Eight Awesome Obstacle Course Ideas for Teens
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An obstacle course involves a sequence of challenging physical and mental trials. While being timed, a team or an individual has to go through each obstacle – balancing, climbing, crawling, jumping, running, and even swimming. Obstacle courses have varying degrees of difficulty. They also involve different kinds of stunts.
The aim of obstacle course racing is to test a person’s agility, endurance, speed, and sometimes mental skillfulness. Obstacle courses are for people of all ages – adults, kids, and teens. In fact, when you and your child participate in an obstacle course racing, you will have a fun time working out, strategizing, and bonding.
What is an Obstacle Course Racing?
Have you ever tried crawling under barbed wires, climbing walls, lifting heavy stuff, running over tires, or hopping while both of your legs are inside a sack? If your answer is yes, then you probably already have a clue about what obstacle race is as well as how challenging and tiring it feels to do it.
But did you know that obstacle course racing is also considered a sport? Yes, in fact, it is a sport that will challenge you to beat other participants as you try to triumph over a set of physical and mental obstacles. The different trials that you and other players have to overcome will put your endurance, determination, strength, as well as strategy-making to the test.
When you and your child take part in an obstacle course racing, you will have to overcome and triumph over physical and mental challenges. Trials in obstacle courses often include climbing, hopping or jumping, pulling or pushing, running, and sliding. It’s a full-body workout that doubles as a fun and active way of bonding with your child.
Obstacle courses are designed to challenge yet to provide fun to its participants. Think of it as a fun way of going through trials, like mud pits and monkey bars, and beating your opponents. When you and your child participate in an obstacle course racing, you both have to get out of your comfort zone and push yourselves to the limit. And of course, teamwork is the key!
So prepare to be dirty and get mud all over your body. Let the obstacle race begin!
Obstacle Course Ideas for Teens
It doesn’t matter how old your child is. Kids share one thing in common – high level of energy. However, teens nowadays are not as active. Well, they’re engaged in social media, but they aren’t physically active. They spend most of their time using their gadgets. You don’t want your child to have a sedentary lifestyle, do you?
There are many obstacle course ideas that can sap the energy out of even the most playful and sprightly teenager. In fact, racing in an obstacle course is a cool way for them to be more physically active.
Not only that – obstacle courses also test their physical and mental ability. Plus, participating in an obstacle course also teaches teens how to work in a team effectively. So why not get them outdoors? Let them have fun while racing in an obstacle course.
Here are several obstacle course ideas for teens:
- Rope Climb
If you want your child to participate in a more athletic obstacle course, this is a good option.
Rope Climb involves players having to get up a wall using a thick and heavy-duty rope. The knots on the rope must be three feet apart. Those knots are what the teens will hold on to. Each player should come up to the wall from one side, climb up the rope, and then move over the wall, and down its opposite side.
To make sure of every participant’s safety, ensure that the rope will not slip as participants are climbing over. You can do this by sliding the rope through a metal loop at the top. And then tie a thick knot on each side to be extra careful that it will not slide.
- Mudslide
Have you ever seen how people from the military are trained? There’s a part where they slide and crawl through the mud, right?
Mudslide is no different. Every participant must also go through a messy mud pit, which is more or less 20 feet long and 5 feet wide.
Of course, participants’ safety is always number one. So for their protection, while racing, there must be a trench that is lined with any cover. This will make sure that there will be no sticks, rocks, or any hard or sharp objects that might injure them.
- Tire Course
Do you have any old tires sitting in your junkyard? Why not put those to good use and set up your tire course? Sounds fun, doesn’t it?
If you have a backyard that is big enough for an obstacle course, then you can put two columns of tires, where your teenage kid can run through. While running, he has to put each of his feet in a different tire.
Another obstacle course idea that you can create with your old tires is to bury them half in the ground to make a tunnel, where players can crawl through. Imagine what a fun adventure it can be.
- Tire Wall
As your child climbs the Tire Wall, he may use the tires as his footholds, as well as the straps, which are tied together, as support. When he climbs up to the top, he must keep his body not far away from the beam. That way, he could easily grab on to the straps on the opposite side before he goes down from the top of the tire wall. He must be steady, as he makes his way down.
- Warped Wall
The Warped Wall may appear to be overwhelming and scary, especially to kids. That is why it is important for your child to have a can-do attitude when he comes up to it. Do you know what most individuals do wrong when doing this obstacle course? They actually run at the wall when what they should be doing is to run up to it.
So before your teenage kid faces and climbs the intimidating Warped Wall, remind him to focus on his goal, which is to concentrate and make it to the top. Here’s a tip: he must lean back a little before jumping, and he should strongly grasp the edge of the wall.
- Everest
A good strategy for every team in an obstacle course racing is to let their strongest members make their way to the top first before letting the rest of the team go. The reason is because when they do the opposite, members who are not as strong as the others may have a hard time due to sliding and slipping close to the top.
