Challenging Obstacle Course Ideas for Adults

Need challenging obstacle course ideas for adults being that we’re in the middle of a pandemic and you want to do something crazy outside while the OCR’s are closed? Or maybe you’re from the future (or I’m in the past) and you just want some crazy team bonding ideas for you and your co-workers. I’ve got plenty of ideas for some challenging obstcles!
Calf Burning Challenge Obstacle Course Ideas
The easiest obstacle to find would be in mother nature, known as a hill or mountain. Going uphill works your legs slightly different than standard walking, and engages your glutes (as long as they’re not under active), hamstrings, calves, and most likely your quads as well. Just walking uphill should give your legs a good challenge, then running up it will make it even more challenging.
To make life even more difficult on yourself, do it after a good rain. The ground will be soggy and you’ll be sinking into the ground, making your shoes heavier and adding a bit of extra strength to the event.
Mountain Bike or Dirt Track
The ups and downs of a dirt bike / mountain bike track will also give your legs a work up going both up and down the jumps. Make sure they’re aren’t any bikes on the track when you get out there though.
Grip Challenging Obstacles
Kettlebells, bulgarian bags, sandbags, or pails filled with rock (or cement) purchased at your local hardware store will give your shoulders, forearms, and grip a run for it’s money. Even if you’re running an “obstacle course” in your driveway carrying something heavy from one end of the driveway to the other should give your arms and your endurance a bit of a workout. Find an appropriate weight for your fitness level. A 24kg suitcase carry may be “light” for one person but challenging for another. Perform accordingly (the cool part is it’s your obstacle course so you get to adjust the difficulty!)
Off the Ground Obstacles
Go to the local park and find a set of monkey bars. This will also challenge your grip and test your overhead / upper body strength. You can add pull ups or chin ups at either end of the bars to tucker yourself out a bit. Or (if you have a fitness rack) they do make attachments to give you bars you can climb up and down on.
A good rope climb (I don’t know where you’d find one of these in covid land, unless you cemented a pole into your front / back yard and built your own) would also do wonders to challenge your upper body strength.
Challenging Crawling Obstacles
You don’t need dark holes or barb wire to make you crawl on the ground. You could crawl under a dining room table chair (if the chair is tall enough to crawl under) or simply army crawl across the grass in your backyard or in the park. Just stay low and use your imagination.
Water Obstacle Course Ideas
If you’re near the ocean, waves can be an obstacle course on their own. If you’re near a river (and know how to swim / have the proper gear to not drown) going against the current gives you a challenge. Or you could find a rope to hold onto to / let go of to swing into the water!
Do you have any more challenging obstacle course ideas for adults? Share them in the comments!