Honoring Heroes: Get Ready for Murph on Saturday, May 24th
Every Memorial Day season, gyms across the country take part in a powerful tradition — the Murph Hero WOD. This year, we’re getting after it a little early on Saturday, May 24th, and we want you ready, informed, and fired up to take it on.
What is Murph?
Named in honor of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2005, Murph is more than just a workout — it’s a tribute to sacrifice, grit, and resilience. Here’s what it entails:
For Time:
1 mile run
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 air squats
1 mile run
(All while wearing a 20/14 lb weight vest if you're going RX.)
Murphy originally called it “Body Armor,” and it became one of his favorite ways to train. Now, it’s a global tradition for athletes to complete Murph as a way to honor his legacy — and the courage of all who serve.
Why Our May Challenge is Perfect Prep
This month’s gym challenge is all about strict pull-ups — and that’s no coincidence. Building strict strength directly improves your kipping or butterfly pull-ups, and helps prevent injury, especially when tackling high-volume sets like in Murph.
Whether you’re aiming for unbroken sets or just building consistency, those strict reps are going to make a big difference when you’re deep into rep 63 of 100.
So keep grinding — every pull-up counts toward your total and toward a stronger Murph performance.
Planning to Wear a Weight Vest?
If you’re planning to do Murph with a vest (and shout out to you if you are 💪), now is the time to start running with it. You don’t need to pile on miles, but even 400–800m efforts once or twice a week will prep your body (and shoulders!) for the difference in load and impact. Trust us — it hits differently.
Other Tips for the Final Stretch
At three weeks out, most of the heavy training is behind you — now it’s about fine-tuning and recovering smart. Here’s what we recommend:
Practice partitioning – Try variations like 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats (a.k.a. “Cindy style”) to find your best rhythm.
Dial in your pacing – A steady, aerobic effort beats redlining early. Think long game.
Work on hand care – With 100 pull-ups incoming, be proactive. File calluses, moisturize, and tape up if needed.
Get mentally ready – Murph is a grind. But it’s also a privilege. Remember who and what you’re doing it for.
We’ll have scaling options, coaching support, and plenty of community energy on Saturday, May 24th. Whether it’s your first Murph or your tenth, let’s show up, sweat hard, and honor something bigger than ourselves.
Let’s get after it.