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I have now done the MURPH workout 25 times in 24 weeks.
The last update article I wrote, I was only 6 weeks into 52 weeks of this MURPH project.
What is this project (just in case you missed it)?
**UPDATE — Project is Complete**
Here’s how you can get caught up:
- Scroll through my Instagram where I posted almost every single Murph, my thoughts, times, etc.
- Read through all the results here: MURPH 52 Times: The Numbers
- Listen to the podcast episode I did after I completed my 52nd week of MURPH
- For some of my best advice on the workout you’ll want to read “How to Not Suck At MURPH (actually, how to crush MURPH)â€
I perform Murph every Saturday regardless of temperature, weather, feeling, location, etc.
I do this largely for my own reasons; i.e. to push myself mentally and physically, to take a grueling workout off a pedestal and, ultimately, to get better.
I highly recommend you catch up on the first MURPH article where I talk about my best strategies, unexpected results, etc.
In this article, I want to give an update. Some of the strategies have changed, PRs have been set, broken, and broken again.
Also, every 10 MURPHs I like to add an extra challenge to the workout.
- In MURPH #10, I did Strict MURPH. Strict pull-ups and hand-release push-ups.
- In MURPH #20, I did Double MURPH Essentially MURPH, two rounds for time…with a vest.
I post my workouts times and thoughts each week on my Instagram account, so be sure to follow me there if you want instant updates on what I am doing and how I am feeling each week.
Before we get into the article take two seconds to realize and remember why we do this workout:
LT. Michael P. Murphy (SEAL) was the officer-in-charge of a four-man SEAL element in support of Operation Red Wings, tasked with finding a key anti-coalition militia commander near Asadabad, Afghanistan. A fierce gun battle ensued on the steep face of the mountain between the SEALs and a much larger enemy force. Moving away from the protective mountain rocks, he knowingly exposed himself to increased enemy gunfire to radio his position to SOF Quick Reaction Forces. Though injured, LT. Murphy fought on, allowing one member of his team (Marcus Luttrell) to escape, before he was killed. For his selfless actions, LT. Michael Murphy was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on October 27, 2007. We honor his sacrifice and memory though The Murph Workout.
Now, let’s talk MURPH (click the link if you don’t know what the workout is).
What I’ve Learned about MURPH so Far
- Your body WILL adjust to the high volume — At first, I was a little bit concerned at adding this much volume to my training on a weekly basis, as MURPH is not all I do. However, I think it took about 14 weeks, but my body is fully acclimated and now I rarely get sore or stiff after MURPH. I normally wake up the next day ready to go! In fact, if I don’t wear a vest, I’m good for another workout on the same day.
- Thoroughly Warm up — I tweaked my back the day after MURPH, on MURPH #21. This was also the first time I did not thoroughly warm-up or cool down. A silly “lesson learnedâ€, because I know better.
- PRs are pure exhaustion — Now, my body is acclimated to the volume, but when I set a PR with the vest on it’s literally hard for me to get out of bed the next day. I won’t be sore, just exhausted. I have to take it to such a different level to PR (which I can’t do every week) that it takes a significant toll. To combat this I really have to focus on nutrition and supplementation post PR-Murph.
- Weather matters…BIG TIME! — I know the CrossFit Games athletes took on MURPH in the summer, in the stadium, in California, and it absolutely wrecked them in 2015 due to the afternoon start time. I’ve had this happen a few times this summer. I’d bet a large amount of money the hottest the 2015 CrossFit Games MURPH got is still 10-20 degrees cooler than the black mats in my backyard in the middles of the summer, in Texas. So I get it!! The first “real†summer MURPH had me break out into a fever, and I couldn’t cool down. My wife had to help me cool down with cold wet washcloths and water. We’ll see what happens in the winter!!
- Your Temperature Dictates Performance — Texas Summer is probably borderline dangerous for MURPH, and if I don’t do something to regulate that temperature, my performance suffers and my times get worse. Solution = I now have a bucket of ice water I set up before I start MURPH, and once I get halfway through the calisthenics I will pour it over my head to keep cool. Slows me down a touch, but it massively helps.
