Down and Dirty Back Day and Weimaraners!

It was a mild 102 degrees here in Tucson! Our friend came over with her baby to hang out and I spent the day keeping her Weimaraner named Autumn occupied. Autumn is an athlete and almost impossible to wear out. We spent a good part of the afternoon playing fetch and swimming. It was a whole lot of fun and got us both outside even in the heat. Autumn has a tendency to fetch a tennis ball and drop it into the earth mover tire that we flip. It is hilarious because she knows that we have to throw her ball if we want to keep using the tire. 

Today's quote is from Emily Dickinson:

"Dogs are better than humans because they know but do not tell."

Morning Lifting Session: Back
Dumbbell Pullover
One Armed Bent-Over Dumbbell Row
Standing Upright Barbell Row
TRX Row
Wide Grip Pull-Ups

Evening WOD: Do each exercise in order to complete on set. Three sets total, no rest.
28 lb. Rogue SISU War Hammer Swings- 20 repetitions, 10 per side
Tire Flips- 5 repetitions
Pull-Ups- Maximum repetitions

Have a Great Day!

Backbackbackbackback and the Passing of a Legend

Today was an excellent day lifting for the back with a good mixture of weightlifting and a bit of functional training. It was very hot, going over 100 degrees fahrenheit. Maintaining good hydration with a focus on staying as cool as possible was the theme!

It seems only fitting to have today's quote come from Maya Angelou who passed away today:

"All great achievements require time."

Morning Weight Training: Back
Dumbbell Pullovers
One Armed Bent Over Rows
Upright Barbell Rows
TRX Rows
Close Grip Bodyweight Pull-Ups

Evening Weight Training:
Warm-Up: (Which I find a bit funny to even say in the desert heat...)
Sledgehammer Swings- 10 repetitions per side, 3 sets
Fat Grip Dumbbell Snatches- 3 repetitions per side, 3 sets
Lifting:
Deadlifts
Landmine Rows
Weighted Wide Grip Pull-Ups

Have a Great Day!

Lifting for the Back, Earth Day and the WOD: 5x5x3

It was Earth Day yesterday and that always reminds me how lucky I have been for the last 15 years working for NOLS. I have had the privilege of being paid to travel in some of the most remote wild lands on this Earth. It shocks me though when I can be in a pristine place like the Kimberley region of Australia or the Arctic Barrenlands and see no sign of human beings for over a month and then come back to "civilization" and see how badly we treat our environment. Someday I sincerely hope that humans will realize that everything, I mean EVERYTHING we do impacts this Earth. Someday. My co-worker sent out this cartoon on Earth Day and I think that it says it all.

Today was a great workout day. We had a good morning lifting session and then there were three folks for the evening WOD. My good friend whose wife had a baby on April 1st came for the first time in a while. It was great to have him here and we had a fun time working out.

Today's quote is from John Muir:

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."

Morning Weight Training Session: Back
Heavy Dumbbell Pullovers
Heavy One Armed Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows
Upright Barbell Rows
Weighted Close Grip Pull-Ups

Evening WOD: 5x5x3 (Do each exercise in order to complete one set. Three sets total.)
5 - Sledgehammer Swings per side
5 - Tire Flips
5 - Atlas Stone Lifts
5- 15 foot Rope Climbs
5 - Fat Grip Dumbbell Snatches

Evening Weight Training:
Landmine Rows
Heavy Deadlifts

Have a Great Day!

The Workout Flip-Flop and Lifting for the Back

Today life has thrown a couple of scheduling wrenches into the gears. Pretty simple fix but it does mean that the usual evening circuit training and heavy lifting will happen this morning and the typical morning dumbbell routine will happen in the evening. I emailed my usual circuit training companions and they will just have to fly solo this evening if they are wanting to workout. I think of it as a great opportunity for them to take some initiative.

In celebration of baseball being back and having to reschedule today's workout, today's quote is from Bob Uecker:

"The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up."

Circuit WOD: "Iron Maiden" (Do each exercise in order to complete a set. Three sets total.)
20-SISU Hammer Swings, 10 per side.
1-10 meter Hand over Hand Weighted Sled Pull
4-Tire Flips
1-Atlas Stone Lift
1-5 meter Rope Climb
60-Abdominal Crunches

Morning Weight Training:
Heavy Landmine Rows (Three sets)
Heavy Deadlift (Three sets ending with maximum lift attempt.)

Evening Lifting Routine: Back
Dumbbell Pullovers
Bent-over One Armed Dumbbell Rows
Upright Barbell Rows
TRX Rows
Weighted Wide Grip Pull-ups
Fat Grip Heavy Dumbbell Snatches 

Have a Great Day!

Back and the "Quasimodo" WOD

We are getting ready to have our last course of the Spring season come through NOLS Southwest: The Medicine in the Wild course. The participants are third and fourth year medical school students that are interested in a wilderness medicine component to their education.

Today was a great lifting day for the back. We were able to get in a great morning lifting routine, a solid warm-up WOD for three of us that we are calling "Quasimodo" and then a heavy session of landmine rows and deadlifts. I think I should be able to go for a personal best on the deadlift next time it rolls around.

Today's quote is from Andre Agassi:

"I have been motivated by overcoming challenge and overcoming the hurdles and obstacles that face me. Their is still plenty out there to get motivated by."

Morning Lifting Routine: Back
Heavy Dumbbell Pullovers
Heavy Bent-Over One Arm Dumbbell Rows
Barbell Upright Rows
Wide Grip Weighted Pull-Ups
Captains of Crush Grip Trainers
TRX Rows

Afternoon Warm-Up WOD: "Quasimodo" (Each exercise is completed to make up one set. Three sets total. No rest between exercises or sets.)
20-Rogue Fitness SISU Warhammer Swings
5-Tire Flips
15-foot Rope Climb
60-Abdominal Crunches

Heavy Landmine Rows
Heavy Deadlifts

Have a Great Day!

