Marathons, 5Ks, obstacle courses – they all take proper training. Chicago’s highly anticipated music festival, Lollapalooza, is no different. This popular event draws in about 100,000 people each day and fills the stages of Grant Park with legendary artists such as Paul McCartney, Metallica, Bassnectar, Eminem, Radiohead – and the list goes on.

If you’re attending this year, we have one piece of advice: Start prepping now. Luckily, CTF has prepared a training program that’s easy to follow, and will have you in peak mental and physical condition for Lollapalooza 2016.

Stand For Long Periods of Time

When you’re at Lolla, you’re gonna be standing. A lot. It’s essential that you practice standing at least a few weeks in advance so you can be as prepared as possible. Pick a day of the week and just go stand in lines. Long coffee line extending out the door of Starbucks? Stand in it (even better if it’s the barista’s first day). Long line to get the newest iPhone? Stand in it. Grocery store line where the underage cashier can’t find anyone to checkout someone’s alcohol? Get your ass in the very back of that line.

Optional challenge: Add on extra weight by wearing a drawstring backpack with a few rogue bottles of water and an even bigger bottle of water to simulate various beers and a handle of liquor. Also, ask CTF trainer Tres Rogers to tag along and make you do squats the entire time.

Practice Sprints

Do us a favor and imagine this hypothetical situation:

You’ve found the ideal spot, and you’re ready to watch your favorite artist. But then … Nickelback makes a surprise guest appearance. You have to sprint to another stage, but you’re faced with obstacle after obstacle: stumbling drunks, girls Snapchatting, crushed beer cans and red Solo cups, wet grass … you’re gonna wish you trained for that sprint.

We recommend heading to Mariano’s midday on a Saturday and trying to sprint from one end of the store to the other, avoiding grocery carts and fallen produce.

Optional challenge: Opt to practice your sprints outdoors at the most crowded Farmers market you can find, and wait for a day when it’s pouring rain.

Get a Trainer’s Perspective

We sat down with CTF trainer Ross Bradley to get a personal trainer’s perspective on how you can best prepare for this event:

CTF: In your experience, how can you prepare (both mentally and physically) for using Porta-Pottys in 90-degree heat?

RB: Prep with lots of squats, because you definitely want to hover over those toilets and be confident you won’t sit on them.

CTF: How can you prevent hand cramps from holding beers for an extended period of time?

RB: I would recommend preventing hand cramps by taking long, quality sips, which will minimize the total amount of sips necessary to finish an entire beer.

CTF: What if someone standing right in front of you is wearing a Pharrell-style hat? Is there any way to prepare for this type of visual obstacle?

RB: This is unavoidable, and the only real solution is to remove the hat and stomp on it until it is completely flat with the ground surrounding it.