‘GLORY Blades? Isn’t that just the easy Berlin Walls?’ people say.
This obstacle might not be as tall as its more famous counterpart and it might appear easier to tackle when you first look at it, but it is deceptively tricky – particularly if you do it right.
This obstacle might not be as tall as its more famous counterpart and it might appear easier to tackle when you first look at it, but it is deceptively tricky – particularly if you do it right.
Obstacle: Glory Blades
Objective: Climb over the 2.5m walls that are slanted towards you.
Difficulty: Physical - 8/10 | Mental - 4/10
This one isn’t mentally demanding, once you get over any doubts you might have about your ability to finish it. If you’re scared of heights, it may be a little daunting – but not compared to many of the other obstacles you’d tackle (looking at you Walk the Plank)
It is physically demanding, though. According to the Tough Mudder website, 50 per cent of people need help getting over this. So comradery is crucial here, particularly if you’re short (meaning you have trouble reaching the top of the 2.5m wall in the first place) or lacking in upper body strength.
Objective: Climb over the 2.5m walls that are slanted towards you.
Difficulty: Physical - 8/10 | Mental - 4/10
This one isn’t mentally demanding, once you get over any doubts you might have about your ability to finish it. If you’re scared of heights, it may be a little daunting – but not compared to many of the other obstacles you’d tackle (looking at you Walk the Plank)
It is physically demanding, though. According to the Tough Mudder website, 50 per cent of people need help getting over this. So comradery is crucial here, particularly if you’re short (meaning you have trouble reaching the top of the 2.5m wall in the first place) or lacking in upper body strength.
Originally, the obstacle was called “Berlin Walls #1’ and came in the form of a 2.5m vertical wall. After organisers realised this was pretty easy for people to complete, they added in the extra element of an angled wall. It’s much harder to scale the wall this way, and it’s much more likely you’ll need help from some mates to finish it.
How to Complete: Technique is pretty important to getting over this one without help. Take a running start and when you reach the wall, jump up and grab the top with both hands. As you jump, use one foot to kick yourself up, and try and swing your other leg over the top.
If this isn’t possible for you, the best way to get over is with the help of a mate (or two, or three). Get another Mudder to give you a boost so that you can reach the top of the wall with both hands. Then pull yourself up (your mate can keep pushing your leg up, if needed) until you’re able to swing a leg over the top.
Once you’re on top, there is some relief. Unlike Berlin Walls, where you then have to lower yourself back down the 3m drop (or risk falling and breaking an ankle as I saw happen to someone on the Sunshine Coast) on Glory Blades, you have the bonus of a nice, slanted piece of wall to slide back down.
Obviously, it still pays to climb down properly and not just throw yourself off the top – you don’t want to finish your Tough Mudder at the First Aid tent or the hospital, when you should be running across the finish line collecting your headband and hard-earned beer!
Training: This obstacle is pretty tough on the upper body, and training is needed to overcome it easily, especially if you want to do it without help. Glory Blades mostly uses upper body muscle groups – arms, chest, and back. Ideal training would include pull-ups. Whether you do them at the gym, on a bar attached to a door frame at home, or on some children’s play equipment at the local park, pull ups are fantastic for this obstacle.
If you’re not able to do a pull up yet, there are a variety of options you can take to build your strength (and finally achieve that glorious pull up!). Starting at the top of the pull up with your chin level with the bar, lower yourself down as slowly as you possibly can. Alternatively, simply holding yourself in the top position for as long as possible is good to build up your stength too.
Another option involves getting a big elastic strap, and attaching it to the bar so it hangs down and you can place your foot in it. The strap will relieve some of your body weight while you do the pull up, while still ensuring the movement is challenging. A chair can also be used in this case. Or for you gym people, the assisted pull-up machine is also great.
Push ups are also a necessity. You should already be doing loads of these if you’re training for a Tough Mudder, and if you're not, get on it straight away! The internet is pull of different training programs which you can use to build up your strength, by slowly increasing the number you need to do each day. A quick google search should net you plenty of options.
Once you’ve got your basic push up mastered, you can try the different varieties of push-ups, such as wide grip, narrow grip, diamond grip.
And finally, you can also do some real world training for this – find an appropriate wall or fence and try climbing it. You might look a bit strange to passers-by, but who cares? You’re a beast!
