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H.O.S.S. of the Week #1: the Chris Kyle

HOSS chris-kyle

Christopher Scott “Chris” Kyle (April 8, 1974 – February 2, 2013) was a United States Navy SEAL and the most lethal sniper in American military history, with 160 confirmed kills (out of 255 claimed kills). Kyle served four tours in the second Iraq war, and was awarded the Bronze and Silver Star medals multiple times. Iraqi insurgents dubbed him the “Devil of Ramadi” and offered an increasing bounty for his head. He was shot twice, and was involved in six IED attacks. He remained in the spotlight during retirement, and wrote a New York Times bestselling autobiography, American Sniper. Kyle was shot and killed on February 2, 2013, near Chalk Mountain, Texas. read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Kyle

The life of Chris Kyle is an inspiration to all who know his story. For those of us who serve, we realize that the role of sniper is not necessarily that of a heartless killer as portrayed in movies and other folklore. A sniper is a protector to friendly troops on the battlefield and often acts as a guardian angel from above. Kyle was asked if he felt remorse or guilt for the people he killed. His response was that the only remorse he had was that he did not save more friendly troops through his actions. Chris was shot while trying to help a fellow servicemember through struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

 

The Workout

To honor Chris and prepare our bodies and minds for the challenges of life, complete the below workout today as fast and as hard as possible!

 

10-15 minute warmup (walk, light jog, elliptical and then stretch upper/lower body)

SET #1: 21 Thrusters with barbell (up to 75 pounds), dumbells in each hand, or other weighted items that you can handle for up to 21 reps. Barbell demo video here http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_BBThrusters.mov
21 pushups

Hold plank position for 1 minute or as long as you can if less than that.

 

SET #2

15 Thrusters
15 pushups

Hold plank position for 1 minute or as long as you can if less than that.

 

SET #3

9 Thrusters
9 pushups

Hold plank position for 1 minute or as long as you can if less than that.
OK to breakup sets if you cant do prescribed #. Record total time it takes and this is your PR for the Kyle!

{ 7 comments… add one }
  • William Curtis February 25, 2013, 6:21 am

    I thank you for your service and for Chris Kyle’s service / sacrifice.

    I’m excited to try this workout and honor this hero. I plan on repeating it often.

  • Wes February 25, 2013, 7:43 am

    Chris, on holding the plank position…is that between each push-up or at the completion of the set?

    Wes

  • Chris February 25, 2013, 7:55 am

    Wes…The plank is after the pushups are completed but that would be a tough variant! The key to getting the most out of this is intensity. Get it done in less than 10 minutes!

  • David Francis February 25, 2013, 12:50 pm

    7:50* 60 pounds for the thrusters. *Only made it to 45 seconds on the last two planks.

    • Chris February 25, 2013, 3:09 pm

      Dave: Nice! It looks like a fairly easy workout at face value but if you go hard it’s a challenge!

  • William Curtis February 25, 2013, 5:28 pm

    Great workout. Timed out my first go at 8:30. My actual time was less but I tacked 30 seconds extra per 1 min plank as I was only able to complete 30 seconds of each one. One thing about this type of workout, it’s over so quick. I spent longer warming up and cooling down than doing the workout.

    This quick but challenging workout gets a good pump going in a very short time frame. One could easily do this at home or even a hotel gym.

    How often would you repeat a CHRIS KYLE–HOSS? I was thinking about 2-3 times monthly? I would image based on cross-fit endurance philosophy, IF the workout became “Easy,” one could increase reps, perform as a ladder (21,15,9,9,15,21) or some other masochistic variation. Your thoughts?

    • Chris February 25, 2013, 5:42 pm

      I think it would depend on what overall programing philosophy you were going for. You could also increase the weight and make it more of a strength workout.

      This workout should get you into that sprint/VO2 max zone with a little total body strength/core thrown in. So it might workout nicely 2-4 times/month in a constantly varied program that included some pure strength as well as endurance workouts of more than 30 minutes.

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