July 28 2015

If you have seen the Mark Wahlberg movie Sole Survivor then you have seen Lt. Michael Murphy depicted as leader of that ill-fated mission.  Today CrossFit’s most famous Hero WOD visits Dunbar Street in Vancouver.

1 Mile Run
100 Pull Ups
200 Push Ups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run

The WOD begins & ends with the run, the gymnastics movements in-between can be broken up as needed.  If you are newer to CrossFit you will want to scale this WOD to your fitness level.  Maybe 800m runs with 50 pull ups, 100 push ups and 150 squats.  Or maybe less reps.  Be sensible!

Strategically many people try to break this up into 20 rounds of 5 pull ups, 10 push ups & 15 squats.

Trouble is most folks can’t consistently get 10 consecutive push ups.

My friend Jason Gach came up with a better strategy:

17 Rounds:
5 Push Ups
5 Pull Ups
5 Push Ups
17 Squats

at the end of round 17 only 11 squats remain so round 18:

5 Push Ups
5 Pull Ups
5 Push Ups
11 Squats

Rounds 19 & 20 are just push ups and pull ups so your legs can recover a bit for the final run.

It is a great strategy and saves lots of time but it is not what I did.

My goal today was to get done under 40 minutes and I had the good fortune of doing this with The Touch.  he is a much better runner so I couldn’t keep up but just keeping him in sight made my run faster.  as I ran I realized my push ups are strong so breaking them up might slow me down.  Instead I did this.

Rounds 1-7:
10 Push Ups
5 Pull Ups
17 Squats

Rounds 8-17:
7 Push Ups
5 Pull Ups
3 Push Ups
17 Squats

Round 18:
7 Push Ups
5 Pull Ups
3 Push Ups
11 Squats

Rounds 19 & 20
10 Push Ups
5 Pull Ups

The last run is tough.  I wanted to get enough of a lead on The Touch that I could race him to the finish.  He passed me a bit earlier than I’d hoped but we were close enough that I could sprint after him and cross the finish at 39:45 achieving my sub-40 minute goal.  The Touch was in at 39:21 a 10 minute personal best!

We were both happy with the results.

A word on weight vests.

Murph is traditionally done wearing a weight vest or body armour to simulate military training.

I am not in the army.  I am not going into combat.  Chances are, neither are you.  I am also not in the peak testosterone years of 18-25 years old which describes most recruits.  I do not have the super-recuperative abilities of youth.

Connective tissue is less vascular than muscle.  That means it gets less blood flow and thus does not heal as quickly.  weight added to striking movements like running or falling movements like pull ups increase the force exerted on the joints and connective tissue exponentially.  I am not speaking metaphorically.  Exponential.  If you’re not sure what it means, look it up.  It means any added load is creating humungous impact force on your joints which do not recover at the same rate as sore muscles.  Do this too often and you will help keep your Orthopedic Surgeon in business.  We love Bruiser but she already has business enough.

What I’m saying is that training with a weight vest may be appropriate for young men and women being prepared for combat situations.  But it may not be a sustainable fitness strategy for you and me.

Sure you may look hardcore but take it from an old oft-broken body like mine, there is nothing hardcore about rehab exercises.  Play for the longer game.
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