In the distance you see a wall, which you can only assume you have to climb over. By the looks of it, it’s going to be simple. But as you run closer and closer, the wall keeps getting higher and higher, until you are standing underneath this 4 metre tall behemoth of an obstacle. Welcome to Balls To The Wall!
Obstacle: Balls to the Wall
Objective: Using the rope, climb up and over this 4 metre high wall, and then back down the other side. Simple task, but difficult to pull off right!
Difficulty: Physical - 8/10 | Mental - 4/10
Just like the Walk The Plank obstacle, those fearful of heights will find this obstacle quite challenging. Once you get up on top of the wall, those 4 metres that you are above the ground really looks a lot more like 10 metres. These people need to take a deep breath, overcome their fears, and start climbing. So long as you have a good grip, you will be safe and fine. Mentally, this obstacle isn’t as hard as the Electric Eel, but it still has its fair share of by-passers. With every Tough Mudder obstacle, just relax, take it slow, and don’t think too much about what you are doing!
Objective: Using the rope, climb up and over this 4 metre high wall, and then back down the other side. Simple task, but difficult to pull off right!
Difficulty: Physical - 8/10 | Mental - 4/10
Just like the Walk The Plank obstacle, those fearful of heights will find this obstacle quite challenging. Once you get up on top of the wall, those 4 metres that you are above the ground really looks a lot more like 10 metres. These people need to take a deep breath, overcome their fears, and start climbing. So long as you have a good grip, you will be safe and fine. Mentally, this obstacle isn’t as hard as the Electric Eel, but it still has its fair share of by-passers. With every Tough Mudder obstacle, just relax, take it slow, and don’t think too much about what you are doing!
Physically, this is quite a challenging obstacle. You will need lots of upper body strength to pull yourself up the rope, and to lower yourself down the other side. There are slats built into the wall at intervals, to put your feet on while climbing, but the main part of this challenge is pulling yourself up the rope.
How to Complete: The first important step is to make sure your hands are dry and mud free as possible. Tough Mudder will probably be cunning, and place a river crossing or a water obstacle right before the Balls To The Wall, just to keep you nice and wet, making this obstacle harder. Dry your hands on someone’s shirt, or on the ground.
Now, you need to wait for your turn to climb. Don’t start climbing while someone is still on your rope - that would just be stupid. Wait until they are up and over the top of the wall completely. Once you are free to go, grab as high up the rope as you can reach without jumping, hold tight, and kick your feet up to the first slat, and using your upper body strength, start pulling yourself up the rope. Keep moving your feet up to the next slat until you get to the top.
Now the tricky part - climbing over the obstacle. What you have to do is get up high enough to swing one leg over the top of the wall. Once you have got that, push yourself up and over with both arms, till both legs are over the wall and you are sitting on top like Humpty Dumpty – just don’t fall like him! Turn your body around so you are facing the wall, grab onto the rope, and start lowering yourself down, the same way as you climbed up – with your feet on the slats.
Once you get to the bottom, congratulate yourself and wait for the next person to climb over on your rope. Help them at the bottom if they need help, or just give them some words of encouragement. Then head off for your next obstacle.
Training: This challenge requires both upper body strength and some leg muscles. Firstly, the perfect training method for this obstacle is to climb ropes. The only problem is unless you go to a Crossfit Gym, or have one set up in your backyard hanging from a tree, then most people won’t have access to one.
Your next best option is pull ups. Pull up bars that you just chuck up into a doorway at home cost nothing, and can be purchased at most sports stores, or online. This piece of gym equipment is a necessity for you to train for a Tough Mudder. Pull ups (chest to bar, none of that wussy chin to bar nonsense) work out your entire upper body – arms, chest, back and so on. If done correctly, they will pack on muscle and strength very quickly. I have one set up in a door way at my home, and every time I walk through that door, I bang out a quick set of pull ups. Basically, pull ups should be incorporated into any workout you are doing.
