Memorial Day is fast approaching which means we’re only a few days away from our annual Murph workout. Murph is a brutal hero workout that the CrossFit community traditionally completes every year. I have completeted and coached Murph at least once a year for the past 6 years and wanted to share some tips to consider this weekend as you prepare to do the workout on Monday.
- SCALE AS NEEDED
The prescribed Murph workout is
Run 1 mile
100 pullups
200 pushups
300 squats
Run 1 mile
*The pull ups, push ups, and squats can be partitioned as desired. RX requires completing the full workout with a weight vest (20# for males and females).
It’s a daunting workout, but there are scaling options available so that you can complete an appropriate version of the workout even if you can’t complete some of the movements, have partied too hard all weekend (more on this in tip #3), or don’t have the work capacity required to do this much work.
Scaling options:
You can bring a partner and tackle this workout as a team, do pushups from a box, sub ring rows for pull-ups, or sub an erg movement for the run if you’re nursing an injury. Don’t skip the workout just because you feel like you can’t finish it as written; come in on Monday without an ego and our coaches will help you find a version of this workout that is suitable for you.
- HYDRATE
It’s going to be hot, you’re going to be sweaty, and this workout is going to take a while. Dehydration increases your chances for a heat stroke and heat exhaustion and leads to a significant decrease in your ability to perform.
Luckily dehydration can be avoided by drinking water, which is readily available here in Memphis. Guys, try to consume about 4 liters of water per day this weekend. Ladies, shoot for about 3 liters of water per day. If you are sweating a lot or partying hard, drink a little bit extra. If you go to the bathroom and your urine is dark yellow, you need more water.
You can (and should) bring some water to drink while you workout, but you will benefit greatly by making sure that you are hydrated before you begin the workout.
- PARTY SMART
Have a good time this weekend and enjoy the holiday. However, based on lessons learned from the first two tips of this blog post, be aware that if you are hungover and dehydrated it may be in your best interests to scale Murph in order to make sure that you can safely complete the workout.
- BRING A TOWEL
It’s going to be hot and you’re going to be sweaty. That sweat will lead to slippery hands on the pullup bar. In fact, it might lead to so much sweat that using chalk to try and dry it up may be a futile endeavor. Instead of relying on chalk, bring an extra shirt or a towel to keep close by so that you can dry your hands as needed and wipe the sweat out of your eyes.
- COME IN EARLY (or at least right on time, just please don’t be late.)
The class will start right at 9 am. There will be a lot of people at the class and there will be a lot of coaching and coordinating that needs to take place in order to make sure this workout runs smoothly. Please come to class on time in order to help our coaches be able to better do their jobs.
- GET READY TO GRIND
The hardest part about Murph may be the mental challenge presented by completing 2 miles and 600 reps. You need to be mentally ready to grind for 35+ minutes.
The middle portion of Murph (the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats) may be partitioned as desired and this can help with the monotony of doing the same reps over and over and over again. Most people break the workout up into 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats. My wife (coach Kate) swears by 50 rounds of 2,4, and 6.
Whatever you decide to do, go into the workout with a game plan that you can stick to when you inevitably hit a wall. Keep grinding and, before you know it, you’ll be finishing your last mile and laying down in front of the fan soaked with sweat and pride.
Memorial day Murph is one of my favorite workouts of the year. If you’re in town on Monday, come participate!
See you Monday!