Our take: One of the problems with Glory Blades is many people (and I’ve been guilty of this) use the wooden slats which prop the blades up to climb the obstacle, rather than tackling it the way Tough Mudder intended.
Now, it’s up to people how they choose to complete the climb – but it’s a hell of a lot harder if you do it properly! And a hell of a lot more rewarding. In fact, I’ve made a pledge to always do this obstacle properly in the future.
As Michael said in his recent Sunshine Coast course review: “Glory Blades needs to be redesigned in my opinion. Too many people are just climbing up the planks holding the walls upright. This defeats the purpose of the obstacle”.
This could be something Tough Mudder could (edit. should) consider for the future, because removing the temptation of using those planks would instantly make this a much harder obstacle, and thats what Tough Mudder is about, right?
- Laura
How to Complete: Technique is pretty important to getting over this one without help. Take a running start and when you reach the wall, jump up and grab the top with both hands. As you jump, use one foot to kick yourself up, and try and swing your other leg over the top.
If this isn’t possible for you, the best way to get over is with the help of a mate (or two, or three). Get another Mudder to give you a boost so that you can reach the top of the wall with both hands. Then pull yourself up (your mate can keep pushing your leg up, if needed) until you’re able to swing a leg over the top.
Once you’re on top, there is some relief. Unlike Berlin Walls, where you then have to lower yourself back down the 3m drop (or risk falling and breaking an ankle as I saw happen to someone on the Sunshine Coast) on Glory Blades, you have the bonus of a nice, slanted piece of wall to slide back down.
Obviously, it still pays to climb down properly and not just throw yourself off the top – you don’t want to finish your Tough Mudder at the First Aid tent or the hospital, when you should be running across the finish line collecting your headband and hard-earned beer!
Training: This obstacle is pretty tough on the upper body, and training is needed to overcome it easily, especially if you want to do it without help. Glory Blades mostly uses upper body muscle groups – arms, chest, and back. Ideal training would include pull-ups. Whether you do them at the gym, on a bar attached to a door frame at home, or on some children’s play equipment at the local park, pull ups are fantastic for this obstacle.
If you’re not able to do a pull up yet, there are a variety of options you can take to build your strength (and finally achieve that glorious pull up!). Starting at the top of the pull up with your chin level with the bar, lower yourself down as slowly as you possibly can. Alternatively, simply holding yourself in the top position for as long as possible is good to build up your stength too.
Another option involves getting a big elastic strap, and attaching it to the bar so it hangs down and you can place your foot in it. The strap will relieve some of your body weight while you do the pull up, while still ensuring the movement is challenging. A chair can also be used in this case. Or for you gym people, the assisted pull-up machine is also great.
Push ups are also a necessity. You should already be doing loads of these if you’re training for a Tough Mudder, and if you're not, get on it straight away! The internet is pull of different training programs which you can use to build up your strength, by slowly increasing the number you need to do each day. A quick google search should net you plenty of options.
Once you’ve got your basic push up mastered, you can try the different varieties of push-ups, such as wide grip, narrow grip, diamond grip.
And finally, you can also do some real world training for this – find an appropriate wall or fence and try climbing it. You might look a bit strange to passers-by, but who cares? You’re a beast!
Our take: One of the problems with Glory Blades is many people (and I’ve been guilty of this) use the wooden slats which prop the blades up to climb the obstacle, rather than tackling it the way Tough Mudder intended.
Now, it’s up to people how they choose to complete the climb – but it’s a hell of a lot harder if you do it properly! And a hell of a lot more rewarding. In fact, I’ve made a pledge to always do this obstacle properly in the future.
As Michael said in his recent Sunshine Coast course review: “Glory Blades needs to be redesigned in my opinion. Too many people are just climbing up the planks holding the walls upright. This defeats the purpose of the obstacle”.
This could be something Tough Mudder could (edit. should) consider for the future, because removing the temptation of using those planks would instantly make this a much harder obstacle, and thats what Tough Mudder is about, right?
- Laura
And thats Glory Blades for you folks. Do you find this as challenging as Everest? Hopefully you're not one of the "cheaters" who climbs up the slats? Hopefully at your next Tough Mudder you will be able to (after our training of course) fly right over without hesitation! Let us know how you went on Facebook and Twitter!
See you at the Perth Tough Mudder this weekend!
#TMtour2014
See you at the Perth Tough Mudder this weekend!
#TMtour2014