Do you want to test your toughness and see what you’re made of? Cross training can really test your limits of strength, endurance and speed. We have some exercises for you that will leave you soar like never before, but they’re so worth it! So, grab a pair of hand grips and launch your adrenaline to tough out these workouts for maximum muscle-building.
- Murph workout
This tough workout was named after Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, age 29 from New York, killed in Afghanistan in 2005, who was very devoted to cross training.
The exercise is simple enough but very harsh. This is what you’ll have to do: run one mile, do 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, 300 squats and then run another mile as fast as you can.
It’s the perfect workout for your overall fitness conditioning and for when you don’t have any equipment. You can do the Murph everywhere and anywhere. There’s nothing new about these exercises, but the brutality of the workout is given by the fact that you’re doing them all at once. If you want to finalize the entire workout, the secret is to pace yourself, especially at the beginning.
- Filthy 50
The filthy 50 is a circuit which consists in a brutal series of 10 exercises that seem endless because for each exercise you have to do 50 reps. This is how the filthy 50 looks like:
50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
50 jumping pull-ups
50 kettlebell swings
50 walking lunge steps
50 knees to elbows
50 push presses with 45 pounds
50 back extensions
50 wall-ball shots using a 20 pound ball
50 burpees – drop all the way to the floor
50 double-unders
The filthy 50 is a full-body workout that includes cardio too. The key to getting it done is to concentrate on the exercise you’re doing and not on how much more you have left of the circuit and to pace yourself. If you’re new to this exercise, start with 20-25 reps of each exercise and see how you feel afterwards.
- King Kong
This is a workout designed for the pros that can lift a lot of weight and it’s an accomplishment for anyone who gets it done. There are three rounds you have to get done as quickly as possible. Each round includes a progression of:
1 Deadlift 455lbs (scaled to 405, 355 or 305)
2 Muscle Ups
3 Cleans 250lbs (scaled to 225, 200 or 185)
4 Handstand Push Ups
The workout demands years of training and getting used to lifting a deadlift of 206 kilo – for men and 147 kilo for women. At the end of the workout, what counts is the time it took to complete all three rounds.
- Fran
Fran workout consists in a series of thrusters and pullups done as quickly as possible. It includes three rounds of:
21 reps for each exercise in the first round
15 reps in the second
9 reps in the third round
You can modify the workout to your abilities and vary the weight.
So there you have it. These are only four of the toughest workouts in cross training that you can use to test your level of toughness. Because they’re not for the faint-hearted, be careful when deciding to give them a try and stay free of injury by choosing to wear a pair of knee sleeves or knee wraps.
Good luck training and make the best of it!