Tag: Monster Walk

2020 Murph

Yesterday I did several hours of yard work and then rested other than a few frog stands. Out in the garage at 9am today, when it was already hitting 70° and still near 100% humidity. We just haven’t had this type of weather yet, so today was a hell of a workout for an intro to it!

Warm-up

  • Monster Walks
  • 20 PVC Passes

“Murph”

2020-murph-mile

  • 1 Mile Run
  • 100 Pull-ups
  • 200 Push-ups
  • 300 Air Squats
  • 1 Mile Run

*Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats anyway you like.

I was hoping to run the first mile a little faster and be more consistent through the 20 rounds of 5-10-15 than last year, when I set a PR with 35:28. Then hold on far that last mile run. It was exactly 8:00 on the clock when I jumped up to the bar, compared to 8:26 last year. It took me 17:11 to get through the 20 rounds, compared to around 18:17 last year. Run may have been a little slower this year (9:07) though. My time was 34:18 for a PR by 1:10!

I wore my Garmin watch and planned to use the lap timer because it worked so well last year. I forgot to hit the button after round one and then in round five my wrist must have hit a button to quit the workout so I took it off. I did have a camera going and roughly figured out my round times, which were all under a minute. They were 40, 44, 43, 50, 49 (grabbed chips when watch reset), 46, 47, 51, 51, 54, 52, 56, 57, 55, 54, 55, 55, 56, 57, and 59 (grabbed sunglasses and turned around) seconds.

 

 

2020-murph-hr.png

Over the years…

  • 2012 – 44:26
  • 2013 – 39:41
  • 2014 – 40:17
  • 2015 – 37:18
  • 2016 – 37:11
  • 2018 – 43:10 (ring rows)
  • 2019 – 35:28
  • 2020 – 34:18

Not bad to keep improving at 40-years-old!

The heat and humidity was pretty nasty. Brandi had the bright idea to do some ab work after, so we did.

Midline

5 Sets

  • 10/10 Side V-ups
  • 10 Parallette Shoot Throughs

We did these I Go You Go style. My core strength is coming back because the shoot throughs were much easier than about a month ago.

Weight on the Curtsy

News if the golf course was able to open flip-flopped yesterday morning and then eventually they opened. I took advantage of the beautiful day and it was so nice to be out on the course. Mowed the lawn in the evening too. Out in the garage at 4pm today.

Warm-up

  • 5:00 SkiErg (1,056m)
  • Monster Walks
  • Muscle Snatch
    • 5×45#
    • 5×75#
  • Power Snatch
    • 5×95#

Gymnastics / Weightlifting

10:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 45s HS Hold
  • 5 Power Snatch (115#)

Had to get this combo in because I had to bail out a couple weeks ago an the snatches and did seated dumbbell shoulder presses instead. I haven’t done a snatch since February 9th, when I returned from Dubai and then it led to the bad back tweak the next day. Felt ok today.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 20 Front Rack Curtsy Lunges (95/65#)
  • 30 Plyo Lunges
  • 20 HR Push-ups
  • 1:00 Rest

I was going to do a goblet variation of these curtsy lunges last week but decided to go unweighted being the first time with them. Saw these front rack lunges from Eramo’s training and had to try them. My round times were 1:53, 2:12, 2:26, 2:23, and 2:28 to finish at 15:22 on the clock. The plyo lunges got real nasty in the third round, but I held on doing both lunge movements unbroken throughout. I stuck to 4×5 on the push-ups every round, but got progressively slower.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 6 Strict T2B
  • 20 alt Weighted V-ups (15# plate)
  • 10 Renegade Rows (35# DBs)
  • 45s Rest

Finished this in 8:34.

Balancing

5:00 Frog Stands

I’m already so much better with these in this being my third session.

Front, Pistol, and Air

Rained for almost two straight days so no golf yesterday and it may not dry up enough to play Thursday. I got some water in my basement that I had to clean up and later spent a little time making improvements to the cable pulley system. In the evening I spent about five minutes practicing hand balancing with the frog stand and wow do my hands and wrists feel it today! Out in the garage at 4pm.

