We have to admit, you’re a huge fan of a workout if it’s named after you. This happened to the American lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, better known as “Murph”.
The “Murph” CrossFit workout is named after this lieutenant who died in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005.
You might be wondering, why is this workout named after him? It was Murphy’s favorite workout and he used the workout to prepare his troops for certain missions.
Table of Contents
- What is crossFit?
- The story behind Murphy
- The ‘Murph’ crossFit workout
- Think of your strategy
- Volume scaling
- 5 tips to complete the “Murph” crossFit workout
What is crossFit?
The term crossFit falls under the field of fitness. They are workouts that are very diverse in the base.
Weightlifting, powerlifting, gymnastics & athletics are all combined at crossFit.
CrossFit workouts are known as very hard workouts, this is because the goal is to perform many different exercises in a short time.
In addition, the exercises must be performed at a very high intensity…
CrossFit is therefore not for everyone and generally requires a lot of practice.
The story behind Murphy
As mentioned before, Murphy died in Afghanistan in 2005, this was due to an encirclement by the Taliban.
At the hands of Murphy, 1 of his troops survived the encirclement; Marcus Luttrell.
It’s a bizarre story and that’s why Marcus Luttrell wrote a book about it and a movie was made of this book.
In the United States, ‘Memorial Day’ commemorates the American soldiers who died during their military service.
‘Memorial Day’ takes place on the last Monday of May and this day is often chosen by crossFit athletes to perform the ‘Murph’ crossFit workout.
The ‘Murph’ crossFit workout
The full version of the workout includes:
- 1 mile run (1.6 km)
- 100 pull ups
- 200 push ups
- 300 air squats
- 1 mile run (1.6 km)
This is not the only thing though, you will be wearing a 20 lbs (9 kg) weight vest throughout this workout. Sometimes 14 lbs (6 kg) is also chosen.
This makes the “Murph” crossFit workout even harder than it already is…
An important question is of course; approximately how long does it take athletes to complete the workout?
An average athlete will take about 45-60 minutes to complete it. Top athletes are able to do it in less than 35 minutes.
Think of your strategy
It is allowed to divide the pull ups, push ups & air squats however you want, however you must start and finish running.
It gives an extra challenge to perform the exercises exactly in the order shown.
In both cases it is important to devise a strategy in advance. You must have a good idea after how many repetitions you take a rest.
In the first scenario (where you do not follow the fixed order) it is often chosen to do 5 pull ups, 10 push ups & 15 air squats in succession. You then need 20 rounds to complete it.
Maybe this is a strategy that works well for you, but maybe not. It is important that you discover this for yourself!
Volume scaling
For many people it will not be possible to complete the full workout. For this reason it is possible to do a smaller version, the options are shown below.
| 3/4 “Murph” | 1/2 “Murph” | 1/4 “Murph” |
| 3/4 mile run (1.2 km) | 1/2 mile run (0.8 km) | 1/4 mile run (0.4 km) |
| 75 pull ups | 50 pull ups | 25 pull ups |
| 150 push ups | 100 push ups | 50 push ups |
| 225 air squats | 150 air squats | 75 air squats |
| 3/4 mile run (1.2 km) | 1/2 mile run (0.8 km) | 1/4 mile run (0.4 km) |
5 tips to complete the “Murph” crossFit workout
#1: Enough rest
Make sure you get enough rest the day before and after the workout. By training too hard the day before you will have less energy on the day of the workout itself. And the day after is important because your muscles need enough rest to recover.
#2: Good nutrition
It is important to eat and drink enough before the workout. A carbohydrate-rich meal before the workout is recommended, because this provides a lot of energy that can be released quickly.
#3: Enough water during the workout
It is also important to get enough fluids during the workout. It is advisable to take small sips, otherwise you have a chance of a sloshing belly.
#4: A good strategy
Make sure you have a good strategy in advance for the distribution of the exercises/repetitions. For inspiration you can look at the aforementioned strategy in the article.
#5: Save energy
Many people start the first stretch of running at a pace that is much too high. They spend their energy almost completely at the beginning and then are broken. Make sure you divide your energy wisely over the workout.
Lifestyle coach [5+ years of fitness experience]