Welcome to week 7 of your training! You’ve made this training a part of your life at this point—Enjoy It!

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You’ve made it to WEEK SEVEN of your 12-Week Tough Mudder Training!

Your reminders:

Week One Tough Mudder Training Template

Week Two Tough Mudder Training Template

Week Three Tough Mudder Training Template

Week Four Tough Mudder Training Template

Week Five Tough Mudder Training Template

Week Six Tough Mudder Training Template

Check out the Step One, Two, and Three on About my Tough Mudder Template before you start training.  You need that information to use my training plan.

For answers to your Tough Mudder questions read my Tough Mudder FAQ’s part One & Two.

If you need it, you can use this link to register for your Tough Mudder race.

And please remember my notes, calories burned, and time spent on each workout refer to the Option One video program PLUS that day’s run (where applicable).

I list Option Two as a (completely acceptable) alternative, but I used Option One when I was training with this plan.  There is no Option Two for the runs.  You need to put in the miles I did to get ready for your mud race.

Reminder: Option 1 workouts are all Cathe Friedrich (plus the run that day, where applicable), and the Option 2 workouts are from various Beachbody programs.

HELPFUL TIP–You can access every single Cathe Friedrich routine I use via a membership to Cathe on Demand + Live and you can access every single Beachbody workout with a membership to Beachbody on Demand.

I recommend you sign up for one of these memberships while you’re training for your Tough Mudder.  You can cancel after your event.  You can read these posts for additional information (and answers to your questions):

How to Sign Up for Cathe Live or Cathe on Demand + Live

Beachbody on Demand–5 Reasons to Give it a Try It

Stop Going to the Gym–Beachbody on Demand vs. Cathe on Demand

IF YOU’RE USING MY TRAINING PLAN TO PREPARE FOR YOUR MUD RACE PLEASE SHARE IT WITH SOMEONE ELSE ON YOUR TEAM!!  THANK YOU!

Now on to WEEK SEVEN…

“Wow, I really regret that workout.”

–No One EVER

Remember to make this training plan your own.  Stick your long run in wherever you have time for it during the week.  Individualize! Personalize!  But remember you’re training for something here.  You have to answer to yourself at race day.

Make sure you get in all the workouts each week, it doesn’t matter what order you do them in.

I have the workouts in a weird order this week because that’s what worked for me when I followed this training plan.  Scramble the workouts up to fit your life.

Option 1 Workout-Cathe Friedrich, 4-Day-Split Cardio & Weights, Premix#8, Kickbox & Upper Body Weights

Option 2 Workout-P90X3 The Warrior AND P90X3 Triometrics

Reminder-In your Cathe On Demand subscription, the main Cathe Friedrich workouts can be found alphabetically under the ‘My Videos’ tab.  The Cathe Friedrich premix workouts (like above) can be found under the ‘Workout Blender’ tab.

Reminder-Every single Beachbody workout can be found in a basic Beachbody on Demand subscription

I had to stop a few minutes early to pick up my son from basketball practice.  (I did stretch before I left).  I don’t like stopping early.  I should have planned this better.

You’ll notice that I didn’t burn many calories today even though I worked out for well over an hour. 

The amount of calories you burn is directly related to your heart rate (and body weight, age, and technical stuff like your VO2 Max, my late husband had a doctorate in exercise physiology).  This video (the premix I did) is mostly resistance training.  My heart rate didn’t get very high.  Don’t worry about it.  You’re getting stronger.  You may lose weight while you’re training for the TM (I didn’t) but that’s not our goal.

Reminder: All this work is to become a Tough Mudder athlete.

If you happen to lose weight, good for you, if you don’t then I can relate.  If you’ve been gaining weight then you’ll have to face the fact that you’re probably eating too many calories.  Don’t hate on me.  We’ve all been there.

Remember you can do the Option Two Workout instead of the program I did.  You’ll still be just as prepared for the race.  Just remember the time it takes you to train today will be different than me (because I did Option One).  And those calories you see up there will be different for you no matter what workout you do today.

Reminder: The Total Calories I Burned is just for reference (please, don’t go put that number in your Fit Pal app).

Option 1 Workout-Cathe Friedrich, To The Max*

Option 2 Workout-Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning

To the Max is a great total body workout.  The choreography is basic.  Please try it.  It’s hard but they all are.  Seriously, stop complaining.  The TM is hard and you’re going to do it.

Doing hard stuff (take your mind out of the gutter, people) makes you stronger physically and mentally.  You know this.  We’ve all read inspirational quotes.

What shoes are you wearing for your mud race?  My husband and I researched this question for a long time.  We ended up doing different things.  (Remember that your shoes will be completely saturated in wet, sticky, gritty, mud.)

My husband bought a pair of shoes just for race day (a pair of Saucony Xodus 5.0 trail shoes).  He was happy he did.

I have feet problems.  I’ve been battling plantar fasciitis for a long time.  It’s painful and made worse with the wrong pair of shoes.  I’ve tried every brand.  Nike Lunarglide+ 5 allowed me to run and train for the TM (with the least amount of pain).  These are an old style and getting harder to find.  I have every color.  I decided to wear an old pair of these for the race and then donated them (left them there) after the race.

