Spartan Race Barbed Wire Crawl

​I felt the grit of sand in my teeth.

As a card-carrying germaphobe, this was the most challenging part of the 21k Spartan Beast for me. Obviously, it was all difficult. But I can’t express how much it grosses me out crawling through dirt and mud.

My aversion to germs started when I was about six years old, and it has mostly stayed the same thirty years later. But I promised myself I wouldn’t let that hold me back from working through my endurance bucket list.

And completing all four distance Spartan races in the same calendar year was at the top of the list.

I crawled forward through gravel-laden mud for what seemed like hours. My brother-in-law laughed and snapped pictures of me from the sideline. He declined my invitation to join me.

Barbed Wire Crawl Overview

The barbed wire crawl is a simple obstacle: crawl from one end to the other. But what makes the barbed wire crawl so challenging isn’t so much the crawling itself. It’s the crawling immediately after the dunk wall, which is where the obstacle typically appears on the course.

The dunk wall involves submerging yourself in murky mud water, swimming under an inflatable wall, and popping out the other side of the mud pit. It is my least favorite of all the Spartan obstacles.

Once you claw your way out of the pit, you will face the barbed wire crawl.

The barbed wire crawl usually involves mud but may also appear in dirt or grass. It is around 100-200 feet long. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but since it is usually one of the last Spartan race obstacles before the finish line, you are pretty beat up at this point. 

There are several options for completing this obstacle. You can bear crawl, army crawl, or roll. You can touch the wire – don’t worry, it’s not real barbs, so it doesn’t hurt. The only thing you can’t do is stand up. You have to go under.

Here are the official rules for the wire obstacles from the Spartan Rulebook.

Spartan Race Barbed Wire Crawl – Rule Book

“4.3.2 BARBED WIRE / CORD / SCRIM NET LOW / TUBE CRAWLa) Competitor Instructions

1. Traverse under the obstacle from one end to the other.

b) Failure Modes1. Not traversing under the obstacle from one end to the other.

c) Additional Notes1. A competitor may roll under the obstacle.

2. A competitor may touch the obstacle.” – Spartan Competition Rules

If you’re an elite athlete, you might fly through this obstacle with a single-style approach, like the bear crawl. We mere mortals tend to use a combination of crawling and rolling. I attempted to bear crawl the entire way and found myself rolling the last 20 feet.

The good thing about the barbed wire crawl is that there’s isn’t a long line like the monkey bars or other obstacles that appear earlier in the course. 

If this sounds daunting, don’t worry. With proper training, you’ll make it through this obstacle and your first Spartan race with no trouble at all.

How to Train for the Spartan Race Barbed Wire Crawl

This is one of those unique obstacles where the best way to train for it is to do it. I recommend including 100-200 feet of bear crawls at the end of your workout. This is a tiring exercise that will wear you out if you place too early in your workout. Chances are the bear crawl will take a while to get used to, so practice makes perfect.

Bear Crawl

The armed forces use bear crawls to train their members to move low to the ground through rough terrain, a skill that has obvious benefits for warfare. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other ground-based combat sports like wrestling use bear crawls to develop strength and stability using all four limbs in coordination. But you don’t have to be in the military or a combat sports athlete to take advantage of this exercise.

How to Bear Crawl

The bear crawl is a complex movement to learn at first. Rest assured, the more you practice it, the more mobile you will become.

• Place your hands on the ground in front of you below your shoulders.
• Bend your knees and keep your back straight. Make sure your knees are beneath your hips.
• Keep your toes planted on the ground with your heels elevated.
• Move your right hand forward. As you do, move your left leg forward.
• Don’t pause. Immediately move your left hand and your right leg forward. Alternate between right hand/left leg and left hand/right leg. Determine the amount of distance you will crawl before stopping. That distance is equal to one set.
• Move forward in a slow, controlled manner.

You want a lot of space to do this, so you don’t have to pause and turn around.

You don’t need to take large steps. To get the most out of this exercise, take small steps and focus on maintaining form by keeping your hips stable. If your hips start to swing or you raise your butt up too high, you are breaking form.

Keep your core muscles tight and your neck in line with your spine.

Start with a few forward steps. Over time, work your way up to several yards. Don’t try to do too much in the beginning. Focus on developing coordination.

Bird Dog

Bird dogs are a lower back exercise and core exercise.

How to Do Bird Dogs

Unlike bear crawls, you it won’t take much to get you started with this simple exercise.

• Get into a quadruped position (tabletop) with your hands and knees on the ground.
• Extend your right arm forward and your left leg backward.
• Briefly hold the position, then reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
• Alternate each rep with the right arm, left leg, and left arm, right leg.

Dead Bug

Despite its name, the dead bug is a challenging exercise. Do this movement slow and controlled.

How to Do the Dead Bug

Dead bugs are essentially bird dogs on your back. Learn how to do the bird dog first and dead bugs will come naturally.

• Get into the starting position by lying face up on the ground. Extend your arms so they are perpendicular to the ground, and bend your knees so they are parallel to the floor.
• Tighten your core. Lower the left arm at the same time as the right leg. Stop both a few inches above the ground.
• Reverse the movement to return to the starting position. Then, repeat the movement with the right arm and left leg.

Spartan Race Barbed Wire Crawl Wrap-Up

The Spartan race barbed wire crawl is one of many challenging obstacles you’ll face at your next race. Make sure you prepare with a quality cardio and strength training program so you are ready to go on race day.

If you enjoyed this article, you will love these!

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Good luck!