"MURPH"
Run 1 mile
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 air squats
Run 1 mile
Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy
History
The Murph hero WOD was originally posted on CrossFit.com on August 18th, 2005 by Lauren Glassman. The description read as follows:
In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.
This workout was one of Mike’s favorites and he’d named it “Body Armor”. From here on it will be referred to as “Murph” in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.
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.
Tips And Tricks
For most of the population Murph’s 200 pushups are the limiting factor. Many athletes will bite off more than they can chew attempting to break them up in to sets of 20. By the time they’ve accumulated the first 100 pushups they are struggling to string three together at a time.
Pushup burnout can be prevented by partitioning the workout wisely. Listed below are some rep schemes to consider:
5-10-15
The 5-10-15 scheme is probably the most common pattern people succeed with. This mirrors the rep scheme of the CrossFit benchmark workout Cindy:
20 rounds of
5 pullups
10 pushups (If you are new to Murph, be smart and shake out your arms after five reps, from the very beinging).
15 squats
5-5-5-15
If pushups are a particular challenge for you consider the following scheme
20 rounds of
5 pushups
5 pullups
5 pushups
15 squats
5-5-5-10-5
Similar to the 5-5-5-15
20 rounds of
5 pullups
5 squats
5 pushups
10 squats
5 pushups
What To Expect
Times vary quite a bit on Murph. The mile route will of course be a big factor in determining your time. As a rough guideline though consider the following for an athlete (male or female) completing the workout without a weight vest:
+70 Minutes Beginner
40-70 Minutes Intermediate
30-40 Minutes Advanced
30 Minutes or less Elite