How to Game-plan and Attack Murph!

Every year thousands of gyms and their members take on the annual Murph Challenge.

What’s Murph? The workout starts with a 1-mile run, followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 air squats, followed by another 1-mile run. The workout, like many CrossFit Hero WOD’s, is named for Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEAL killed in action in 2005. Every year, most CrossFit boxes around the U.S. host Murph on Memorial Day.

At CrossFit Off the Grid, we perform the workout in June and I would like to share some tips and strategy to best prepare you for Murph and how to strategically approach this seemingly daunting workout.

* I am so excited to finally be back at the gym and getting together for outdoor workouts. Please be smart heading into Murph and take into consideration the amount of training we have honestly done during the last three months.

1.) Use a rep scheme
You can partition the pull-ups, push-ups and squats as needed, so take advantage of that by using smart rep schemes to keep your muscles as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Here are a few you can use:

5-10-15
20 rounds of:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 air squats

This is 20 rounds of Cindy and is probably the most used method as it is the easiest to remember and a lot of athletes have had success with it in the past.

5-5-5-15
20 rounds of:
5 push-ups
5 pull-ups
5 push-ups
15 air squats
Advised for those who struggle with push-ups.

10-20-30
10 rounds of:
10 pullups
20 push-ups
30 air squats
For more advanced athletes with higher work capacity.

2.) Mobilize
Stretch everything! This is a full body workout, and your wrists, chest, shoulders, calves, hamstrings, quads and hips are going to be taxed. So make sure you are as limber as you can be heading into the workout and well as recovery methods after!

3.) Hydrate
Given that this is one of the longest workouts in history, don’t be afraid to stop and reach for the water bottle when you need to (especially if it’s hot and humid.) The goal is to complete the workout—you don’t want to bring on rhabdo in the process.

4.) Don’t use a vest until you have built up a solid level of fitness
While the prescribed version of ‘Murph’ is meant to be done with a weight vest, it is recommended that only competitive athletes use it. If you cannot complete ‘Murph’ under one hour without a weight vest, you shouldn’t be using one yet.

5.) Pace yourself (my favorite)
In addition to employing a rep scheme strategy, try to incorporate a few seconds of rest between sets. In addition, during the mile runs remain calm and remember to breathe and exhale in rhythm.

All in all HAVE FUN! We offer the option to partner and split the reps which will still end up being a fantastic workout! You won’t be as sore during the following days due to the lower amount of volume, which means you can get back to quality training quicker!

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