- Strict MURPH is longer, not harder — A lot of people seem to think strict MURPH is the be-all-end-all of this workout. It’s not. It becomes a muscular workout and it takes longer, but it’s not harder. It’s just longer. Kipping the pull ups and moving quickly taxes your cardiorespiratory system way more and makes it significantly more challenging.
- Never Fear the Carbohydrate — I generally have a lower carbohydrate diet but am in no way close to ketosis. I always consume carbs post workout to replace glycogen stores, but doing vested MURPH takes a lot out of me. So I have tripled my carbohydrate intake post-Murph and I am just now realizing that’s about what it will take to recover well and recover quickly.
(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.)
Murph Strategies, Tips & Tricks
I’ve said this before, and I will say it again.
The fastest way to do MURPH is to run the miles as fast as possible and do the pull-ups, push-ups and squats unbroken 😉
But until you can do that, you’ve gotta get strategic.
My real point is this: The less you break the workout down, or the fewer transitions you have, the faster you will be.
At first, I did recommend running the miles as fast as possible and then doing 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 pushups and 15 squats.
I still recommend that if you don’t feel you will push yourself otherwise.
Meaning don’t OVER PACE yourself in this workout, as most do.
In fact, I hit sub 6-min on mile one more than a few occasions even with the vest on. But that will blow you out for the calisthenics.
My new recommendation is PLAN the time you want and work it backward.
I.e. I wanted a 34 min vested Murph time, or faster, so I broke it down…
- I knew I needed to run two 7 min miles…
- And I needed to hit each round (of 20 total) of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 squats in a minute, or less…
Knowing I could go sub-6 on a mile meant I would slow my pace quite a bit.
And I also knew I could hit every round of calisthenics in under 60 sec with no issue.
I broke it down, then I did it; setting my vested PR at 33:26.
Now, getting any faster than that has been very difficult and I don’t think I will be able to go faster until the weather cools.
I am getting better and better at calisthenics.
For instance, in my latest MURPH, I went with no vest and did the calisthenics as 5 rounds of 20 pull-ups, 40-push-ups, and 60 squats.
I was able to do all 5 rounds of 40 push-ups fully unbroken making me significantly faster overall.
That is the new strategy. The new goal. My recommendation for you.
My goal is to have the fewest transitions as possible in the future with the largest unbroken sets I can handle.
That will be different for every person and your level of fitness.
I’ve done MURPH every way possible, including finishing all calisthenics before moving to the next. It slows you down and is quite easier than any other strategy.
Now, am I getting fitter or just better at Murph???
Fitness vs. Specificity: CrossFit Games and MURPH
Now, I want to briefly talk about getting good at a workout vs. getting fit.
If you watched the 2015 or 2016 CrossFit Games, you will know that they completed MURPH both years.
This is very cool to see because it gives me awesome benchmarks for comparison. At first, I had no idea if my times were good, bad, or average…
Then, I saw Josh Bridges take first place in MURPH this year with a time of 34:38.
Which was awesome for comparison, because as I mentioned, in MURPH #17 I hit my lifetime PR of 33:26 — 1 minute and 12 seconds faster than Josh Bridges.
STOP
What I am not saying
- I am not saying that to pat myself on the back.
- I am not saying my fitness level is near, or on par, with Josh Bridges.
I think Josh Bridges is 10x fitter than me. He could out lift me (in some lifts), he could out run me, and he could most certainly kick my ass in any CrossFit workout involving a barbell.
Hey, and he could probably even kill me (he was a former Navy SEAL).
My point here is specificity; or, you are ONLY good at what you train for.
I’ve found this to be true over and over in training. If you want to be good at something…YOU TRAIN FOR IT!!
Not exactly groundbreaking information, I know
- But if you need to run faster, you’ll have to run
- If you need to swim faster, you’ll need to swim
- If you want to get better at CrossFit, you’ll need to do CrossFit
- If you want to get better at MURPH, you need to freakin’ do MURPH!!
I prefer programming and training which will make you extremely well-rounded, hands down.