Warm-up

  • 8:00 Airdyne (158 cals, 4.01 km)
  • Monster Walks
  • Monster Squats
  • Front Squat
    • 10×45#
    • 5×95
    • 5×135

Strength

5 Sets

  • 5 Front Squat (165#)
  • 16 Pistols

Front squats felt much heavier than I’d like and the pistols got my heart rate going. Happy to be squatting though. Haven’t done a workout with pistols since November, so they went surprisingly well.

Conditioning

  • 25 T2B
  • 50 Air Squats
  • 25 Pull-ups
  • 4:00 Rest & Repeat

The plan was 25 Goblet Squats (53#), but I didn’t want to push it after the strength work. Fifty air squats turned out to be the worst part of the workout; going from hip flexors in toes-to-bars to that many squats lit up my hips! I went 15-10 on both gymnastics movements for 3:01 in the first attempt. Then I jumped the gun and got up for a few reps after only three minutes of rest! Went 15-10 T2B and 15-5-5 pull-ups for 10:09 with the second attempt.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 10 Hollow Rocks
  • 10 V-ups
  • 10 Tuck-ups
  • 10s Hollow Hold
  • 1:00 Rest

**Try to do each round unbroken

It’s been over a year since we did this one. It also happened to be the first time I made it through unbroken with a time of 6:08. I was falling apart in round three and then hit the wall in round four and had to break. Still managed a 6:12 though.

I did a little bit of floor PT exercises, which I’ve been slacking on.

Trying Curtsy Lunges

I was having a hard time walking on my left leg last night due to this achilles thing. It feels a little better today. My shoulders are sore and my back is still tight. Out in the garage at 10am.

Warm-up

  • Monster Walks
  • Bench Press
    • 10×45
    • 10×95
    • 10×135

Strength

4 Sets

  • 8 Bench Press (170#)
  • 8 DB Flys (30#)
  • 8 Bench Press (170#)

Increase from the 165# I used last time. Took long rest between sets.

Conditioning

6 Rounds

  • 20 Weighted Plyo Lunges (30#)
  • 20 Curtsy Lunges
  • 20 Shoulder Taps
  • Rest – 2x 1:30, 3x 1:00

The 1:30 rest was too much, so I only rested a minute after the third round and continued with it the rest of the way. Finished in 14:19.

After not doing a muscle-up since March 10th, I’ve had the itch. Around 4:30 I loaded a ladder and my rings in to the truck and headed over to a school with a large set of swings.

Gymnastics

30 Muscle-ups

On December 18th I did this in 5:55, by doing three reps every 40 seconds most of the way. My notes say it wasn’t a problem so my goal today was sub five minutes by going every 30 seconds. No idea how it would go after zero muscle-ups in 2+ months, but what the hell! Losing ten pounds and doing a lot of bodyweight work had to count for something, right?

When I set the rings up and got up there I was easily able to smack my head against the bar, so I adjusted my press out and swing through to the next rep. So give me a break with my lockouts here. My plan paid off and I finished in 4:48, which is PR by 1:07!! 💥💥💥

It seems like just yesterday when I was struggling to get through a ten minute EMOM of 3 reps and now I can do it twice as fast. At my height and size I’m very proud of that progress.

40 Rep Superset

With rain in the forecast pretty much all day today I walked 18 holes yesterday and shot another good score. Should I be afraid I’m using it up so early or excited for how good the rest of season could be? My left calf/achilles is still bothering me. Out in the garage at 1:30.

Warm-up

  • Monster Walks
  • 10 Deadlifts (45#)
  • 10 Deadlifts (95#)
  • 5 Pull-ups
  • 3 HSPU

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Pull-ups
  • 10 Deadlifts (135/95#)
  • 10 Russian KBS (70/53#)
  • 10 HSPU

I was thinking somewhere around six rounds would be good for this and I was pretty close. Kept everything unbroken and nearly got through seven, with 6+34. That was a lot of back work and I could feel the first deadlift rep each set when I wasn’t setup properly. So I went slow on the bar, making sure to be solid.