Sure, other members can cheer them up. Of course that would help motivate them. That won’t make the obstacle less slippery, though. So strategizing and teamwork are still the best.
- Barbed Wire Crawl
To conquer this obstacle course, your child must be exceptionally fast. Remind him to crawl as fast as he can from one end to the opposite side. But what’s most important is for him to remember to be extra careful with the barbed wires as he crawls under them. He must keep his body as low as he can to the ground so that the wires won’t reach his back.
- Monkey Bars
How would you help your teen kid conquer Monkey Bars? You should tell him to always have a firm grip when he swings his body. Tell him not just to stretch his arms but to use his full body weight to swing his body forward.
From running through tires to climbing monkey bars, you and your child can master several physical and mental skills through obstacle course racing. Plus, it is a great way to bond and establish teamwork with your child.
Other Famous Obstacle Course Races
Listed below are more physically challenging obstacle courses. The requirements and the distance of each obstacle course are different. They are actually determined by where the obstacle course racing takes place. Read on and see if you and your child have what it takes to participate in the following obstacle courses.
- Spartan Race
This obstacle course got its name from the ancient Greek civilization, where people had the most intense training. It was in 2010 when runners first did the Spartan Race. Joe De Sena is one of its founders.
It involves Sprint Courses (over 20 obstacles, more than three miles), Super Courses (more than 20 obstacles, over eight miles), and Beast Courses (over 35 obstacles, more than 13 miles). Spartan Race can last for as fast as 30 minutes to a maximum of six hours.
- Tough Mudder
This one is not literally a race. Tough Mudder is more like a challenge that aims to let its participants face their fears, such as the fear of heights, electricity, fire, water, and the like.
- Ninja Warrior
A lot of people watch this obstacle course on television. It actually started in Japan. It was an entertainment TV special titled Sasuke.
Ninja Warrior challenges its participants to go through four obstacle courses. But here’s the catch – they have to do it in the fastest and most orderly way they can.
This obstacle course on TV got so famous that it got versions in different countries, including the American Ninja Warrior.
Participating in Ninja Warrior will test its participants’ balance, grip, speed, as well as their upper body strength.
- Conquer Challenge PH
As its name implies, this obstacle course race originated from the Philippines. It was created by Filipino sports enthusiasts.
The participants of this obstacle race are mostly fitness buffs, like triathletes, runners, and crossfitters. It involves climbing, running, overcoming phobias. Although it may seem tough, this obstacle race is open to teens.
Benefits of Obstacle Course Racing
When you or your child takes part in an obstacle course racing, there are many benefits you can gain. Not only will you be able to build social interactions through teamwork, but also improve your physical and mental strength while having fun.
Here are more reasons for you and your child to participate in obstacle courses and more benefits you can get from it.
- Good Cardio Workout
When you exert effort as you go through physically challenging obstacle courses, you get a good cardio workout. This makes obstacle course racing good for your heart. It improves blood circulation, which makes the heart stronger. So encourage your teenage kid to race in obstacle courses and get that blood pumping.
- Get Physically Fit and More Confident
If your child still has baby fats, obstacle course racing is an effective and enjoyable way to lose those stubborn extra fats. When your teen kid starts to get active and crawls, hangs on monkey bars, and runs, he burns calories and eventually gets physically fit.
Plus, he can also improve his coordination and balance. And more importantly, being physically fit will also improve his self-esteem and make him feel better.
- A Great Way of De-stressing
Want a way to take your child’s mind off of his mentally-demanding academic tasks? Make him de-stress by letting him participate in obstacle courses. Mental challenges involved in obstacle courses, especially having to plan strategies, stimulate the brain. And of course, as your child triumphs over each obstacle, he will gain more self-confidence.
- Improves the Ability to Concentrate
Obstacle courses challenge the brain to focus on each trial and to stay concentrated on its purpose, which is to conquer every obstacle and finish the race.
- Develop Leadership Skills
As your child cooperates in a team, he can build his leadership skills by stepping up and helping his teammates.
- A Great Way to have a Good Time
Being able to participate in an obstacle course racing is challengingly fun. It will surely be memorable to your teenage kid. As he grows, he will remember all the fun he went through while climbing, crawling, and running as he was trying to finish every obstacle.
Related Questions
- Where did people get the idea of obstacle course racing?
Several sports fanatics associate the beginning of obstacle course racing to adventure racing, which began more than four decades ago.
- What are considered to be the toughest obstacle courses?
- Alaska Mountain Wilderness Challenge
- Civilian Military Combine
- Jungle Ultra Challenge
- Race the Reaper
- Run for Your Lives Obstacle Challenge
- Spartan Race
- Rugged Maniac
- Tough Mudder
- Warrior Dash
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