The OCR carry is the most grueling part of any race. The mixture of race fatigue, a heavy sandbag, and technical trails seems unfair.
The bad news: An OCR carry will never get “easier.” When you become efficient in a carry, you will be able to push harder. No matter how much you train, a carry will always be suck.
The good news: You can get faster at the OCR carry and finish sooner! A smart plan with progression will deliver real results.
A big mistake OCR athletes make during training is overdoing volume carries. Yes, A long carry will help mental preparation. But, physically you will struggle.
An “extra heavy” sandbag carry for a mile long rep will force you to go slow. Training at a slow pace will yield slow results. You need to train fast to get faster.
It seems simple, so drop the long bucket carry and work on speed!
Build a speed progression to get fast.
Start out with a lighter bucket or sandbag that you can move with speed. Then, hit it hard! Move in short bursts and work your way up in duration.
Progression example
Start with a 400-meter time trial or 4 minutes for distance baseline test. Log your time and distance to track your improvement.
Week 1
8 x 30 seconds fast
30-40 sec recovery
Week 2
10 x 30 secs fast
30-40 sec recovery
Week 3
8 x 45 sec fast.
30-40 sec recovery
Week 4
Re-test your “baseline” and log progress.
A progression is a systematic and simple way to guarantee improvement.
Carry under fatigue to reduce rest time
Now that you have you have improved your “Raw Speed” you can simulate race fatigue.
Start on a bike, rower, or a set burpees and go HAM. Complete a 45-60 second interval and grab your heavy object with no rest. Hit the carry hard for 30-60 seconds and take a “full” recovery before your next interval.
Week 5
4 x 60 sec Anaerobic effort + 60 sec bucket carry
2 min recovery
Week 6
6 x 60 sec Anaerobic effort + 60 sec bucket carry
2 min recovery
Week 7
2 set
4 x 60 sec Anaerobic effort x 60 sec bucket carry
2 min recovery between reps
4 mins between sets
Week 8
Re-test your “baseline” and log progress.
After a few weeks of fatigue training, you will feel confident to start your carry with little rest. Improving transitions is a sure fire way to faster OCR results.
Strength reps for big race results
After several weeks of training your “baseline” pace will improve. Now is the best time to improve your grinding “race pace.”
Do ONE “mega set” as your strength work for the week. Five minutes of sustained effort will build your “strength endurance”. Keep your pace level and focus on your posture and position. After 1-2 big set finish with a set of four sprints.
Week 9
1 x 5 mins “race pace.”
4 x 30-second sprints
Week 10
1 x 6 min “race pace.”
4 x 30-second sprints
Week 11
Retest baseline test of 300-400 m for time or 4 min for distance.
There is nothing better than passing your competition during a carry. Train Smart, use progression and blow by the field.
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