And finally, our last workout for the Balls To The Wall obstacle, are squats. Getting those leg muscles big and strong will help you propel yourself over that wall easier. Jump squats are a favourite of mine currently – just make sure you keep your form the entire way through the exercise!
Our take: This is a nice addition to the Tough Mudder obstacle line up this year. It is tough enough to weed out the first time, couch potato Mudders who think they can finish the course without a single training session, from us real Mudders! One final tip for this obstacle – you may want to wear some gloves, so that the rope doesn't rip your hands apart. Gloves help out in many different obstacles, especially Funky Monkey and Hold Your Wood, but they can get annoying throughout the other parts of the course. If you get a pair that aren't water resistant, you will be throwing them to the ground after the first couple kilometres!
How to Complete: The first important step is to make sure your hands are dry and mud free as possible. Tough Mudder will probably be cunning, and place a river crossing or a water obstacle right before the Balls To The Wall, just to keep you nice and wet, making this obstacle harder. Dry your hands on someone’s shirt, or on the ground.
Now, you need to wait for your turn to climb. Don’t start climbing while someone is still on your rope - that would just be stupid. Wait until they are up and over the top of the wall completely. Once you are free to go, grab as high up the rope as you can reach without jumping, hold tight, and kick your feet up to the first slat, and using your upper body strength, start pulling yourself up the rope. Keep moving your feet up to the next slat until you get to the top.
Now the tricky part - climbing over the obstacle. What you have to do is get up high enough to swing one leg over the top of the wall. Once you have got that, push yourself up and over with both arms, till both legs are over the wall and you are sitting on top like Humpty Dumpty – just don’t fall like him! Turn your body around so you are facing the wall, grab onto the rope, and start lowering yourself down, the same way as you climbed up – with your feet on the slats.
Once you get to the bottom, congratulate yourself and wait for the next person to climb over on your rope. Help them at the bottom if they need help, or just give them some words of encouragement. Then head off for your next obstacle.
Training: This challenge requires both upper body strength and some leg muscles. Firstly, the perfect training method for this obstacle is to climb ropes. The only problem is unless you go to a Crossfit Gym, or have one set up in your backyard hanging from a tree, then most people won’t have access to one.
Your next best option is pull ups. Pull up bars that you just chuck up into a doorway at home cost nothing, and can be purchased at most sports stores, or online. This piece of gym equipment is a necessity for you to train for a Tough Mudder. Pull ups (chest to bar, none of that wussy chin to bar nonsense) work out your entire upper body – arms, chest, back and so on. If done correctly, they will pack on muscle and strength very quickly. I have one set up in a door way at my home, and every time I walk through that door, I bang out a quick set of pull ups. Basically, pull ups should be incorporated into any workout you are doing.
And finally, our last workout for the Balls To The Wall obstacle, are squats. Getting those leg muscles big and strong will help you propel yourself over that wall easier. Jump squats are a favourite of mine currently – just make sure you keep your form the entire way through the exercise!
Our take: This is a nice addition to the Tough Mudder obstacle line up this year. It is tough enough to weed out the first time, couch potato Mudders who think they can finish the course without a single training session, from us real Mudders! One final tip for this obstacle – you may want to wear some gloves, so that the rope doesn't rip your hands apart. Gloves help out in many different obstacles, especially Funky Monkey and Hold Your Wood, but they can get annoying throughout the other parts of the course. If you get a pair that aren't water resistant, you will be throwing them to the ground after the first couple kilometres!
Give us a shout if you have attempted this new obstacle this year. We would also love to hear your thoughts on gloves and Tough Mudder. Do they go … hand-in-hand?
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Now, everyone give me 20 squat jumps! Hoo Rah!
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Check us out on Facebook, for unseen photos, more training guides, Facebook only Tough Mudder information to help you through the course, and much more.
Never miss a blog post either! Subscribe to the RSS Feed to stay in touch with us through your Tough Mudder journey.
Now, everyone give me 20 squat jumps! Hoo Rah!
#TMTour2014