Our Memorial Day “Murph” event, in honor of our veterans and troops, was a huge success! A big thank you to Michele for handling the grill, and to our volunteers: Jess B., Amanda Mc., Nishi, Andrea, and our Front Desk staff. Thank you to our photographers, Coach K HarpZ and Thomas H.! Thank you to Alan L. for donating the keg that kept up fueled post-WOD on behalf of Ho’Brah Taco. And a huge thank you to Coach David for keeping us watered and fed, and to Coaches Fox and Lady Fox for making sure we all sailed through the toughest workout of the year! Most importantly: thank you to all who have served our country. This workout was for you.
- Happy belated birthday to Christian R. and Alfredo C.!
There’s Still Time to Join Olympic Rower Coach Nick For a Rowing Clinic on May 31st, at 2:15pm
Do you want to improve your effectiveness on the erg? Do you dread rowing workouts? Or maybe you love them and want to row more on the side? (If you answered that last question with a hearty “yes,” you are a crazy person. Just so you know.) This one-hour clinic will include the following:
- Review of the machine: foot height, drag factor, how to set up workouts, how to review scores after workouts, etc.
- In-depth breakdown of the rowing stroke (recovery, catch, drive)
- Drills to improve common technique errors
- Workout
Nick started rowing in junior high school. He competed at two World Rowing Championships (1998, 1999) and the Olympic Games (2000), as well as various other international meets.
There’s a 20 person cap on the number of participants, so sign up now!
_____________________
If you didn’t tell us already, how did “Murph” go yesterday?
Monday Press Option:
Fitness and Peformance: 1-1-1-1-1
5 Attempts at a 1RM
Post loads to comments.
_____________________
5 Rounds Not For Time:
10 Weighted Sit-Ups, as heavy as possible
15 Russian Kettlebell Swings, as heavy as possible
130m Jog
or
Wedneday Squat Option:
Fitness: 3RM
Performance: Back Squat 3 x 5, Volume Day
Add 5-10 pounds to last week's exposure.
Post loads to comments.
e8/8
_____________________
Fitness
Every Minute on the Minute, 16 Minutes:
Even: 3/4/5 Strict Chin-Ups or Challenging Ring Rows
Odd: 3/4/5 Strict Ring Dips or Push-Ups
Performance
Every Minute on the Minute, 16 Minutes:
1/2/3 Strict Muscle-Ups
Post reps and Rx to comments.
41:14 pretty good one for me. I've done this a bunch of times now and broke 40mins once. I'll take anything in the low 40's. I was sure my son, Manuel was going to beat me but that moment hasn't come yet. Soon though.
6am. Make-up Murph day with a bunch of other 6am-ers: 50:26 w/ 20# vest. This was a 19sec improvement from last year. Should have been able to break 50min, but my legs rebelled against running the final mile, so I shuffled. Followed a 15 squat, 5 push-up, 5 pull-up, 5 push-up pattern. Started to blister in my right hand at round 15 and tore at round 19. Push-ups felt strong today. I managed to stick with sets of 5 the whole way. Note to self: next year, bring a towel.
6:07am. Tackled Murph w/ my fellow 6am'ers. 60:23 w/ 20# vest. This was a full 9mins and 23secs slower than last year. Used the 5 pull-ups, 5 pushups, 15 squats, 5 pushups rep scheme. I started breaking up the pushups to earlier slowing me down. Squats felt slow and long. I had a hard time catching my breath w/ the vest. The last run was awful.
6 AM BE CRAZY.
I came in a few minutes early to see whether I could still press. No go. 🙁 So I did tomorrow's squats with the floater NFT work.
Safety bar 170x5x3. I was going to be a baby and wear my belt, but Jess talked me out of it. I'm glad she did. It was heavy but doable, especially with the amount of time we had between sets.
NFT work with 30, 35, 40×3 DB and 20kg KB (left arm). I'm gonna have a six-pack and a jacked left arm by the time I heal up 😛
Registered for the SPARTAN RACE this weekend with the CFSBK team, but unfortunately, I can no longer go. I have an entry if anyone wants it — we can transfer it at cost. chrishabetler@yahoo.com
So good to be back in Brooklyn after a very long week in Hartford for Regionals. While it was definitely a ton of work and nothing resembling a vacation I came back feeling a bit refreshed and really looking forward to being back at the gym with everyone. Murph was a perfect way to segway back into the gym and I had a great time catching up with everyone, having some beers and enjoying the day.
Huge thanks again to lady Fox for organizing the event while Mare and myself were away as well as all the coaches, FD staff and especially volunteers and folks who just took the time to lend an extra hand cleaning up etc afterwards. After all the volunteer support that helped us on regionals and then seeing that same spirit at Murph I'm feeling very grateful to be part of such a caring and wonderful community.
