All American Workout

  Remember the Murph Challenge I did on Memorial Day? That workout is named in honor of SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy. The workout consists of a 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups & 300 squats, followed by another 1 mile run. In addition, you want to try to use a weighted vest. Lt. Murphy did this workout before deploying with a 25 lb - 40 lb vest! There was also a 4 mile run in his hometown in Long Island, NY in his honor this past Saturday.


    Well this past Sunday , June 28th, marked the 10th anniversary of Operation Red Wing. It was this mission, made famous in the movie "Lone Survivor", where Lt. Murphy earned the Medal of Honor, posthumously sad to say. Also, coincidentally, June 27th was the birthday of Martin County resident/SEAL Aaron Vaughn. He was a member of SEAL Team 6. His helicopter was tragically shot down in Afghanistan in August 2011. There's a swim named in his honor held in Jensen Beach every year on June 27th weekend.

    If you recall, on Memorial Day I did the Murph Challenge with a 10 lb dumbbell in my old backpack. It took over an hour. Well , this past Saturday, rather than just doing the swim or a run , I decided to do my own "triathlon".  In a tribute to both men , I swam a half mile, ran 4 miles, then did the exercises in the Murph Challenge, this time with a 20 lb dumbbell in my backpack! And I did it at Pepper Park, the home of the UDT/SEAL Museum. A true all American workout!

    I wont lie, none of it was easy. The swim, which I did with fins, took about 27:00. The run , this time without weight, took over 43:30. I was dragging . No excuses, it happened. The exercises were tough, especially out in the hot sun, but surprisingly I was able to do the exercises in pretty good form & hold a pretty good pace. I definitely did shake it out in between sets but the rests weren't super long. And because I used 20 lbs this time, I did 25 sets of 4 pull ups, 8 push ups, & 12 squats. Total time; 1:11:50! Believe me, I was glad to be done!

     A few points. As I always emphasize, this isn't a beginner workout. However, this can be a goal to work towards. For those of you already well conditioned ( tri -athletes, emergency personnel, athletes,etc), especially those of you who want to join the military, this is something to try, with good form ( especially on the pull ups). But do so cautiously. And don't worry if the first few times things aren't by the book. Examples include using  little or no weight, low reps per set with many sets, using sneakers not boots. Few of us can run a couple of miles in boots, do pull ups, push ups & squats with 40 lbs & boots with high reps & low sets. It's best to do half of your maximum reps per set.If you can do this all with 40 lbs however, please send me a video, you beast!

    On a more serious note, I just want to say, these guys, Michael Murphy & his men of Operation Red Wing & Aaron Vaughn & his fellow SEAL Team 6 members, should never be forgotten & remembered every day. These are true American heroes.

                                        

Murph Challenge Memorial Day 2015

       Hey folks, I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day, remembering those Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.


          Besides the parades there are other ways to honor the dead. One way some people, including me, honor them, and challenge ourselves, is the Murph Challenge. It's named in honor of SEAL Lt./Medal of Honor recipient Mike Murphy. His story was made famous in the movie "Lone Survivor" . He sacrificed himself, calling in an air strike after being overrun by Taliban forces in Afghanistan, protecting his men. His selfless actions earned him our countries highest military honor, posthumously.


          A workout he did before he deployed, and done/named in his honor, is run 1 mile, do 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, and run one more mile! Yes you read that right. You try to go as fast as possible. By the way, Lt. Murphy did this workout with a 25 lb -40 lb weighted vest/body armor! Wow!


           You can do this anyway you want, i.e., just body weight, sets of 2 pull ups, 4 push ups, and 6 squats if that's all you can do. Obviously you want to do this in as few sets as possible, sticking as close to the original workout as you can. I can't stress enough, if you're not physically ready, don't even attempt this. If you can't even do 1 pull up for example or you can't even run 1 mile, whether because you're physically not ready or especially due to injuries, don't hurt yourself. This won't help you and in fact would in all likelihood set you back!


            The last time I did this work out was about a month ago. After 30:00 as a warm up on the elliptical machine , I rested about 10:00, then I did the 1 mile run, which I did in sneakers, I did 10 pull ups on the first and  last set, 8 pull ups x 10 sets, 20 push ups on the first and last set, 16 push ups x 10 sets, & 25 squats x all 12 sets. I did this using body weight only, no weight. Then I ran 1 more mile. Was this tough? You bet! The first mile was 11:37,  the actual exercises, with minimal rest , all 12 sets was 47:48, and the second 1 mile run was 10:01! I barely made the pull ups  ( I didn't kip or bicycle but my chin was literally on top of the bar !) & the push ups and chose to put some intensity in to the last set of squats by turning them in to jump squats.  Total time for the Murph Challenge  , including runs & breaks ,was about 1:20:00!