Back, "Tires, Hammers and Stones"

We had a day off from work so we watched a bunch of NCAA basketball (Go Dayton Flyers!). The thing that I
love most about this tournament is when a team like Dayton can come along, seemingly out of nowhere and beat Ohio State and Syracuse. The Dayton Flyers will most likely be eliminated from the tournament soon, but just to have beat those two teams, those players will remember that for the rest of their lives. And that is a great thing.

Today's quote is from Shane Koyczan:

"We grew up learning to cheer for the underdog because we see ourselves in them."

Weight Training: Back
Bent Over One Armed Dumbbell Row
Dumbbell Pullover
Upright Barbell Row
TRX Row
Weighted Pull-Ups
Landmine Rows
Heavy Deadlift (Maxed at 1.5x bodyweight)

Circuit Training: "Tires, Hammers and Stones" (One set of hammer swings followed by the tire flips. Repeat three times. Finish with one stone lift.)
20-SISU 28.5 lbs. Hammer Swings
5-Tire Flips
1-188 lbs. Atlas Stone lift onto a 48" platform

Have a Great Day!

Lifting for the Back and the WOD: "E-I-E-I-Oh Crap this is Actually Hard!"

Today three folks showed up for the evening circuit training. It was a tough back day, I will be sleeping very soundly. Today's quote is from Napoleon:

"Courage is not having the strength to go on- it is going on when you don't have the strength."

Weight Training: Back
Dumbbell Pullover
One Armed Bent Over Dumbbell Row
Upright Barbell Row
Weighted Pull-Ups
Landmine Rows
TRX Row
Deadlift

WOD: "E-I-E-I-Oh Crap this is Actually Hard!" (Three sets of each exercise)
20-Sledgehammer Swings
5-Tire Flips
5-Atlas Stone Lifts onto a 48" Platform
2- 150m Farmer's Carries with two 5-Gallon Water Jugs
60-Abdominal Crunches

Have a Great Day!

Lifting for the Back and the Functional WOD: "I Could Crush You, Like a Worm"

My middle name is Stewart and my last name is Murphy. You can't get more Scots-Irish than that.

Every time I exercise using an Atlas Stone I think of my ancestors and their fine tradition of moving rocks: Stone houses, stone walls and throwing stones. I love the scene from "Braveheart" where Hamish is training with stones because the English will not let them train with weapons. Hamish threatens William Wallace with a large boulder claiming, "I could crush you, like a worm". That exchange doesn't end well for Hamish, but man he threw that rock far!

Weight Training: Back

Dumbbell Pullover

One Armed Bent Over Dumbbell Row

Barbell Upright Row

TRX Row

Pull-Ups

Circuit WOD: "I Could Crush You Like a Worm" (Do exercises in order, three complete sets).

15m Weighted Sled Pull (Hand over Hand Drag with a Rope Attached to the Sled)

20 Sledgehammer Swings

5 Tire Flips

5 Stone Lifts (Onto a 48" High Platform)

Landmine Rows

Have a Great Day!

Lifting for the Back and the WOD: "V for Victory!"

Today was a warm day in Tucson. It was an early morning lifting session followed by a circuit workout in the dark after dinner. We had a decent showing with four folks showing up to suffer for 30 minutes in the desert. It was a great time working out with friends and co-workers!

"You have enemies? Good. That means you have stood up for something, sometime in your life."
-Winston Churchill

Weight Training: Back
Dumbbell Pullovers
One Armed Bent Over Dumbbell Rows
Upright Barbell Rows
Weighted Close Grip Pull-ups
Horizontal Suspension Strap Pull-ups
Landmine Barbell Rows
Deadlift

Circuit Training WOD: "V for Victory" (Each exercise done for one minute and fifteen seconds, three full sets. One minute rest between sets).
Jump Rope
Sledgehammer swings
Plank
Kettlebell Swing
Horizontal Suspension Strap Pull-ups
Barbell Upright Rows
Crunches

Have a Great Day!

WOD: "The Meanest of Times"

Today's workout was all about the back. I lifted my typical dumbbell routine with Rebecca and then lifted heavy this evening with my co-worker. Now it is Friday and payday!!

Dumbbell Workout:
Dumbbell Pullovers
One Armed Bent Over Dumbbell Row
Barbell Upright Row
Horizontal Suspension Strap Pull-ups
Weighted Pull-ups

WOD: "The Meanest of Times"
Superset 5 Tire Flips with 20 Sledgehammer Swings. Three sets of each exercise, no breaks.
Three sets of Heavy Landmine Rows
Three sets of Deadlifts, last set 1.5 Bodyweight for two reps
Three sets of Weighted Pull-ups

Have a Great Day!

WOD: Back and "The Wrath of Mjölnir"

Today we worked the Back again and had a great showing with seven folks at the circuit training, "The Wrath of Mjölnir". It was super fun!

Dumbbell Pullovers
One Armed Dumbbell Rows
Upright Barbell Rows
Horizontal Suspension Strap Pull-ups
Weighted Pull-ups
Landmine Rows
Deadlift

Circuit Training: "The Wrath of Mjölnir" Each exercise done for one minute and 15 seconds, three sets. One minute rest between sets.

Sledgehammer swings on a tire
Stone Lifts
Planks
Horizontal Suspension Strap Pull-ups
Flutter Kicks
Kettlebell Upright Rows
Seated Trunk Twists with a Medicine Ball

Have a Great Day!