MURPH at Sanitas
On Memorial Day the nation honors and extends gratitude to the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Across the country, veterans' groups host services and exhibits to recognize our fallen brothers and sisters. Through CrossFit this honor and gratitude is most usually expressed through the shared experience of completing a challenging and longer Hero WOD, usually “Murph”, named after Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy of the US Navy who was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005.
After joining the Navy in 2001, Murphy began working out by running, doing calisthenics, and climbing ropes in his backyard. He later discovered CrossFit and created his own workout that he called "Body Armor", because he did while wearing his body armor that he wore when deployed.
After Murphy's death, the Body Armor workout began to become popular among SEAL teams as it could be done almost anywhere and required very little equipment. The workout first appeared on the CrossFit website on August 17, 2005 after a SEAL contacted CrossFit and asked if they would honor the death of his commanding officer with a WOD named after him. The workout consists of a 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and a final 1 mile run. The pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats can be partitioned and scaled as needed. Participants are encouraged to wear a 20 lb weight vest.
