Murph – Are You Ready? 1


I don’t think I have ever done Murph on my own, I have always done it as team. I am fine with that because I have worked out with a few Navy Seals and they have the capacity of 3 normal athletes. If you want to do it on your own, be prepared to take at least 45 minutes if not 60 minutes or more. 45 minutes would be a fast pace. Here are some basic guidelines so that you can be safe and have fun during the workout and afterwards:

  1. 100 pull-ups is, as Jason would say, a f*&^ ton of pull-ups. Are you OK with having ripped hands over the holiday? I am not saying you will rip, I am just saying it is very possible. If you don’t know how to tape your hands, ask a coach.
  2. Since you will have to do 100 pull-ups, albeit, broken up, you should at least be able to do 20 in a row. You will be doing 200 push-ups so you should be able to do 40 in a row. 300 squats, you should be able to front squat pretty close to your body weight at least once. These benchmarks were chosen so that you will only be a “little sore” over the weekend. If you want to feel like you just played a game of rugby with Dylan or had Joan stretch you for 3 hours all weekend, feel free to reduce those numbers.
  3. The point of this workout is to do some quality reps for over 20 minutes. You are not going to get more fit from this workout, but you can get some movement patterns solidified with a side order of mental toughness if you work it right. There is no shame in jumping pull-ups or push-ups on an elevated bar or reducing the volume. There is shame in going to your friendly neighborhood Physical Therapist and telling him/her that you jacked up your shoulder doing Murph. Your team can be as big as you want and/or you can scale the volume to something more sane. Work hard and have fun, don’t hurt yourself.
  4. There might be a cold beer after the workout.
  5. Finally, take a moment to read about Memorial Day and LT. Michael P. Murphy and be grateful for all the people who make us as fortunate as we are.

If you have any questions about how to do Murph safely, ask a coach… And have a great weekend if we don’t see you on Friday!


One thought on “Murph – Are You Ready?

  • Susan

    Well, it’s 1 day post ‘Murph’ and I’m ok. I did the workout with Maryann as a two-woman team and it was actually fun — since we scaled it appropriately for the two of us. I WAS impressed with the number of pipe-hitters who took on ‘Murph’ solo – and did it sub-one-hour. Really, really good work, everyone. And if you missed Tony G’s finish, you REALLY missed something – Saul might have a photo. Let’s just say that Tony has a sense of humor and it has to do with ketchup. Have a great weekend everyone!

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