lot of grip and pulling strength, you’ll be doing a lot of crawling and climbing under, over, and around awkward and challenging obstacles. Coach Trevor’s recommendation is to also practice things like bear crawls for obstacles like the Barbed Wire Crawl and dips for getting over walls.

“Don’t forget to add things like t-spine rotations to your Spartan Sprint training plan to improve your thoracic mobility and prevent injury,” he adds.

Need more ideas? Check out our 30 best exercises for functional strength and mobility.

4. Set Your Goal Before Race Day

Because many Spartan races take place on uneven terrain – which is often rocky, grassy, hilly and interspersed with water crossings and obstacles – when Coach Trevor was training for his first Spartan race, he added 10 minutes to his overall 5K time as a gold medal, then went down from there.

“Think of your best 5K time you’ve ran, then get a bronze, silver, and gold medal goal for yourself time-wise with which you'd be happy,” he says.

Finishing alone is a huge accomplishment, but also pushing yourself to achieve goals that you personally set can be HUGE. Ready to sign up for your first Spartan Sprint race?

The Official 4-Week Spartan Sprint Training Plan

Week 1

Monday: Endurance Running

Warm-up: 10-minute easy jog
Workout: 10 minutes running at a steady pace
Cool down: 5-10 minute walk and stretching

Tuesday: Bodyweight Strength Training (Push and Lower)

Warm-up: 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching, like t-spine rotations and marching in place
Circuit (3 rounds):
- Squats: 12 reps
- Push-ups: 12 reps
- Lunges: 12 reps per leg
- Plank up-downs: 1 minute
- Tricep dips: 12 reps
- Single-leg pistol squats: 12 alternating reps
- 5 burpees
Cool down: 10-minute walk and static stretching

Wednesday: Agility and Speed Work

Warm-up: 10-minute easy jog
Workout:
- 4 x 100m repeats at 80-90% effort with 2 minutes rest in between
- 4 x 400m repeats at 60-70% effort with 2 minutes rest in between
Cool down: 10-minute walk and static stretching

Thursday: Rest or Light Activity

Optional: Light activity like yoga, stretching, or a gentle walk

Friday: Strength Training (Pull and Core)

Warm-up: 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching
Circuit (3 rounds):
- Pull-ups: 10 reps (or until failure)
- Supine leg lifts: 12 reps
- Inverted rows: 12 reps
- Kettlebell halos: 12 reps alternating sides
- Dead hang: Until failure
- Dumbbell wrist curls: 12 reps each side
- Dumbbell farmer carry: 1 minute
Cool down: Static stretching

Saturday: Longer Run

Warm-up: 10-minute easy jog
Workout: 20 minutes at a moderate pace
Cool down: 5-10 minutes of walking and stretching

Sunday: Rest

Week 2

Monday: Endurance Running with Intervals

Warm-up: 10-minute easy jog
Workout: 10 minutes at a steady pace, followed by 10 minutes alternating between 1 minute faster/1 minute slower intervals (if you need extra recovery at this stage, you can walk the slower intervals)
Cool down: 5-10 minutes walking and stretching

Tuesday: Strength Training (Push and Lower)

Warm-up: 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching such as skipping, walking lunges, etc.
Circuit (3 rounds):
- Dumbbell deadlifts: 12 reps
- Dumbbell chest press: 12 reps
- Single-leg unweighted deadlifts: 12 reps per leg
- Dumbbell shoulder press: 12 reps
- Bent-knee calf raise on leg press: 12 reps per leg
- Skull crushers: 12 reps
- Bear crawls: 1 minute
Cool down: Static stretching

Wednesday: Hill Sprints and Lower-Body Muscular Endurance

Warm-up: 10-minute easy jog
Workout:
- 8 x 30-second hill sprints at max effort with 90 seconds rest in between (walk back down)
- 15 minutes of Stairmaster or bleachers at a slow pace
Cool down: 5-10 minutes of walking and stretching