Superhuman Games 2026: Off-Season Training
Training for Vivo Life Superhuman Games requires a unique blend of functional fitness, endurance, strength, and hybrid capacity.
Now that tickets are on sale for Vivo Life Superhuman Games 2026, we know you'll all be itching to start your training. The workouts may not be released until 12 weeks out from the event but there's plenty you can be working on in your off-season to get you Games-ready, here's where we'd start with!
1. Build a Strong Aerobic Base
A powerful aerobic engine is the backbone of Vivo Life Superhuman Games training, each workout lasts 20 minutes so it's essential that you can last the duration of each workout & also the entire day. Use your off-season to build your aerobic capacity through low-intensity work.
Focus On:
Zone 2 running, rucking, rowing, or cycling (30–90 minutes).
Long, steady mixed-modality sessions (e.g. 40+ minute AMRAPs incorporating things like sleds, carries and cardio marchines, basically whatever keeps you interested and doesn't spike your heart rate too much).
2. Develop Functional Strength
Focus on developing strength across a variety of formats, don't just rely on your traditional barbell movements, be sure to also include more strongman-style strength training & bodyweight movements to make you as well-rounded as possible.
Priority Movements:
Barbell squats, deadlifts, lunges & overhead presses.
Sandbag lifts, loaded carries, sleds & tyres.
Unilateral strength work using kettlebells, landmines & dumbbells.
Bodyweight movements like pull ups, dips, box jumps & rope climbs.
Aim for 2-3 strength sessions per week, focusing on progressive overload, range of motion and movement quality. If you don't have access to all the kit you'd, check out one of our affiliates that are local to you.
3. Improve Hybrid Work Capacity
Your conditoning should blend strength, endurance, and functional movement - as they are all key to the workouts at Vivo Life Superhuman Games. For example, The Strength & Honour workout, though weighted more heavily towards testing your functional strength, will also test your endurance and recoverability between rounds among other things. This is the same for the other 4 workouts so be sure to train these elements together in your sessions.
Repeatability is also key in these sessions, you want to improve your ability to work at higher intensities and repeat these intensities multiple times without burning out.
Try moderate-intensity intervals in which you are required to perform a variety of different movements back to back followed by a rest. Focus on working at sub-threshold pace in these intervals so you can maintain the same pace each round. If your pace drops across the rounds, you've probably gone too fast!
An example session could be: 5 rounds of 400m run, 20 metre bear crawl (10 metre forwards/10 metre backwards, 10 sandbag over shoulder. Rest 90 seconds.
4. Train Outdoors & Build Event-Specific Fitness
Vivo Life Superhuman Games takes place outside - so some of your training should too! Don't let the bad weather put you off...if it rains on the day of the event, you want to be prepared.
Outdoor trail runs & rucks, hill sprints, or even bodyweight crawling-focused workouts in the park are a great place to start, especially if lugging a load of kit outside isn't practical for you.
5. Fix Weak Points & Strengthen injury-prone areas.
The off-season is the perfect time to address anything that held you back last year! You know your body better than anyone else but here are key areas that we've identified as weak points as well as exercises that can help address them!
Grip Strength:
Deadhangs from a bar - also great for shoulder mobility & spinal decompression.
Shoulder Stability:
Bottoms-up kettlebell overhead press - an accessible in-gym exercise that helps prepare your shoulders for the rigours of Superhuman Games workouts, think Keg ground 2 overhead and monkey bars.
Hip Power:
Heavy kettlebell swings - another great in-gym exercise to develop a powerful & explosive hip hinge, especially if you don't have access to heavy tyres and sandbags.
Lower Back:
Sandbag bear hug holds - if your lower back is your weak point, you'll know about it. End your sessions with bear hug holds to progressively strengthen it.
Achilles' issues:
Single straight leg & bent knee calf raises - lots of running and rucking without adequate strength training can lead to issues with your achilles, especially if they're weak. Don't neglect theses particular accessories!
Off-season training for Vivo Life Superhuman Games is all about building your base - aerobic capacity, functional strength, hybrid conditioning, outdoor resilience & working on your weak points. Don't worry if your schedule doesn't allow for all of these, tailor your programme to suit your needs & schedule. The key point we're trying to make is to work broadly in this period of the year and then you can get specific once you know what the 2026 workouts are.
Do this and you'll be on course for your best Vivo Life Superhuman Games yet! If you haven't already, you can book your spot here.