Obstacle Race Training; it’s the new fitness craze that has captured the attention of the world, and the hearts of athletes and amateurs alike. Aimed at people who want to train for their next Obstacle Race (Miss Muddy, True Grit, Muddy Hell, Spartan Race and Tough Mudder, to name a few), this training teaches the skills of how to conquer those tougher obstacles.
Thanks to Ninja Warrior on our television screens, gyms are slowly fitting themselves out for this new style of training. And one gym in particular, Geelong Boxing and Obstacle Training, is the place to train with a Ninja Warrior directly.
Jase Lydom is one of Australia’s most experienced Obstacle Racers, having competed in over 50 Obstacle Races in Australia, USA and Europe – and was one of the original Season 1 Australian Ninja Warriors. He enjoys endurance events and set a 24 Hour Tandem Indoor Rowing World Record (along with Shaun Phelps), covering 287km in 25 hours, as well as being one of the few Australians to complete the gruelling 3 Week “Unbeatable Mind” Academy and Kokoro Camp at Sealfit, in California, USA.
As a recognised Spartan GX trainer, there is no better place to undertake Obstacle Racing training than at Geelong Boxing and Obstacle Training. With a focus on providing great exercise variety using Boxing principles, Obstacle challenges and Cross Training workouts, Jase’s aim is to improve the fitness level and health of all clients.
Jase competed in his first obstacle race back in 2012, and with sheer determination and focus, he qualified for the World Tough Mudder in New Jersey for a 24 hour race.
“They call it 24 World’s Toughest Mudder, and after that I have just loved it since, and became in love with the sport,” Jase explains.
“I formed the Geelong Obstacle Racing Club with a couple of friends and from there we used to hold free training sessions, get together and train – just for the community, and at the same time, I was running my business anyway, so I just started to implement obstacle training into my business (Geelong Boxing) and it just went from there.”
Operating for about 10 years, Obstacle Training was introduced into the business only two years ago and has since become a massive focus of the business.
“Since beginning the business, we try to adapt to the fitness industry at the time. Years ago the fitness industry was a lot of boxing, and now it’s a lot of body weight and obstacle training, so that’s the way we’ve gone about that for our business. We still do the boxing, but it’s not as much as what it used to be, it’s more the obstacle training,” he says.
“Since Ninja Warrior it’s all taken a new hype to which is good, so we’ve got quite a few Ninja Warrior style obstacles in The Fun House and we had ten Ninja Warriors train for season one with us.”
Previously running his business outdoors along the waterfront, Geelong Boxing and Obstacle Training moved into a new venue – The Fun House – in July last year, allowing for more specialised training, permanent obstacles and a hub for the obstacle training community.
The basic components of fitness are all covered in obstacle training including strength, speed, stamina and flexibility. Jase implements different movement patterns into the sessions, that will give you obstacle confidence and make your Obstacle Racing experience an enjoyable one. It is not your regular program, but it’s a program where you can expect to feel like a young child again.
“We’ve got people in their 60’s who train with us, we’ve got some really elite obstacle racers that train with us, and we’ve also got the average Joe’s and the uni students as well,” Jase explains. “It’s just for anyone who wants to improve their level of fitness, so we sort of cater to all levels, but we adapt our workouts to suit everything – there’s also low options and high options for people.”
As a growing sport for the young and the young at heart, Jase has also started Mini Ninja Warrior classes now for kids, with their first kids competition to be held in November this year.
“We’ll definitely add more obstacles early next year, and then we’ll have an adult Ninja competition next year as well. Moving forward we want to widen the scope for kids, fitness and kids boxing classes and that sort of thing, and we’ll probably add one on one personal training as well.”
Alongside obstacle training and boxing classes, Jase has also introduced a 12 week Nutrition Program which can be suited to everyone from the beginner, to the elite athlete and easily incorporated into a busy lifestyle, as well as offering Body Composition Testing, which takes the guess work out of tracking your health and fitness progress.
“It’s something relatively new to us in the last couple of years and we’ve found it’s really good,” Jase says of The Inbody 570 Body Composition Analyser. “It beats the old way of measuring with a tape measure and using scales, this allows a more accurate reading of muscle and body fat.”
With a clear passion for health and fitness and a love of passing on his expertise and knowledge to clients so they can benefit and reach their own personal fitness goals, Jase and his wife have created a welcoming and supportive business with Geelong Boxing and Obstacle Training.
“We’re just a small family run business, I know every member’s name who walks through the door,” Jase says. “The best part is seeing clients progress, seeing them raise their fitness levels and improve their body composition and pretty much just improve their lifestyle.”
Geelong Boxing and Obstacle Training is located at 32 – 34 Raptor Place, South Geelong.
Phone 0432 296 926 or follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/geelongboxing/ and Instagram @geelongboxing.
Written by Talia Rinaldo
