Tough Mudder vs. Spartan Race – which one is right for you? You might have asked yourself that question if you love to stay fit by being part of adventures and other tough activities.
Nowadays, you can find plenty of challenges, particularly those that require you to hurdle fire and crawl under barb wires. You can also take advantage of the two major players in this industry – the Spartan Race and Tough Mudder.
Learn about which one is ideal for you with the help of this article.
Running
One of the many things you have to look into if you want to learn the differences between the two activities and determine which one is ideal for you is the level of running involved. In Tough Mudder, you will most likely run on a muddy course.
In fact, 90% of the time, you’ll be running in pure mud. Spartan Race, on the other hand, involves less running compared to Tough Mudder. It is mainly because of the vertical hills that you’ll need to pass. Such causes you to spend more time hiking up the hills, instead of running.
Obstacles and Challenges
Tough Mudder and Spartan Race also differ in terms of the obstacles and challenges that participants are exposed to. In Tough Mudder, for instance, the obstacles and challenges often require teamwork.
Only a few of these obstacles can be accomplished individually. That said, this is not an ideal race for you if you want to do things alone. You have to be in a group. It builds camaraderie in the course, as everyone tends to help one another, even those who are not part of the same team.
Spartan Race, on the other hand, is a mixture of obstacles and challenges that you can complete individually and require teamwork. One major difference is that Tough Mudder does not penalize you in case you skip a challenge. Spartan Race has a penalty for doing such.
In fact, you will need to make thirty burpees each time you miss an obstacle. It is also important to note that most of the obstacles in Spartan Race require more strength than those in Tough Mudder. The reason is that you need to perform most of them individually.
Difficulty
You will also find the difference between the two based on their level of difficulty. It should be noted that Tough Mudder can’t be considered as a race as it does not time you.
The fact that you’re not timed significantly reduces the level of its difficulty. Also, since the majority of the obstacles require you to work with your team, you can lessen the difficulty.
Spartan Race is more difficult than the former. It involves intense obstacles that you need to accomplish as an individual plus it comes with a 30-burpee penalty in case you fail to accomplish an obstacle.
That said, you need to figure out if you are willing to undergo more intense obstacles if you wish to try this race.
Gears
In Tough Mudder, an essential gear is a pair of tight shoes. Alternatively, you can wear trail running shoes. The fact that this activity has plenty of mud is also the reason why you need to wear tight compression fabric. Compression socks and workout gloves can also help.
In Spartan Race, it is advisable to invest in trail running shoes. Aside from such footwear, you can also make the activity more manageable with workout gloves, toe socks, and compression shorts.
Conclusion
Choosing between Tough Mudder and Spartan Race is all about figuring out which one you can carry out with ease. Determine your own strength and weaknesses as this is also the key to figuring out which between the two is the perfect activity for you.
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A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.