Let me start out by saying this: I don’t like CrossFit. With that said, I have an immense amount of respect toward LT Michael Murphy, his workout, and the crossfitters that honor his sacrifice by completing his workout every Memorial Day.

Run 1 mile
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 squats
Run 1 mile

All while wearing a 20lb vest.


I’m setting a personal goal to complete the workout next Memorial Day. Right now I can’t do one freaking pull-up - combination of being a bit heavier than I should and also lacking some strength. I’ve managed to lose about 10 lbs since January and add some muscle while training for a backcountry hiking trip. I need some more motivation, though, so this is my plan....I’m going to do scaled-down “Murphs” every other week starting tomorrow until next Memorial Day. In between, I’ll work on getting leaner, stronger, and upping my reps.

I’ve managed to fix my dieting habits over the past several months aside from enjoying some drinks and eating out on the weekends. Most weeks I tend to break-even thanks to some overindulgence over the weekend. I need to limit that if I really want to shed some weight.

Murph work out is crazy. Its hard but ive done it quit a few times. don't care how long it takes anyone, completing it while thinking what the work out stands for is a great feeling! Good luck

Just did Mini Murph #1. Got some work to do.

1 Mile (10:38)
5 sets of:
-2x 10 second bar hangs (still can’t do a pull-up. Grip strength made things tougher during the last set)
-8x push-ups (not too bad - will do more next time)
-12x squats (more difficult than I expected but still doable)
1 mile (14:15)

For the miles, I alternated running/walking. This was my first time to run in several years, so I should
He able to clean up those times with some work.

It’s a great workout. I used to do them but without the vest.

Couple pieces of advice:

get a pull up bar in your house. I put one on a door and the price to enter or exit was a pull up. This helped immensely as I was doing pull ups throughout the day.

Most people I know who did them ascribe to the you don’t have to do them in order. So do 20 sets of 5-10-15. That will help break it up.

Focus on a healthy work out regiment then go for the Murph. Even reduced Murph can put heavy strain on your body.

Focus on form, espically on the squats. Use a chair as a reference point if you have to.

Good luck. Great to set goals. If you get at it, you will be completing them sooner then that

Thanks for the tips, Cleric. I broke today’s reps into 5 sets - definitely made things more manageable.

Mini-Murph #2 is in the books

Mile 1: 10:10
5x15 second bar hangs with shrugs
50 push-ups
75 squats
Mile 2: 11:57

Pretty happy with the improvement. Shaved about 2:45 off my total run time, and didn’t have much trouble upping ny reps. I’m still pretty far from doing a pull-up - definitely feeling like my grip and forearm strength is improving.

Awesome news. In regards to pull ups two things to strength
1) just start holding yourself as long as possible
2) if you do a jump pull up focus on lowering yourself as slowly as possible.

The run time is really good. Just make sure you are not gassing yourself.

45:21 RX

Another Friday, another workout.

Mile 1: 9:59
5 sets totaling:
5 Max bar hangs
72 push-ups
90 squats
Mile 2: 11:57

I slacked off pretty hard the last two weeks. Need to fix that for the next two.

Progress....awesome