Dec29
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You probably saw your Instagram feeds blow up with your Crossfitting friends posting about Murph. This was my first experience with Murph so here’s a little background for those who were in the dark like I was:
Murph is a Crossfit “Hero WOD” that honors Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005. He was 29, of Patchogue, N.Y. Lt Murphy was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor after his death. It’s tradition for the CrossFit community to do Murph on Memorial Day to remember the fallen soldiers who sacrified their lives for our county. (There are a number of Hero WODs in CrossFit. Murph is arguably one of the hardest.)
Murph
- 1 mile run
- 100 pull-ups
- 200 push-ups
- 300 squats
- 1 mile run
To Rx it (here’s what Rx means, #10), you need to do it in that order, all consecutively…so um, yeah, that’s insanely hard. And to TRULY Rx Murph, you wear a 20 lb vest while doing it. (We only had one person at our gym wear a vest and she did it with a 9 lb vest…absolute beast mode. So impressive Kristin!)
I did NOT Rx it. 🙂 I partitioned it and broke it up into 20 rounds – 5 push-ups, 5 pull-ups, 5 push-ups, 15 squats, 20 times. I scaled it by using a band on my pull-ups and eventually was pushing off the stack of weights under me while doing pull-ups. I also eventually dropped to my knees on the push-ups. I finished in 41:22.
Obviously I loved the running part. I tried to get people to trade their run for some pull-ups but no one took my offer. 😉 I’m really not that sore today so I wish I had pushed harder on the pull-ups and push-ups. I was just so nervous! But now I know how to approach it next year.
I went up to Winston-Salem to do Murph at Top Tier CrossFit. I really loved the workout. And I really loved the energy in the gym – it’s such a great group there! It was so fun to see everyone I used to work out with there (albeit briefly before I moved), (Pic credit: @TopTierCrossFit Instagram. Do you see me? Here’s a hint – I’m short so I’m always in the front. ha!)
And, of course, it was fun to work out with Tommy (who did it straight through – quite impressive :)). This photo bomb picture cracks.me.up. I still laugh out loud when I look at it a day later.
After the workout, we had a potluck at the gym. I brought my Brown Rice & Black Bean Salad with avocado and cilantro. I added just one can of beans and added shredded chicken since I knew everyone would need some protein after the workout. I used a rotisserie chicken and used the microwave brown rice from Trader Joe’s to make it even easier. It seemed to be a crowd pleaser! The chips that someone else brought were an excellent vehicle for eating the brown rice & black bean salad. I also brought Paleomg’s blueberry muffins, although I tweaked a few things so I’ll post my version soon!
It was a really fun day and I totally understand the appeal of the CrossFit community these days. I hate I was so anti for so long. I take it all back! :D<insert Monkey-covering-eyes-emoji here – I wish Windows Live Writer had emojis>
Did you do Murph? If so, how did it go?
If not, what did you do for Memorial Day?
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10 responses to “My First Murph Workout”
Oh my gaaaaahhhhd. I did the Murph WOD a few years ago (I’m not part of a CrossFit gym here in NorCal since it’s $250/month for the famous one right across the st. from my house, unfortunately….and ahem…fortunately hoo wee those men). But it was rough. I think I took a good week or more off working out after that one.
hahaha “hoo wee those men”!!!
I did my first Murph on Friday since I was going to be away for the weekend. I Rxed ALL the pull ups, which I was so proud of! But I did all the push ups on my knees. I finished in 52:38, my goal was under and hour so I was happy. I hated the running haha. I got a serious cramp on the 2nd mile.
I think it’s pretty awesome that Crossfit honors veterans and fallen soliders with these workouts. I’m sure when you’re in the middle of the workout and feeling like you can’t go on being able to remember that the workout is meant to be a testament to someone else who did something much harder gives you an extra push. I’m still a hundred percent intimidated by Crossfit, but I love this concept.
And I’m super impressed by you. Super super impressed by Tommy. And thoroughly, insanely impressed by Kristin. Y’all are some tough kids!
I’m also super super impressed by Tommy, for many reasons. 😀 (Tell Matt thanks… again….)
We missed out on Murph this year because we were traveling home on Monday, and wanted to hit the road as early as possible (thank goodness we did because we avoided driving in crazy storms!). Just thought I’d point out that you have the pull-up and push-up numbers backwards at the top in the description of the workout. And to Rx, you don’t have to do all 100 pull-ups before moving to the push-ups. The Crossfit website specifically says to partition the 3 middle movements as needed. You just have to start and finish with the run and complete the 600 reps in the middle to Rx! It’s a tough workout no matter how you do it, and if you can do it with a vest, you’re seriously awesome! We actually had a couple of guys visiting our box last year do it with gas masks on which severely limited their air supply. They had served in the military, and were incredible to watch and workout with! Congrats on your first Murph!
Thank you for catching and pointing out the mix-up in push-ups and pull-ups! I just fixed it!! That’s interesting about what the Crossfit website says – I heard two gyms say they had to be unbroken – I wonder where they got that from?? I guess it doesn’t really matter – it’s all hard and all impressive, no matter how it’s done! 🙂
Gas masks?! WOW. The CrossFit community really is so incredible, for so many reasons.
You totally inspired me to do this workout. I’ve always wanted to try crossfit, but just can’t justify the monthly membership since I also belong to a gym, a yoga studio and a running club (I’m a little workout ADD). But today I did murph at my gym except I skipped the pull ups. I did 20 rounds of 10 push ups and 15 squats. My legs were like jello the last mile, but I finished in 41:36!
ohhhh this comment made me so happy! Nice work!! My legs were like jello on the last mile too, especially the first quarter mile!
and I totally feel you on the workout ADD 🙂
Congrats on your first Murph! I skipped this year because I’m moving and it was my last week at the gym. I knew if I did Murph, I’d be pretty sore for a few days and wouldn’t be able to do the regular WODs, haha. I wanted to get in the most classes I could before I left, so I ended up just running a 5k in my neighborhood because I haven’t run that long in awhile!