Primal Success at 60 page 6

[denise]

Just finished my first Murph in 35:23 - whew! Named after Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a member of the Navy SEALs from Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2005. Lieutenant Murphy, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, was an avid CrossFitter known to do the workout every Wednesday while wearing body armor. Its composed of a 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 squats followed by a 1 mile run.

The secret is to break up the workout into segments and try not to go into oxygen debt (stay below your anaerobic threshold). I feel I can take some time out of this first attempt with a bit of practice and conditioning. Give it a try, its a great challenge and a way to measure your fitness.

how on earth did you do that - I just did it for the first time - with 45% body weight assist on pullups, only 100 full pushups (the rest half pushups) and NO weighted anything - and it took me 55'?? Respect!!!
I shall now try get faster, do better and get fitter!!

[canuck416]

how on earth did you do that - I just did it for the first time - with 45% body weight assist on pullups, only 100 full pushups (the rest half pushups) and NO weighted anything - and it took me 55'?? Respect!!!
I shall now try get faster, do better and get fitter!!

Congratulations on your first Murph! The key is breaking it up into doable segments, I did 20 sets of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 squats (took about 45 seconds for each set). This ensured that I kept lactic acid build up to a minimum. If I went all out on my first set and did 25 pull-ups or 70 push-ups it would have required a lot more rest and resulted in a much slower time. Keep me posted on your progress, I'm going to do another Murph next Tuesday (My 6 months on Paleo anniversary) and I will post the results.

[denise]

I plan to do one weekly (ish). This time I split the squats into sections (100 + 4 x 50) in between pullups (in 20's) then did the pushups altogether in sections of 5 x 20 for the fulls and 4 x 25 for the halves. I think I will "section" more next time and so need less rest - the squats I can speed up on (I was careful to do 90 degree squats every time but could go faster), the other time eater was my run - that second mile I was SLOOOOOOW.

BUT I did it and I almost feel I joined a club

[canuck416]

I plan to do one weekly (ish). This time I split the squats into sections (100 + 4 x 50) in between pullups (in 20's) then did the pushups altogether in sections of 5 x 20 for the fulls and 4 x 25 for the halves. I think I will "section" more next time and so need less rest - the squats I can speed up on (I was careful to do 90 degree squats every time but could go faster), the other time eater was my run - that second mile I was SLOOOOOOW.

BUT I did it and I almost feel I joined a club

I hear you on the last mile, my legs were real heavy at the start, but after I got through the first half mile I felt much better. Try what I did - 20 sets of 5 pull-ups,10 push-ups and 15 squats repeated in that order - I think you will find you are a lot quicker probably take 5 minutes off your time.

[Forever Young]

Thanks! 60 is the new 40 if you adapt a Paleo/Primal lifestyle.

Exactly!! That math works!!

At 47 I'm really about 27 so I too am right on schedule!

[denise]

I hear you on the last mile, my legs were real heavy at the start, but after I got through the first half mile I felt much better. Try what I did - 20 sets of 5 pull-ups,10 push-ups and 15 squats repeated in that order - I think you will find you are a lot quicker probably take 5 minutes off your time.

might just do that - depends on availability of the pullup machine (I tend to get on and stay on rather than worry about getting bumped). As I have to have assist at the mo, without machine isn't an option.

I speeded up on the last half mile too, my legs were just ..... reluctant to get going at first

I'll let you know if that time comes down following your segmentation, thanks

[denise]

second murph - 49'40".

Same as before except 115 full pushups. Tried the different segmentation (not quite what you reommended but I did some of my squats on the pullup machine - looked odd no doubt but got the job done and the rest time right down). First mile faster too but second mile - omg!

[canuck416]

second murph - 49'40".

Same as before except 115 full pushups. Tried the different segmentation (not quite what you reommended but I did some of my squats on the pullup machine - looked odd no doubt but got the job done and the rest time right down). First mile faster too but second mile - omg!

Nice! 5+ minutes off your first time with more full push-ups. Great improvement!

[denise]

thank you You are proving to be an inspiration - though I am still sceptical I am EVER going to get close to 36'!! Maybe by the time I am 60

[canuck416]

Day 187 - I was able to take 20 seconds off my MURPH time yesterday. (run 1 mile, 100 Pull-Ups, 200 Push-Ups, 300 Squats and a 1 mile run combination in 35:03).

6 months into the Paleo approach to nutrition and exercise has resulted in a 48 lb weight loss. Needless to say I pretty much need a brand new wardrobe! The last time I weighed 165 lbs was my last year of high school.

I have been involved in the health and fitness industry since my 20s and its hard to believe its taken me this long to really understand the key to weight management. We are programmed to be healthy, we just need to get back, as closely as possible, to our ancestral diet and let our body gravitate to it's healthy set point. Eating a clean diet, eliminating gluten containing grains, trans-fats and foods that contain excess additives and sugar will free up our body's natural desire to be healthy. Simple really.