Workout of the Day
“MURPH”
For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run
Notes
Over 130 CFSBKers will take on our 15th annual Memorial Day Murph event benefiting K9s for Warriors. We will review some scaling options but try to perform a version that will challenge you and take you about 45-60 minutes. Check out yesterday’s post and the copy below for some ideas.
At your heat start time your coach will review the workout details, answer any questions and set you off. That means you need to DIY your warm-up and movement prep. Head over to the gym early to do what you need to in order to get your body ready for the workout.
Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you’ve got a twenty or fourteen pound vest, wear it! (weighted vests at the gym are very limited)
Cool Down
Enjoy some grilled goodness and drinks while you cheer on your fellow CFSBKers! We’ll start grilling around 9/930am and be running it till we run out of food or 1pm, whichever comes first! Feel free to bring any sides or exotic meats (dinosaur anyone?) if you’d like. We’ve also got some beer in house as well as seltzer and water but BYOB is welcome too.
MICHAEL MURPHY, MEMORIAL DAY & K9S FOR WARRIORS
This workout is dedicated to United States Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy who perished in 2005 during combat in Afghanistan. Michael Murphy was posthumously awarded the medal of honor and purple heart for his service. He was also CrossFitter who created this workout which he originally called “Body Armor” because he would perform it with his body armor vest that would be worn during deployment. This workout was later renamed “Murph” in his honor and is performed all over the country and beyond on Memorial Day. With this workout, we not only come together for a good cause and personal challenge, but to also reflect on the human cost of war and commemorate on those who have lost their lives in the armed services.
Each year we offer this workout for free to all our members and ask that they instead make a donation to K9s for Warriors, a non profit organization that trains and provides service animals for veterans suffering from PTSD. We’re using the same link as last year to increase the gym’s collective fundraising for this great organization.
Donate to the CFSBK’s K9s for Warriors fund here
MURPH OPTIONS
People often understandably get some “sticker shock” when they see what Murph actually entails:
For Time
Run 1 Mile
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-Ups
300 Squats
Run 1 Mile
If you have a weighted vest, wear it.
But as everything with CrossFit, this workout can be modified for anyone’s abilities. Modifications can be broken down into three categories.
Volume Modifications
This simply means decreasing the total number of reps or the distance on the run. A common sub would be to do 3/4 of the volume on the calisthenics or 2/3 distance on each of the mile runs. You can decrease volume across the board, or only on the movements that you struggle most with.
Movement Modifications
If any movement is outside of your ability to perform, even with decreased volume we can easily modify the exercise. Push-Ups can be taken from the knees or elevated, pull-ups can be ring rows or banded and the run can be subbed for a row if needed as well.
Sequence Modifications
Finally, perhaps it’s just the muscular stamina that will catch up to you. For example if Push-Ups are the hardest part of this workout, you can perform 20 rounds of:5 Push-Ups, 5 Pull-Ups, 5 Push-Ups, 15 squats to break up the push-ups into two sets of five.
Here is an example of a version that uses all three modifications in different ways. This person can perform the runs and squats but requires some modifications on the upper body exercises. They’re also not sure about the 20 rounds so are going to plan for no less than 15 and if they’re up for it, maybe make a game time decision to add the last five rounds.
Run 1 Mile
15 Rounds of:
5 Knee Push-Ups
5 Ring Rows
5 Knee Push-Ups
15 Squats
Run 1 Mile
We will provide some standard options and also happy to discuss what makes sense for YOU in these final few weeks leading up to Murph. For most people this workout takes somewhere around 45-60 minutes to complete and is what you should aim for. The goal is to find a version that will CHALLENGE you to finish, but at the same time be realistic and achievable within that time frame. Happy Murphing!!