Strength

4 Sets

  • 10 Incline DB Bench Press (45°)
  • 10 Incline DB Bench Press (30°)
  • 10 Incline DB Bench Press (15°)
  • 10 DB Bench Press
  • 3:00 Rest

Big 40 rep superset!! Had no idea what weight to use and I lowered a couple of times before starting. Ended up using 20-25-30-30 pounds and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to make it through a set with 35 pounders!

Accessory

3 Sets

  • 10 Standing Snow Angels (8# DBs)
  • 10 Banded Face Pull (red each arm)

I had planned to hit some push presses but my upper body was shot and my back was feeling that workout a bit, so I settled on these movements instead.

Four Rounds Worked Out

I’m surprised I didn’t get super sore from Sunday. I can feel it some but not bad at all. Out in the garage around 4pm.

Warm-up

  • 15:00 Airdyne (305 cals, 7.62 km)
  • Monster Walks

Strength

Back Squat

  • 8×45#
  • 8×95
  • 8×135
  • 8×165
  • 8×185
  • 8×205

Easing my way in and going by feel. Gotta build up the confidence and strength under load. Didn’t wear a belt. Stopped before I had to start straining on any reps.

Conditioning

  • 4 Rounds
    • 5/5 Single DB Hang C&J (50/35#)
    • 10 Burpee Box Jumps (24/20″)
  • 5:00 Rest & Repeat

I felt good the first time through with a time of 5:58. I was pretty much doing push presses the entire way for the jerks. In round one of the second time through I figured out that I could save time and energy by stepping up with my left leg from the burpee, stepping up the other leg and then get right into my jump from there. Made me faster and my second time was 5:34. Good and sweaty one!

When I came up with this one I was thinking it would be in the 4-5 minute range, so after a round or two I almost called an audible and switched us to three rounds. Glad we stuck with it even though in ended up being a longer time domain than I had planned. I’m really enjoying this style where you rest and repeat the same workout; gives me a chance to try some different things.

Midline

3 Sets

  • 30/30s Star Plank
  • 10 Evil Wheels

Oh boy, those star planks will get ya! Took me 6:35.

Sunday is For Back

I feel surprisingly good after that leg killer yesterday. Last night I poured myself a drink after a tough week and got some solid recovery sleep. WHOOP has me at 46% recovery today, which is understandable after some drinking and two days of tough workouts. Out in the garage at 10am.

Warm-up

  • 15:00 Airdyne (319 cals, 7.79 km)
  • Monster Walks
  • 20 PVC Passes

Sunday is going to be focused on back for awhile.

4 Sets

  • 12 Lat Pull Downs (90#)
  • 12 DB Pullovers (40-50-50-50#)

The damn pulleys on my cable system were causing too much friction even after I added a bunch of 3-in-1 oil before we started. So then the coating on the cable split open. Guess I’ll have to find some better pulleys.

4 Sets

  • 12 Seated Horizontal Banded Rows (2x red)
  • 12 Seated Back Fly (30#)

This combo was probably the toughest of the day.

4 Sets

  • 12 Straight-ish Arm Banded Pull Down and Backs (2x red)
  • 12/12 Single Arm Seated Banded Pull Downs (red)

4 Sets

  • 12/12 Cross Body Single Arm 90 (15#)
  • 12/12 Kroc Row (elbow out, 30#)

I wasn’t confident in the shoulder positions for those 90s. Flaring out the elbow for the rows is much harder!

Gymnastics

4 Sets

  • MAX Strict Pull-ups
  • 2:00 Rest

Wasn’t expecting much, but I set a PR by two reps on the first set with 17!! Fell off a cliff from there though with 9-7-7.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 10 Push-up w/ reach across and move dumbbell (50#)
  • 40 Hollow Flutter Kicks
  • 20 Floor Wipers (45# plate)

I was able to keep everything unbroken. Took me 7:30.