My suggestion is that for your race you wear the shoes you’ve been training in.

You don’t really want to pick the day of the race to try out a shoe you’ve never worn.

However, be prepared to throw away (or donate) the shoes you wear in the race and buy another pair when you get home.  Afterall, you’ll deserve a new pair of shoes after you do this thing!

Remember to check out my Tough Mudder FAQ’s for more helpful advice for your event.

Remember to do the Option 1 or 2 workout either before or after your run

Option 1 Workout-Cathe Friedrich, Boot Camp + Muscle Endurance, Boot Camp Main Workout

Option 2 Workout-P90X2 X2 Total Body

All of your runs will be a little bit farther now.  You’re well into your 7^th week of training.  It’s time to step it up.  Refresh your playlist.

Today was a long workout.  I get it.  Remember I have a life, too.  I don’t just workout.

I have 5 kids, a job, a husband, and a parent with cancer that I help as much as I can.  The trick is to fit your training in to your daily life.

Figure it out.  It’s not neuroscience.  You’ve been your kids’ chauffeur and social agent forever.  You’re already an organization master.

Apply your scheduling ninja skills to your workouts over the next 5 weeks.  Oh, and *BRAVO* for being an awesome parent!  Go hug one of your kids (or your spouse). You pick the lucky recipient.

Option 1 Workout-Cathe Friedrich, Ripped Hiit, Plyo Hiit One & Two, Premix-Plyo Hiit 2

Option 2 Workout-Insanity Max:30 Cardio Challenge or P90X3 Agility X

By now you should know who will (and will NOT) be on your TM team.  Make sure you (and your team) are registered for the race.

Encourage every team member while they’re training.  “Wow, you look amazing,” and “Your ass looks phenomenal,” are words that your teammates will remember you said when you’re stepping on their head to try and climb a wall and/or smashing your butt in their face to get leverage over a mud hill.

You will need them soon.  Be nice to them (at least) until the event.

Option 1 Workout-Cathe Friedrich, Xtrain Series, Tabatacise*

Option 2 Workout-Insanity The Asylum Speed & Agility

*All you’ll need is your step to do this work out (Tabatacise). It’s fun, and hard, but you expected that.

I’m so proud of you!  You should be proud of yourself.  Your reward is new underwear.  You know you need them.  Go buy some sexy underwear to show off your refined backside.  You’re welcome.

I don’t always wear a HRM (heart rate monitor) when I work out.  Almost a year ago I was dieting and lost fifteen pounds using the Fitness Pal app and wearing a HRM during exercise (the app allows you to credit yourself calories burned during exercise).  I still love knowing how many calories I burn so I made sure to include it in this training plan for anyone that feels the same way.

Remember the variables that affect your calorie burn (if you’ve forgotten go back and read my notes in week 7, day 2) are different for each person. I give you my data as a reference only.  Everyone will be slightly different.  For example, my husband is about twice my size and burns roughly twice as many calories doing the same work out.

I’ll warn you that if you wear a HRM every time you exercise you may end up with a small sore.  I developed a nasty abrasion where the sensor on the chest strap rubbed against my sternum while I was training and writing this program.  No blood (calm down), just a raw place that you’ll forget about until you get in the shower and scream when the water hits it.

This may be the farthest you’ve ever run.  If it is then you deserve new workout clothes.  Go spend some time with Amazon Prime.

If you run this far regularly, then shut up about it and stop making the rest of us feel bad.

I almost always do my long runs outside and on the weekend because that’s when I can usually find the largest window of time to devote to me.

Since my body gangs up on me in a mutinous mess of spasms and pain after every long run I give myself at least a 3 hour window for every run that’s 8 miles or more.

That gives me ample time to warm-up, run, stretch, and then lie down on the floor and wait for the waves of nausea, pain, abdominal cramping (that may or may not turn in to a need to crawl to the nearest toilet) and realization that parts of me are raw that should NEVER be raw sink in.  (Like with the HRM abrasion you’ll find this out when you get in the shower and your raw parts light up like a fire.)

Ten miles is a haul.  You’re an official badass if you’re running ten miles for the first time!

I’m so glad to help you on your journey to accomplishing one of the hardest physical tasks you may ever do (unless you’ve had kids, that’s way harder, but in a completely different way because there’s no backing out once you’re having contractions and realize that a live person REALLY IS about to emerge from your lady parts, but you could technically quit the TM at any time.  But you won’t!  Forget I even mentioned it.)

Spaghetti and meatballs STAT!

Wow!  Look how many miles you ran this week.

And you thought you weren’t a runner!  You should consider entering a half-marathon after your mud race.  Just a suggestion.

Guess what? Next week you’ll be running the same number of miles (not more).

It’s all good.  Your body is a machine and you’re creating one amazing piece of equipment.

If you didn’t book your hotel last week then get on that ASAP!

Remember to come back for Week 8!