Team Synapse at Tough Viking 2016!

[shammis606]

Extreme sports are the best way to shake up colleagues who have been sitting in front of their computers for too long. And away competitions are also a great way to overcome your fear of the unknown and surprise your colleagues with your physical fitness. We realized this back in 2012, when we visited the Red Bull Soapbox Race and Red Bull Flugtag . This year, we couldn’t do without another outing – in March, the Sinaps company decided to join the international Tough Viking race.


Tough Viking is a crazy race that consists of a brutal, wet and key features of office 365 database challenging 10 km obstacle course. Players go through Spartans, overcome 20-foot ramps and wooden structures shaped like blades, climb over boulders, test their biceps on monkey bars and balance on balance bridges. It's a race where you run through mud, climb vertical walls, crawl through plastic pipes and get electrocuted just before the finish line when you get tangled in exposed wires.


The race takes place in four countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. We chose the closest point – Moscow – and prepared for the competition for two and a half months. None of us were involved in professional sports, so Tough Viking Russia seemed like a daring adventure. We had no idea what a barrage of challenges would befall us.





To prepare for the survival race, the team trained day after day at a stadium near the office. Our workouts combined interval running, gymnastics, strength training, and bodyweight work. We did push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and came home squeezed like a lime wedge. This type of training prepared the muscles for further loads and developed endurance, which came in handy over a long distance. Daily stretching allowed us to avoid injuries during training and competitions.



By the end of the first month of training, they managed to run 5 km at an average pace without stopping. A month later, half of the team covered 8 km off-road with weeds and rugged terrain overgrown with nettles. At the finish line, they were doused with ice water.


We came to the race without any idea of ​​the difficulty of the test. The result of the race is that the team coped with the task without any losses in the team! Of course, there were some minor injuries like abrasions and sprains. The girls had the hardest time, but the men showed themselves to be true gentlemen: they helped climb steep structures, put them on their shoulders at difficult stages of the distance. The support group added strength and energy.