It was a monster session over 2.5 hours with my time on the bike.

Another Ben Grinder

Yesterday my left achilles felt weird, but I didn’t notice it while walking 18 holes on the golf course. Could feel it after today’s conditioning too. Must be from the calf raises I did early in the week.

Warm-up

  • Monster Walks

Strength

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 5×135
  • 5×165
  • 5×185
  • 5×205
  • 5×225
  • 3×245

Haven’t had any real weight like that on my back since the end of December.

Conditioning

E3M – 30:00

  • 15/12 cal Row
  • 15 Burpees
  • 30 Double Unders

Similar to last Friday, this one is from the old Ben Smith programming.

Round 2018/09/05 2020/05/08
1 2:02 1:52
2 2:01 2:01
3 2:00 1:51
4 2:00 1:48
5 1:59 1:48
6 2:00 1:51
7 2:00 1:51
8 1:59 1:48
9 1:59 1:50
10 1:59 1:47

 

When I did this before I never missed a double under. Today I missed three times in the second round and then once in rounds three, six, and seven (all 1:51). Pulled over 1,500 cal/hour throughout and picked up the pace a little over the last few rounds. Total improvement of 92 seconds over the ten rounds!!

Midline

5 Sets

    • 10 Parallette Shoot Throughs
    • 30 Russian Twists

 

The shoot throughs are much easier when not paired with V-ups!

Invested in Calves

Yesterday I walked my first 18 holes of golf for the year, which was over 6 miles. Was nice to be outside for so long. Out in the garage at 1:30 today.

Warm-up

  • Monster Walks
  • Steamboats

Strength

4 Sets

  • 10/10 Step Downs (15″, 40# vest)
  • 10/10 Calf Raises (40# vest)

Big jump adding 40 pounds to the calf raises, so I’m sure I’ll feel those.

Skill/Gymnastics Conditioning

E2M – 12:00

  • 50 Double Unders
  • 10 HSPU

This was a good combo. I think I missed 3-4 dubs total. Was able to do every set of handstand push-ups unbroken. Averaged about one minute per round.

Midline

4 Sets

  • 6 Strict Toes to Rings
  • 20 Alternating V-ups
  • 45s Rest

First two rounds unbroken and then 12-8 on the v-ups to finish in 5:51.

A Grinder from Ben

My triceps started getting sore yesterday afternoon. I took a break from work in the afternoon for some bodyweight step downs and banded wood chops. In the evening I did 10-8-6 of the McGill Big 3. Today starts another three day weekend for me, which has been a nice reset every few weeks during this weird time we’re living in.

Warm-up

Monster Walks

Conditioning

E4M for 40:00

  • 20 cal Row (goal pace: 1,500 cal/hr)
  • 15 Burpees
  • 40 DU

This is from late 2018, when the gym followed Ben Smith’s programming. I really miss his workouts! I’m five pounds lighter, so could I go faster?

Round 2018/11/07 2020/05/01
1 2:10 2:06
2 2:13 2:08
3 2:15 2:09
4 2:11 2:08
5 2:13 2:12
6 2:13 2:10
7 2:12 2:09
8 2:17 2:09
9 2:13 2:08
10 2:11 2:04

💥 💥 💥 Damn right! Faster every single round for a total of 45 seconds.

Last time I did this workout I tried to keep > 1,400 cal/hr and today I was able to do over 1,500, while still keeping a solid pace on my burpees. My only misses on the rope were two back-to-back misses in round five with about five reps to go. This workout is such a grinder.

Gymnastics / Midline

3 Rounds

  • 20 Pull-ups (10 kip, 10 butterfly)
  • 20 V-ups
  • 60 Hollow Body Flutter Kicks
  • 1:30 Rest

Wore grips and chalked up before starting. The pull-ups felt good and happy to be able to do six sets of ten unbroken between the two styles. The core work got rough after doing the first round unbroken; I had to do 4×5 v-ups and 3×20 flutter kicks. Took me 9:14 to finish.