This past Monday , May 28th was Memorial Day. We honor our men who made the ultimate sacrifice. And not just parades but also workouts, namely the Murph Challenge.
I've posted about them in the past but in case you forgot it's a 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups , 300 squats and run 1 more mile ! And if you can , do it all with 20 lbs, a weighted vest or a ruck! I don't think I need to remind you but obviously this isn't a workout for beginners! You've been warned!
This workout was named in honor of SEAL Lt./Medal of Honor recipient Michael Murphy, made famous in the movie Lone Survivor. This was a favorite workout of his. It's a total body workout and it can be done almost anywhere. He used to do this in Afghanistan.
This year I went to the National Navy UDT/SEAL Museum. The day started with a memorial service honoring the dead, including a speech from Gold Star father Dan Robinson whose son Heath was killed in Afghanistan in August 2011. I was also fortunate enough to meet the Murphy family. Truly heart felt.
After the services this year the museum held the Murph Challenge. We went in 5 different waves. I went in the last wave. Our run fortunately was from the museum on to the baseball field parallel , and did 3 laps and back to the museum so I could run barefoot. By the way, I used an old backpack with two 10 lb weight disks. But disaster struck. Literally on the first lap my backpack tore and the disks fell out! Lesson learned, next time make sure it's a sturdy military strength ruck or spend $ on a weighted vest!
That changed my plans. My original plan was to shuffle on the runs, then do 5 pull ups, 10 push ups and 15 squats in 20 sets for the workout part. As I've always said do it right. Unfortunately the overwhelming majority of people doing the challenge usually swing, bicycle or don't even get their chin over the bar. I refuse to do that. So I left the torn pack and weights behind and proceeded to use just body weight with good form high reps. It became 10 pull ups, 20 push ups and 30 squats in 10 sets. I won't lie, it became tougher and I had extra problems finishing the push ups because of my shoulder problems but I didn't quit. The time was 38:34! And then I ran the final mile in 8:25! I definitely "earned" my food for the day!
As I said earlier, this isn't a workout for beginners.But for serious athletes and especially those who want to join elite military units this is something to consider. First you should be able to do at least 10 body weight pull ups, 20 push ups and 25 squats. See my earlier post on pull ups. And while the post was about pull ups those principals can be applied to other high rep, body weight exercises for the most part. After you've reached those numbers you may then want to try doing the workout weighted. Obviously your reps will be much lower with many more sets and the runs will be more of a shuffle. And as my experience showed, get a sturdy back pack or better yet a weighted vest!
I want to thank the National Navy UDT/SEAL Museum for hosting another great day. And extra thanks to the Murphy family for taking the time to talk to me and pose for a picture. They truly represent the best of America. Your son is never forgotten.
Lt. Michael Murphy 5/07/76 - 6/28/05 RIP!
The Murphy family
My torn backpack!
If you have any fitness questions feel free to contact me @ mbrls2000@yahoo.com and be sure to like and follow this page.