Not sure what my murph time was.. 50 something? I looked at the clock when I came in but I don't remember what it said. Regardless it was great working out with the coaches. Highlights were running the last lap with Jacinto, Taking Constance through Murph and hanging out with some of my CrossFit Kids! I can't wait until next year!
Also here are the three workouts I was able to sneak in during regionals:
Snatch
Worked up to 175×1
10 Rounds FT of
3 CTB Pull-ups
3 Strict HSPU
3 Deadlifts 275lbs
3 Rounds FT of:
Power Clean, 1/2 Depth Clean, Squat Clean + Split Jerk 155lbs
40' Handstand Walk
5 Strict Pull-Ups
5 Kipping Pullups
Note that despite bringing oly shoes, wrist wraps and tape I forgot my damn workout shorts so I did all these workouts in jeans :/
I'm very sad I couldn't make Murph this year–especially after reading DO's post. 🙁
Kudos to all that participated. I still have never done this workout…
Monday/Wednesday mash-up this morning, avoiding any sort of squatting or hip thrust movement.
Press 1-1-1-1-1
78-83-88-93-96(F)
I've hit 93 several times, and was hoping I might be able to break it today (I have not pressed consistently this cycle). My attempt at 96 got way to forward in front of me initially. Tried it again about 30 seconds later, but was pooped.
EMOM 16 min: 2 strict muscle ups
I was very happy to make it through all sixteen minutes with doubles. The last one took me a couple of attempts to get going on, but I think this was more mental than anything (I often choke and lose on the last rep of something like this.)
Tabata Assault bike just to get a little sweat on me. It's been a while.
It was nice to be able to get back into a group class and work around what's bothering me.
Murph in 49:40 with Ring Rows. I WILL do this Rx next year. Felt pretty good throughout – was able to keep moving with no extended pauses as I slogged through the rounds. No land speed records set but I am happy with the effort. Very glad that Frank's Oly class did not happen last night. Unsurprisingly, I feel significantly less great this morning. When you don't do crossfit workouts for a period of time they bite the first day back . . .
Really enjoyed hanging with everyone. With the exception of FGB my favorite day at the gym. Wonderful to watch Constance kick @ss. Jacinto, once again, proved that he is the Don. But, as Mrav notes, he is a threat to my/our ability to claim age as a reason for relative slowiness. Thanks to the grillers and organizizers.
Altho I attempted to scale Murph to the point where I just show up and eat sandwiches, I'm sore today.
6am. Disappointed to have missed Murph festivities yesterday, but made it up with a few fellow 6am'ers today. This was my first time attempting Murph, finished in 48:50. I obviously have nothing to compare this to, but felt good with the results. I went with the 5 push-up, 5 pull-up, 5 push-up, 15 squats rep scheme. Last June when I came back from my bicep tear, one of my main goals was to be able to do Murph this year, so I feel good with accomplishing that goal. Just as excited to have purchased a Murph t-shirt.
I was filled with a real sense of dread during most of yesterday, anticipating THE MURPH. All in all, very happy with how it went down.
Last year was the first year I attempted full RX'd. I tore my hands somewhere around round 9 of 20, did maybe 3 more rounds with pull-ups, and then just had to switch to ring rows. Finished it in 55+ minutes. Main goal for this year: don't tear.
Success on all fronts. Full murph. No hand tear. No failure on push-ups (though they got really hard even before the halfway mark). Butterfly pull-ups the whole time. (!!)
Time: 46:47, RX'd… I THINK! I got a little fuzzy on the numbers, but I feel like that's right. Maybe someone can verify for me.
I'm incredibly happy with the improvement and result. Doing a whole lot more pull-up volume each week due to Outlaw training really made a huge difference here. The first lap of that second mile is just absolutely excruciating… I hated every second of it. By the second lap, I feel like I can sort of breathe again, and then the third lap I just can't wait til I get to the final corner so I can sprint and be DONE.
Congrats to all who participated in any form. And thanks to all those who have served.
Warm up x 3
8 ring rows
12 v-ups
16 pistols
Press 1-1-1-1-1
45×5, 65×3
70-72-74
76F
75F
Kinda thought I had at least 76, but not today I guess (prior PR is 74)
Fun working with 2 new (to me) strong ladies, Ari and Katie
5 RNFT
10 Weighted Sit ups 25#-30-35-35-40 (ended up not anchoring feet — didn't feel too hard, but lots of groaning!)
15 Russian KB swings 16kg-20-24-24-28 (unbroken — i think that's the heaviest bell I've attempted to date)
270 jog
Lots of bike riding. It is hot out there today
Murph yesterday in (I think) between 40 and 41 minutes.
