NEW PROGRAMMING CYCLE: 4 Week Murph Prep

by Thomas Richards

If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out Pat’s blog post about why you should sign up for Memorial Day Murph this year. Whether or not you choose to sign up, we will be spending some of our time and energy preparing for the Murph workout in the SISU programming. 

Here are the focuses of the next cycle:

Murph Conditioning

We’re going to start the cycle off with a “Half” Murph – half the Pull-ups, Push-ups, and squats, but both mile runs. Because of the winter months, most of us aren’t in peak running shape so it behooves us to get in the running volume. The second mile of Murph is tough!

We’re going to be incorporating ways to build volume on push-ups and pull-ups throughout the four weeks. You’ll see different EMOMs, strength drills, and some strict work along the way. 

Our focus with air squats is on the full range of motion. We want SISU to represent moving well and doing the workout correctly. Ask your coach if you’re hitting depth as you’re completing the workout. Use an aid like a wall ball if you’re unsure. 

Strength Maintenance

We’ve been working hard on our strength the last 8 weeks, so our goal is to maintain that strength! You’ll see us touching on all different types of strength exercises in the lower to moderate volume sets/reps. We’re going to be mixing in some single appendage strength to add variety to our training this cycle. 

SISU Summer Throwdown Prep

The SISU Summer Throwdown is only 8 weeks away, and we want to make sure all of our SISU athletes are prepared! The Throwdown is a partner competition so we’ll be using more interval-style workouts and partner workouts to help push your threshold and power output. You’ll also see more sandbag work throughout this cycle. 😉 

After this four-week block of training, we’ll move into an 8-week summer cycle where we’ll focus on strength development and some fun summer Benchmark workouts. See you in the gym!

Thomas’ Extra Credit

(4) 3 Rounds for time:

1200m Run

20 Incline Bench Press 155#

I did four rounds but my last round was overkill and my bench completely fell apart. My goal for this workout was to run fast for each set, so I wanted to pair it with an exercise that wouldn’t interfere with my conditioning output. My three-round score was 24:30, my four-round score was 34:49. I would recommend doing the 3 round version or do the 3 round version and finish with an all-out 1200m. Give it a try and let me know how you did!