BUT
If YOU need to train for something specific, train for IT. Don’t do a generalist program if you need to get faster in a 3-mile run. Don’t train CrossFit every day if you need to be able to swim a certain distance.
There’s some carryover in well-rounded programming, but if you want to be the best at something or improve significantly in one are
Train for it.
MURPH: The Gear
Surprisingly, I get these questions very often.
- What vest are you wearing?
- What shoes?
- Are you taking any supplements?
Since these questions are coming up, I’ll throw it in this article as well.
First, the vest (pictured above).
Before we get into the vest, let’s get some real talk going
- Are you a military operator?
- Law enforcement?
- Do you fear you will be shot in the near future and would like to have solid body armor?
No?
Then don’t worry so much about the vest!!
Vests can be expensive and are designed for the professions I mentioned above. If you are only buying a vest to do MURPH in once a year, maybe you should buy a backpack and put some weight in it before you buy a vest.
Anyway
I use the Condor Sentry Plate Carrier.
It comes in right at $50 (without plates) and it very comfortable and easily adjustable.
25 MURPHs in and I have had ZERO problems with this vest.
It doesn’t give me any problems when I run or when I do kipping pull-ups. I wear the vest pretty tight and it doesn’t bounce around at all.
Yes, the 5.11 Tactical plate carrier, which Rogue also sells, is a good vest. But I didn’t want to spend $190 (without plates) on a VEST FOR FITNESS when I could get another barbell for that.
Keep in mind these are actual body armor vests. If you are looking for a weighted vest, there are a lot of other options out there; like the MiR Weighted Vest.
Plates for Your Vest
Rogue Fitness has made the perfect companion for your vest if you get the Condor Sentry, or other body armor vest.
There’s just one problem.
Rogue Made their plates for the 5.11 tactical vest. Not in fit, but in weight.
If you get two 8.75 lb plates with the unweighted 5.11 tactical, your vest will come out to exactly 20 lb. If you get the condor sentry, it will come out to 19 lb.
Don’t worry it’s an easy fix, as 1lb of weight is easy to add to the vest as there is extra room in the plate pockets where you can shove a fractional plate (or other item).
What shoe do I run Murph in…?
You really don’t ever have to ask me which shoe I am wearing.
I train in Reebok CrossFit Nanos. Period.
Now, I don’t want to go on some long rant about Reebok and act like they are the best company in the world, but the Nanos are great.
I have been using Nanos since their very first iteration came out; when you could use a hair dryer to heat your nanos and get a form fit.
I’ve tried Nike METCONs and they don’t even come close to the functionality or comfort of Nanos.
If I am running MURPH, going on a 5-mile run, deadlifting, climbing a rope or hit hitting a heavy snatch or squat…I’m wearing nano’s.
I simplify my footwear and don’t think you should have 4 different shoes for different activities.
Lastly, supplements…
I really don’t talk too much about supplements here, but I will give these a mention since I have been taking them during this project, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about what I take, etc.
*Full disclaimer*: I haven never been given any supplements for free from Pure WOD, but after taking them for a few months I reached out to them and told them I’d be mentioning them here and they gave me a discount code for End of Three Fitness Readers, so you can use the code “endofthree” for 10% off Pure WOD supplements.
I mentioned earlier, I tripled my carbohydrate intake post-Murph and it has helped a ton with my recovery.
Well, I tripled my carb intake by taking a few servings of Pure WOD Recover, which is essentially just sweet potato. So you could just eat some sweet potato right after Murph, but that doesn’t sit well with me, so right now I supplement.
I also consume Pure WOD Build (protein) about 30 minutes after Murph.
Another honorable mention is 3FU3L, which I enjoy, but now that I have found a dairy free high-quality protein supplement (Pure WOD) I am taking much less of 3FU3L.
My official stance on supplements is only use them if you need them, and with this project I need some supplementation. I also think the quality of all the supplements mentioned above are amazing.
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Alright, that’s it…FOR now!!
Still 28 weeks of MURPH left and more to report to you at a later time.
Now, my challenge to you…Go do MURPH, scale however you have to, but get out there and DO IT!!
To becoming better!
Jerred
(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.)