King’s Camps and Fitness is a new 4,300 square feet OCR gym is located in San Carlos at the San Francisco Bay Area (Peninsula) in Northern California where they recently moved into brand new facilities, opening the doors just in May 2016. The location and gear might be new but Owner Mike King has been coaching clients and classes for five years now. The equipment offers treadmills, rowers, rope climbs, TRX, plyo boxes, 4- and 8-foot climbing walls, a 24-foot multi-rig, sleds, spears, a traverse wall, and a ton of other equipment aimed to improve functional fitness for OCR athletes.
Parents with smaller children will be happy to see that there is a play area in the same space as the gym. Depending on demand, an attendant will be present to take care of the kids while their parents can train just a few feet away in line of sight – without anxiety or stress.
Rig Practice
Everyone who has recently participated in a BattleFrog, Spartan Race, or Terrain Race, has become familiar with the rig setups: Obstacles which must be traversed using almost exclusively your grip and upper body strength and the right technique. Several races have been lost and won because of these rig type obstacles. King’s Camps and Fitness has ropes, rings, bars, and plenty of climbing holds to attach to their rig in order to deliver a training experience that mirrors what you will encounter out on the race course.
Coaching
The founder, Mike King, is an experienced OCR competitor and coach with several OCR podium finishes and three trips to World’s Toughest Mudder under his belt, as well as several fitness certifications.
For anyone interested in OCR but unsure of how to start or how to take it to the next level, Mike offers a variety of training programs including an Obstacle Course Training Camp and a “Young Warriors” class for kids ages 5 to 12. Even aspiring police officers will find a program tailored to their needs: With a 50% failure rate on the police academy admission test there is clearly a need for intense preparation.
If you want to build fitness, King’s Camps and Fitness also offers HIIT classes, functional strength training, and running coaching. Mike opened his gym with the purpose to focus on “Warriors”: be it everyday warriors or performance athletes, this is for anyone that wants to feel good and look good or needs help to overcome the intimidation of running their first obstacle race.
Open Gym
Once per week the Open Gym offers a playground to everyone who is looking to fine tune their obstacle technique or put together a circuit: Run with a sandbell on the treadmill or around the block, do a spear throw, followed by a bucket carry, and then facing the rig is just one example of what you can do here.
Usually there is a group of people across all ages present and the open minded and welcoming atmosphere makes this gym a great stepping stone for everyone aiming to improve their fitness.
If you do not feel particularly creative there is always a workout posted on a whiteboard that will make sure to make you sweat. Fortunately there are wide garage doors and fans on the inside of the facility!
Over time you can expect to find ever changing rig configurations and new obstacles like a Delta Ladder or even Balls to the wall. As OCRs evolve, Mike will adapt his facilities and even combine existing obstacles for new challenges to keep all athletes on their toes.
(All pictures have been taken by the author)
Fabian Lindner
He can be found at endurance events like the Spartan Race HH12HR, WTM, GORUCK, SEALFIT and other starting lines on the West Coast.
A blog about his journey is at https://www.flownotforce.com/
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