Almost every CrossFit gym in America will be hosting the hero workout Murph on Memorial Day. Check out why HERE. The workout, as written, is a rough one:
For Time:
Run 1 Mile
100 Pullups
200 Pushups
300 Squats
Run 1 Mile
Stories are written every year about great feats of fitness surrounding Murph. There will be countless images on social media of gym goers sprawled out on the floor after completing the workout. There’s no doubt it strikes fear in even the most seasoned CrossFitter. However, it isn’t scary if you know how to approach it.
Break It Up
For starters, there are multiple ways to approach the workout. The simplest way is to go straight through: Run 1 Mile, do all 100 pullups, then all 200 pushups, then 300 squats, and finish with the second mile run. However, you are able to break up the “middle” of Murph (Pullups, Pushups, Squats) anyway you want to.
The most popular way to break up the middle of Muprh is:
20 Rounds:
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats
This breaks up the middle into small sets of reps that tend to be very manageable. This allows the athlete to continue to move without too much of a break.
For those who struggle with pushups, another popular way to break up the middle of Murph is:
20 Rounds:
5 Pullups
5 Pushups
15 Squats
5 Pushups
Bottom line, play to your strengths. If you know you are going to struggle with the pullups, break them up a little more. Find a rep scheme that allows you to keep moving.
Scale It Like Everything Else
A common mistake made by athletes is to attempt to complete Murph as written before they are ready to do so. A good rule of thumb, if you regularly scale your daily workouts, plan to scale Murph. If you use a band for your pullups regularly, use a band for Murph. If you scale down your reps each week, cut Murph down as well. Here are couple of scaled versions of Murph:
1/2 Murph:
For Time:
Run 1/2 Mile
50 Pullups (may be banded) or Ring Rows
100 Pushups (use a box if needed)
150 Squats
Run 1/2 Mile
3/4 Murph:
For Time:
Run 3/4 Mile
75 Pullups (add a band if needed)
150 Pushups (use a box if needed)
225 Squats
Run 3/4 Mile
When you pick an appropriate scale, break it up like described above, and you will get through Murph without an issue. Will it be hard? Sure. However, it doesn’t have to be a challenge your are afraid of. It is nothing more than another example of adversity. Be smart, make a plan, and go to work.
