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Hero WOD: Murph

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you’ve got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.
• 1 mile Run
• 100 Pull-ups
• 200 Push-ups
• 300 Squats
• 1 mile Run

**** Athletes must head out for last run or row 10min before end of the workout, regardless of how many reps and round they may have completed

Hero: Murph
Memorial day is here! If you’ve been doing CrossFit for a while, you’ve seen that a common Hero Workout done on memorial day is “Murph”. This workout is in honor of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy. Murphy was a SEAL team member who lost his life serving his country in Afghanistan in 2005 during Operation Red Wings (2).

On the morning of June 28th, Lt. Michael Murphy and Petty Officers Danny Dietz, Matthew Axelson, and Marcus Luttrell were dropped into the mountains of Afghanistan, only to be ambushed by more than fifty militiamen after a local accidentally wandered onto their position and gave it up.

The four soldiers were heavily outnumbered, but put up a strong fight. During the ambush, Lt. Murphy risked his own life by coming out from cover, finding a signal, and calling for help.

TARGET SCORE
Target Time: 50 minutes
Time Cap: 1 hour 30 minutes
STIMULUS and GOALS
Murph time! Honor our veterans and be thankful for our Freedom! This is always a great test of our muscular endurance and cardio that we can test our mental toughness during.

How to Pace: GRIND into, PAIN CAVE! You’ve got to stay mentally tough and stay moving.

How it should feel: MUSCULAR ENDURANCE into PAIN!!! Murph is total body fatigue eventually and then it just hurts!

WORKOUT STRATEGY & FLOW
You may choose if you partition reps, do strict pull ups, and/or wear a vest. Rich usually does strict pull ups and always wears a vest. It can be fun to change up which exact version you do from year to year. We like using a smaller whiteboard or some system to help you tick off reps as you move along.

Run: Use a consistent pace you can do for the first and last mile! Don’t come out too hot.

Strict Pull Up or Kipping / Butterfly Pull Up: Stick to manageable sets of (likely 5-10) out of the gate. Keep the kip forceful and fast to save the arms, and minimize time under tension.

Push Ups: Start with smaller sets than you think you should! There’s nothing wrong with coming out with sets of 3-5 fast sets on a disciplined time interval to stay consistent. Don’t fry out!

Air Squats: Just stay moving as much as you can and grind through it! Keep weight mid foot and use those glutes/hips! Mentally thinking of it in sets of 10-15 can help.

MODIFICATIONS
(For pregnant or postpartum women)

Run –> run if you feel comfortable still, if not then complete on a machine

Pull Up –> Band Assisted Pull Ups- 1 Foot
Banded Lat Pull Down

Push ups –> Knee Push Ups or Incline Push Ups

Air Squats –> no modification

SCALING
The SCALING aim is to stay moving and get a great workout in!

Scaling option to finish near the target score:

“Half Murph”
800m Run
50 Pull Up
100 Push Up
150 Squat
800m Run
*With or without a 20/14 Vest

Mobility and Maintenance: Choose 1-2 Thoracic Mobility Drills from Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD and spend 5-10 minutes with them. Choose 1-2 Upper Extremity Mobility Drills from Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD and spend 5-10 minutes with them. Choose 2-3 Lower Extremity Mobility Drills from Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD and spend 10-12 minutes with them.

Nutrition Preparation: Ensure that you have quality foods prepared in the appropriate quantities to fuel your efforts for the remainder of the week.

Mental Restoration: Different for everyone – could be quiet time, prayer or meditation or could be gathering with friends; the key is to engage in activities that make your life full and help you recharge your batteries.