I have a vague recollection of maybe seeing 40:38 on the clock as I ran by the door, but there was a big crowd and some red, white, and blue bunting in the way, so I can’t be sure. It seems right based on when I left for the second run (just over 33min in). All I know is it wasn’t under 40min, which was the goal, but I’ll take what I can get. Went with the 5-5-5-15 strategy trying to preserve push-ups for as long as possible, because that’s been the issue in years past, but actually switched to doing 5-10-15 for the last 5 rounds because they were feeling good. Maybe could have pressed through that bodyweight stuff a little faster.
Aside from the workout itself, it was a great way to spend Memorial Day. Thanks to all who made it happen, and of course, thanks to all who have served. Especially John and our other new found friends in Kabul.
6am make-up Murph with Peter, BK, Scott, & Mike
I hit 51:57 with a 20# weight vest on. It's a 4min PR for me so that part felt great. I was shooting for sub-50min but my legs would just not speed up on the last mile. I tried a different break-up this year of 5 pushups, 5 pullups, 5 pushups, 15 squats, and I liked it better than doing Cindy rounds. I started to tear in both palms at around round 13 and switched to doing pullups using my fingertips.
It was a bummer to miss doing it with the group on Monday but our flight didn't land until late last night. Our make-up murph crew today was pretty solid though. 🙂 Nice work guys!
Great day yesterday coaching and hanging out. Thanks to the FD staff and volunteers for making the day run smooth.
Rough Murph for me, finished in 49:00 (Whit, I think this would put you somewhere around the 48 minute mark. I watched you turn the corner at 3rd and Douglass on our last lap). I felt overheated and exhausted from the 2nd lap of the first run. Split up the work into:
10 Push Ups
10 Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
30 Squats
I prefer to only have to count 10 rounds. Seems less daunting. Pull Ups were disorganized though and I moved slow with lots or rest breaks…
Memorial Day memz:
All around awesome day. Had fun walking around in the morning taking photos of everyone at the gym (uploads should be up by tonight). Loved being able to watch everyone slog through the heats and cheer people on. Nice work everyone! You all inspire me : )
As for me…this was my first murph EVER! I was really nervous for this one. Especially because I had to miss out on the action last year due to my bum shoulder. It's pretty awesome when I reflect back on where I was last may and think about all of the hard work that I had to put in to get to where I am today. To be honest, I'm just thankful to have the physical capability to complete a full Murph RX!
Finished in 45:45
That truly was he hardest workout I've ever done. Anyone who was outside on my last mile knew this because I literally turned into a howling bobble head. For some reason when I'm running tired my head starts to flop around passively on my shoulders. And instead of exhaling I was sort of groaning. I sounded like a wounded goat, pretty amusing. Anyway, The following rep scheme worked out perfectly: 20 rds
5 push-ups
5 pull-ups
5 push-ups
15 air squats
GOOD STUFF, thanks for the memories!
Second time doing Murph for me yesterday. No vest, but did all of the reps with no movement scaling, and finished in 60:27 or something like that. Last year I did 3/4s in 57 minutes, so this seems like an improvement! Happy to have done all the reps, but I tend to get really lost during massive workouts like this, and have a hard time staying on task. Something to work on (always) for the future. Next year maybe I'll attempt RX and wear a vest. Super fun day overall, great to hang with everyone and eat all of the hamburgers. Shout out to John and our friends in Kabul, and servicemembers everywhere – thank you for all that you do!
I was considering coming in tonight for press work, but my 1RM today would probably be no more than a No.2 pencil. Rest day it is then!
Murph in 1:04-ish. Clock got restarted before I finished, so this is a close guess #tortoisekidproblems
I kept a really steady pace throughout the whole thing, breaking it up by 5 ringrows, 5 pushups, 15 squats, 5 pushups. I didn't take much rest time at all, and I was actually really blown away by how well I was moving through everything.
Did 3/4 Murph Cindy-style last year in 58 min with full runs, so this was a HUGE improvement for me. Breaking up the pushups helped a TON.
I had two goals for this year:
1) Finish the first run sub 10min (9:35, check!)
2) Finish the whole workout, scaled (was out the door and "running" again at 48:50)
Accomplishing both made me feel so damn proud I could have cried. Alas, all my tears were spent as sweat. Final run was a joke, just hilarious.
What a great day!
Also: major photocred to Thomas Hinton. Who took all of the sicknasty photos for the final 1pm heat. Thanks so much for the camera tips!!!!
I can vouch for sicknasty-ness of Thomas's photos, and Katie's! Mine should be up by tonight, too. Thanks to everyone who volunteered and made the event run so smoothly.
I have been injured every year around this time, so I've never done a full Murph. Last year, my shoulder was hurt so I did it with Jess Bailey as a team (she was arms, I was legs and added a weighted vest). I remember thinking I couldn't imagine doing that many strict push-ups and pull-ups ever, so I'm extremely happy that I was able to do half the volume this year, however slowly, with 800m rows on both ends. Finished in 32:19.