         This time, for Memorial Day, I chose to progress to a weighted challenge. As I've always said, if you want to make progress you've got to challenge yourself. At the same time you've got to be realistic. I did a mini Murph on Saturday , as a test,with different weights, first 20 lbs, then 15 lbs. I barely cranked out 6 reps with 20 lbs, with 15 lbs again I cranked out 6 pull ups but it was difficult. Don't get me wrong, I can do 3 pull ups with 30 lbs but that's very tough, not to mention such a work out would take 33 + sets. That means over 2 hours! Remember, I'm trying to maintain the # of reps per set. With a 20 lb vest I'd have to go with 2 or , 4 pull ups at most, maybe, and even then there'd be long periods of recovery.


             So I chose to use a 10 lb vest. Trust me, this was tough! My "weighted vest" was a 10 lb dumbbell stuffed in to a beat up old backpack. It was far from perfect. The worst part was the dumbbell rolled too much to the left, especially during push ups & my runs. However I made do with what I had. Just like the first time I tried this,first I did a 24:00 kettle bell warm up of overhead lunges and swings to get my circulation moving. Then I did the first 1 mile, then I did 5 pull ups, 10 push ups  and 15 squats per set but this time everything, including the runs,  with 10 lbs. I could definitely feel the difference!


             I've got to stress again, this isn't a work out for beginners.As I always explain, what's possible for me isn't always possible for you. And there are guys who do things beyond my abilities. Even for intermediate and advanced athletes, this will challenge you. Start with a body weight challenge.  Try to do work towards 10 sets,  eventually completing this in 5 sets. By the way, if you can do this work out in 5 sets that means 20 pull ups,
40 push ups, and 60 squats per set! Even with body weight this is a challenge; if you can do this with weight you're really a beast!

         This is also a very practical work out in many ways. In terms of equipment, all you need is a pull up bar & if you can, and want, a weighted vest or as I did a backpack with weight. Also, this workout uses whole body/total chain exercises, thus working pretty much every muscle in the body. Remember, isolation ( leg extensions, triceps push downs,etc)  doesn't do anything for performance and in fact  often leads to injuries. The body moves as a whole, not individually. Pull ups, push ups, and squats are right on the mark. Adding weight makes them even harder. This is truly a strength endurance workout.

                For those of you who are serious, military, emergency responders,tri athletes,etc, give this a try. For those who aren't there yet, now you have a goal to reach.Stay motivated, focus, and reach your goal. And if you want to try this , you may want to consider June 28th, the day he was killed.

               Good luck.


     Below are videos of me after the first mile, after the exercises and after the whole Murph Challenge. Like and follow this page as well as my Facebook pageand my youtube channel I'm starting to add videos. Keep watching, and I hope these posts and videos keep you  motivated .

                  

                           

Stick With Basics

    The title says it all. As we all push for new successes in 2015, we're tempted to look for new and improved programs. Especially those of us who are serious competitors. But actually we should focus on basics and tweak little by little.


   Let me explain. When I say basics, I'm referring to the basic program method for everyone.  A combination of strength with some stabilization along with actually practicing your activity.


   When it comes to strength training stick to the 3 or 4 basic weight lifts, the squat, the dead lift, the military press, and possibly the bench press.  Later on if your activity calls for it, you can try the explosive lifts, the snatched & the clean and jerk. These exercises could also be done with kettle bells or dumb bells. If you don't have access to weights body weight exercises like push ups, pull ups, and squats will work,  though you may have to be creative to increase the intensity. This means push ups with feet elevated or weighted pull ups. 

   There's been a recent trend emphasizing balance training as well as unilateral training.  While there is a place for such training it has been over emphasized. Why do you need to stand on one leg on a balance ball for 10:00? Remember, all activities require strength, which is force production. And that can be best developed by mostly bilateral strength training. Skills, such as running and gymnastic moves, are developed through practice,  and all require a basic level of strength, which again, is best developed through strength training ( read Mark Rippetoe's excellent article for a detailed analysis ).


   So remember, strengthen yourself with the basics, practice your skill/sport, eat properly, and 2015 will be a success.