"It’s called WALRUS Training because it is the fat, gross cousin to the Navy Seals. I also refer to it as being a Suburban Commando. No lawn too big to mow!" - Jim Wendler

I gave myself the goal of following BBB for a year. That's a fail. I did five months and it served its purpose. The economy of movements got my body to a great place. Then as I posted a few weeks there was a brief encounter with a bodybuilding split. And like every other time I tried it, I hated it.

My true goal is to be a badass in life in my 50s. Presently I can go for a 12-mile ruck no problem, hike, paddle, ski, whatever. I'm a year away from retiring and would like to take up climbing, back-country skiing, surfing, and other outdoor challenges. It's good to be strong, but I need to be more conditioned and mobile for what I want.

I love Walrus training because I like circuits. I hate taking breaks between sets. Yes, it may be best for hypertrophy or strength, but that's not as relevant for me anymore. Plus, I can always change up my training to accommodate that when wanted.

My Walrus is still based around one main lift a workout because I can and I still like doing it. Here it is with an explanation to follow.

WEEK 1
Monday
-Trap Bar DL 531 AMRAP followed by 4 sets SSLx5
-Dips 5 sets
-Pullups 5 sets
-Leg Raises 5 sets

Wednesday
-Squat SSL 5x5
-Pushups 5 sets
-Pullups 5 sets
-Leg Raises 5 sets

Friday
-OHP 531 AMRAP followed by 4 sets SSLx5
-Inverted Row 5 sets
-45° Back Raise 5 sets
-GHR Crunches 5 sets

WEEK 2
Monday
-Bench 531 AMRAP followed by 4 sets SSLx5
-Inverted Row 5 sets
-RESS 5 sets
-GHR Crunches 5 sets

Wednesday
​-OHP SSL 5x5
-Inverted Row 5 sets
-45° Back Raise 5 sets
-GHR Crunches 5 sets

Friday
-Squat 531 AMRAP followed by 4 sets SSLx5
-Pushups 5 sets
-Pullups 5 sets
-Leg Raises 5 sets

The program is based on the four main lifts squat, bench, deadlift, and ohp. Each of those four lifts will get one AMRAP set over the course of two weeks. Monday and Friday will be my harder sessions where I will hit one upper body and one lower body AMRAP set weekly. The middle workout is more of a movement-based session.

I quickly found with full body I cannot recover from Monday to Wednesday, especially with running or rucking for an hour on my off days along with a few airdyne sprint sessions. That said, Sunday is a complete rest day.

I go with two consecutive upper or lower-based sessions in the week. The first is the heavier/harder session. The second is more conditioning and greasing the wheel based. I run this one pretty quickly. There's no 5/3/1 on that day. Just SSL (I use SSL because my training maxes are pretty low and FSL was too light). I feel worked, but recovered afterward. Then I am fresh for Friday's hard session with the opposite bodypart focus.

For the assistance work, I go by feel. I don't have set rep counts. Monday and Friday's reps are slow on the eccentric and fast on the concentric with pauses at the bottom and top. I try and work near failure, but never miss. Wednesday's reps are pumped out for whatever feels good.

Something I made sure to keep in for every session is that I have to get up and down off the ground with pushups, inverted rows, and leg raises. This was one of the best pieces of advice Jim had ever given. I am fastidious about this. I make sure to alternate to which side I kneel down to the ground and get up. I make these movements with purpose. It's built-in mobility.

I have been through this routine for a few weeks. I feel worked and good. I have been telling Jess I am walking and feeling like a whole person. All the parts are moving like they are supposed to. I usually find training hard and my body feeling like it's in proper working condition to be mutually exclusive. Perhaps I'm on to something. I'll at least enjoy it while I can.