5:30 class tonight with Jeremy
I've been psyched to 1RM my press for weeks and was gunning for 100, but I fell short. Hit 90 (PR), 95 (PR), failed twice at 100 and once at 97.5. Bummer.
Heavy kettlebell swings and running are still out so I did a sweet WOD K Harpz wrote for me:
21-15-9
Bike, for calories
Slam balls, 20#
I forgot to start a clock so I just tried hard. 🙂
7:30 with Noah and Jess
I was sore from Murph, so my expectations weren't super high for the 1RM. Got to 77# which was just above what I'd hoped for. My left arm was going up slowly on the last 2 attempts lol
NFT..was forced to attempt the 28kg bell and did them unbroken. The rest of it was pretty lazy though.
Jenny! I'm always chasing after you 🙂
Press: 58pr/63/65/70(f)/68. Attempted 70 again and failed. Hard to know the difference between physically can't and physically won't sometimes.
Fun wod. Used 20#db, 20kg? (White) Kb.
Cait, you are hilarious. Congrats on your accomplishments!
Super shoutout to folks who did Murph today! Especially the three? in 7:30 class who suffered through with very soft music and a very quiet gym.
Excited for the Spartan race on Saturday 🙂 I wonder if the endorphin high is gunna be as fulfilling as Murph!!
Verified time (via Asha): 47:46
(got the numbers backwards)
5:30 with Jeremy who was full of comedic relief especially when trying to do a pistol.
135/150/160f/155f. I think I would have hit 160 if I didn't do murph yesterday. I'll try again next week.
Heavy sit-ups worked up to 55#
Heavy kb swings worked up to 98# with the big white kb +2 2.5# magnets.
I liked murph yesterday. Did it in 42:31 with the 5/10/15 approach.
I really liked fox's idea with only 10 rounds. Next year's goal is sub 40!
Third time I've done murph – first time RX – which I am so super happy about! I honestly couldn't dream of doing 100 Kipling pull-ups a year ago. I finished
In about 53:26. I think I could have done it a bit faster in theory but I came in pretty tired having gotten married this weekend (!) I also ripped my hands pretty badly at around round 14. The worst part was the second run though- I think that mile have been a thirteen minute mile! But great to hang out even for a little bit. I brought leftover birthday cake from my sons birthday – it wasn't exactly paleo but maybe some people were looking for a good sugar rush post murph?!
Came in today for franks oly lifting class – post murph i felt like I had been run over by a truck. Only the thought of jacinto kept me from complaining too much about my aging bones!
Always one of my favorite days of the year, Murph yesterday didn't disappoint. Wonderful time watching people gut through it, was especially psyched to have my dad get involved, and always fun to cap the day in the coaches heat.
Finished in 39:55, not my fastest time, but I'm always happy if I crack 40 minutes. I love and hate this workout. The love stems from how much of it takes place between the ears- I do a LOT of talking to myself during the workout, basically constantly forbidding myself to slow down or stop moving. The first lap of the last run is always daunting, and you have to trust that your legs will wake up. I have a personal rule that I will never walk during a Hero WOD, and I constantly have to check myself during the last mile to stay true to that.
For me, Murph is a workout about perspective. Around 20 minutes in you're sure you couldn't feel any worse and there is no worse place you could be, but there are lots of brave people who have been in worse pain in far worse places. Keeping that in mind always keeps me moving and I try and make myself smile a few times and remind myself how good I've got it, and how lucky I am to be doing competitive exercise with all my friends.
To those folks who've braved the real bad stuff in the real bad places, thanks.
This was my 4th time grinding through Murph. I finished the full Wod in 50:22. Shaved five minutes off from last year when I was injured. This year I took a route I don't recommend but it got me through all the pushups and pull-ups with no hitch… (At the expense of my legs.)
I went 50 rounds of 2 pull ups 4 pushups and 6 squats. The cost of getting up from the push ups so much certainly took its toll on my legs but for my pull-ups, I honestly felt like I could have done more. My ability to do pushups lasted far longer than I thought they would. I kept hearing David's voice to pull my elbows in. Gave myself maybe 5-6 three second breaks to re chalk or wipe the bar/my face. Next year I will try the 5/5/5/15 method again and see if I can get down to 44:34 (my best time ever).
I want to thank David, Fox, Jess, the staff and all the members that make the day so special.
Murph has become a WOD I try to remember not only those that died in combat but those that lost their lives because of it. Every day 22 vets kill themselves. I lost a great friend to PTSD and a awesome family lost a husband and father. I highly recommend the lone survivor foundation if you are feeling generous.
First time doing Murph – did 1/2 Murph in 33 minutes. Full Murph next year!
Tore my hands up a bit doing kipping pull ups. Doing a bit of research on callus care now. This article was helpful: http://www.fitbomb.com/2011/09/crossfit-hand-care.html