This May 29th is Memorial Day, a day on which those who died in active military service are remembered. For CrossFitters, this is also the day most of us do some version of the Hero workout “Murph”. Murph is named after Michael Patrick “Murph” Murphy who was a United States Navy SEAL officer who was awarded the U.S. military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the War in Afghanistan.
Murph is:
Run 1 mile
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 air squats
Run 1 mile
*Rx is done with a 20/14 lb. weight vest
This year, like most things, we are going to do it the Solcana way (In the most fun way possible) and offer a partner version of this where both partners go out for the mile run, come back to the gym to split up the 100 / 200 / 300, and then go back out for another partner run. You can pick your partners based on who is there when you begin your heat. There will be heats starting at 9am, 9:45, 10:30 & 11:15. Afterward there will be a BYO BBQ if people want to hang out and enjoy each other’s company.
But why should you do Murph? “It looks hard and from what I’ve heard from other people, it is kind of painful”. To that, I say it is. But it is once a year and the euphoria you get rom finishing it is well worth it. This is one of those work outs where I start questioning why I even decided to get out bed that morning. I like to break up the 100/200/300 into sets of “Cindy” so 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. If you do the math, that is 20 rounds (not including the 1 mi runs that bookend this work). Usually round 5 feels pretty good, round 10 the doubt starts to creep in, and by 17 I’m dripping in sweat and hoping Christopher Lloyd & young Joseph Gordon-Levitt are going to show up like in Angels in the Outfield and lift me up. But just like in that classic piece of cinema, the angels are required to sit on the sidelines for the playoffs. Instead I have the cheers of fellow athletes and coaches to lift me up and push me to finish the body-weight movements. There is nothing like getting to the last 400m of the mile run to see a Solcanaut encouraging me on and pacing to a stronger finish than I think I can muster. I cross the finish line, throw off the vest, and collapse.
This is one of those tests where you really get to dig deep and see if you can find a little something to help you push hard to the finish (or just not give up in my case). The best part is you get to share this with a partner if you want! Last year Sara Radjenovic regretted not being there for Murph even if was just to watch. Keep that FOMO at bay and come get some fitness in on Memorial Day. (You can ask Sara in person why she regretted not showing up. :D)
Event Details are here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1820417818285454/
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