Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic actions he took in Afghanistan in June 2005. He exposed himself to deadly fire to call for help for the rest of his SEAL Team (source). Their story was told in the book “Lone Survivor” by Murphy’s teammate Marcus Luttrell. It was later made into a movie with actor Taylor Kitsch portraying Lt. Murphy. A particularly tough workout has become associated with Murphy to honor his memory and all those who have sacrificed for the rest of us. The Murph Workout is not for novices, it is worthy of the Navy SEALs and it will take dedication and effort to conquer.
The Murph Workout
The Murph workout consists of 5 components; a combination of running and calisthenics. These are basic exercise you’ve probably done many times and are comfortable performing. However, I recommend you review proper technique for all of these exercises before attempting the Murph workout (source). The mile runs at the beginning and end of the workout don’t require much explanation. The calisthenics will have to be broken down into smaller chunks of 5, 10 or 15 repetitions depending on your level of fitness. You will also have to get used to wearing a 20lb. weight vest (10lb. vest for women.) The official workout parameters call for you to finish the workout within 75 minutes, but don’t expect to complete it in this time frame on the first try.
The Murph Workout
- 1 mile run
- 100 push-ups
- 200 pull-ups
- 300 air squats
- 1 mile run
Finer Points of the Murph Workout
Like most other workouts, the Murph workout can be tailored and modified to better fit your goals, limitations and fitness level. The most basic modification to make is to cut the workout down to a more manageable size. You could start with 2 half-mile runs and cut the calisthenics by half as well. This would still leave you with a formidable exercise program and leave you with a lot room for improvement. You could also substitute exercises. For example, if you want to increase your abdominal work you could replace the air squats with sit-ups, crunches or flutter kicks. Not everyone has access to a weighted vest; you can use a backpack with weights inside. Whatever shape your workout takes, be careful to ease into it slowly, work hard and before you know it you’ll be fit enough to make the SEALs proud.
Mike Phelps
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