MURPH 52 Times in a Year...So what happened on this journey?

Want 31 Days of Bodyweight Training for free? Are you looking to step it up a notch? Want to do real training? Can you bring some intensity? 31-day Bodyweight Workout Program –> Get FREE access here.

Welcome to the MURPH Results.

But before we begin you should know the “Murph Workout” is in memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.

Now, a lot of you followed along in my entire journey (thanks!), but some of you are here for the first time, so let me get you up to speed.

Yes, I did the MURPH Workout every week for 52 weeks. I did it every SaturdayNO. MATTER. WHAT.

Here’s how you can get caught up:

Scroll through my Instagram where I posted almost every single Murph, my thoughts, times, etc.
Listen to the podcast episode I did after I completed my 52nd week of MURPH
For questions on gear, supplements, thoughts at the halfway point you’ll want to read my article: â€œIn the Weeds with MURPHâ€
For some of my best advice on the workout you’ll want to read â€œHow to Not Suck At MURPH (actually, how to crush MURPH)â€

Given all that infowhat more could I possibly cover??

How about some of the results 🙂

This has by far been the most requested follow-up article from the EO3 Community, but a quick disclaimer.

I did not do MURPH 52 times in an attempt to â€œprove somethingâ€.

I just did it. That’s it.

Take it for what it is worth. I enjoy doing things like this and sharing the results at End of Three Fitness.

Case in point:

I ran an untrained marathon
I rode (untrained again) in a 100-mile single day bike race
I lifted 1,000,000 pounds of volume over the course of 8 months
I worked for a LONG time to complete the King Kong Workout
I achieved a sub-6 min mile and triple bodyweight deadlift
And I’ve taken a cold shower every day for well over a year (writing about this soon)

I am not trying to say â€œlook at me!!â€, I am just letting you know pushing myself for the sake of pushing myself is fun for me.

I do these things for me and to inspire a few others to get moving. Do I think you should do this or any other challenge I have done? No.

But if you want to, go for it. Just be safe.

Don’t be scared.

So let’s get straight to the numbers and how I progressed over the course of a year.

Ready?

Let’s begin!

A Year of MURPH: The Types

Alright, here is how I tackled all 52 weeks of MURPH.

I did MURPH without a vest 15 times
I did MURPH with a vest 26 times

What about the other 11 times? Well, I put those in a special category so as not to throw off the numbers. Here are those 11 MURPHs:

(NOTE: Want 31 Days of Bodyweight Training for free? Are you looking to step it up a notch? Want to do real training? Can you bring some intensity? 31-day Bodyweight Workout Program –> Get FREE access here.)

A Year of MURPH: The PRs

Here is how I progressed over the course of the year in the MURPH workout:

If you are a little confused about the random spikes, and near plateau looking areas, I can correlate ONE THING:

Texas Heat.

All but one MURPH was completed outside. Most of them in Texas. The summer really kicked my ass and made some MURPHs feel like I was barely moving.

A Year of MURPH: Cool stuff

Now, this isn’t super relevant but things I achieved in the process and that I am proud of:

My fastest mile time during the workout without a vest – 5:32
My fastest mile time during the workout with a vest – 5:48

*To note: Neither of my PR MURPH mile times were during any MURPH workout that I PR‘d. When I PR‘d MURPH I was strategic, paced and methodical. When I ran these fast miles, my times would actually end up being worse for the overall MURPH workout.

Last cool thing

At the very end of MURPH, I was able to break the calisthenics into 2 sets and do all reps unbroken. This blew my mind but was also one of the most challenging ways I did MURPH, ever. Talk about muscle burn!!

Now, to fitness!

A Year of MURPH: Overall Fitness PRs

Yes, my fitness level increased A LOT from the start of MURPH to the end of MURPH.

Here are some benchmarks that were tested

6 weeks into MURPH I reported these PRs:

5K, new PR 19:51 (-39 seconds)
Max Reps Pull-ups, new PR 56 reps (+6 reps)
500m Row, new PR 1:27 (-2 seconds)
30 Muscle-ups for time, new PR 6:35 (-65 seconds)
Elizabeth, new PR 3:27 (-3 seconds)
Diane, new PR 3:24 (-50 seconds)

At the conclusion all of this got EVEN better:

5K, new PR 19:46 (-5 MORE seconds)
Max Reps Pull-ups, new PR 64 reps (+8 MORE reps)
500m Row, new PR 1:25 (-2 MORE seconds)
30 Muscle-ups for time, new PR 6:14 (-21 MORE seconds)
Elizabeth, new PR 3:17 (-10 MORE seconds)
Diane, new PR 3:22 (-2 MORE seconds)

Is MURPH a magical fitness pill?

No.

MURPH this often is a lot more conditioning than I would normally do; especially conditioning that lasted more than 30 minutes.

This overall increase in my aerobic work increased my overall fitness level.

Honestly, not a huge mystery.

But a good thing to know about myself. If I want to keep getting better, I will need to attack the oxidative pathway much more â€” which is one of my weakest areas.

Did I get stronger?

A Year of MURPH: No significant change(s)

What happened to my strength?
Bodyweight?

Within 1 lb, I weighed the same at the start to finish of MURPH which is ~185 lb

So bodyweight: No significant change

Same with my overall body fat percentage.

How about strength?

Prepare for an epic letdown

I wasn’t trying to get stronger over the course of the MURPH year. I was purposefully trying to maintain, and that’s what I did. I wasn’t on a set strength program or protocol for a full year.

Which is very strange for me.

My hypothesis here is that doing MURPH every single week actually took away my desire to lift heavy. Not just, “I wasn’t lifting on a strength program”, but I didn’t want to.

This could be attributed to MURPH or the fact that I’ve been lifting heavy for well over a decade and I saw this as an opportunity for a break. I don’t really know which

Also, once I saw that it would be possible to go sub-30 min on vested MURPH I really started putting in more effort.

I hate to disappointbut there was no significant change in strength.

The good news: I didn’t get the slightest bit weaker!!

I did get a little bit stronger

All my lifts were tested before and after and the only one that really changed was a gain of 10 lb on my strict press. Which can be attributed to all the damn push-ups. And a 10 lb increase on my Front Squat.

But you should know, I am not the strongest I have ever been right now, nor during MURPH. So no lifetime PRs were set immediately prior to a year of MURPH and no lifetime PRs were set post one year of MURPH.

Again, sorry if you were looking for something a little more dramatic 🙂

A Year of MURPH: Now what?

Like I said at the beginning

I did not do this in an attempt to â€œprove somethingâ€.

I just did it. That’s it.

Should you do it?

Eh, maybe. And if you do make sure you scale it to your fitness level and ability and progress each week.

Bottom Line: BE SAFE!

It was a fun project! I haven’t done MURPH since #52, but I will. It’s my favorite workout. I’ll do it a few more times this year and especially on Memorial Day.

I’m not quite ready to reveal my next challenge, but I will soon 🙂

To becoming better!

-Jerred