25 May Murph: User Guide for Prep and Recovery from Start to Finish
With Memorial Day around the corner, there’s going to be thousands of people across the country this weekend who will be doing the Hero Workout “Murph”.
For those of you who don’t know what Murph is, Murph is one of CrossFits “Hero” WODs (Workout of the Day), which are performed to honor the memories of those who served in the armed forces and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
“Murph” honors the life of Lieutenant Michael Murphy from Patchogue, NY, who died serving in Afghanistan in 2005.
Murph is done for time and consists of:
A 1-mile run
100 Pull-Ups
200 Push-Ups
300 Squats
Another 1-mile run
While wearing a 20lbs weighted vest or body armor is the standard for this WOD in competition, most CrossFit boxes have their members choose whether or not they want to wear a vest. Most importantly, this is a Memorial Day tradition that is inclusive of everyone regardless of age or fitness level.
Because Murph is a high-volume and longer duration WOD that will test your physical and mental toughness, we’ve put together a user guide on how to prepare and recover from this workout.
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THE WARMUP
To get your legs ready for running and squatting and your upper body ready for pull-ups and push-ups, it’s important to get warm, sweaty and dynamic from anywhere between 8-15 minutes.
To do this, we like to prep the lower legs with 5 rounds of:
10 Jump Rope singles with both feet
10 Jump Rope skips on the left leg
10 Jump Rope skips on the right leg
Then follow that up with 5 Air Squats and 10 Alternating Lateral Lunges
Do this 3 times for a total of 450 Jump Rope Skips (150 both feet, 150 left leg, 150 right leg), 15 Air Squats and 30 Alternating Lateral Lunges
To warm up the upper body, do 4 rounds of:
5 Strict “Pause” Pull-Ups
7 Burpees
For a total of 20 Strict Pull-Ups and 28 Burpees
THE AFTERMATH
Congratulations, you’ve completed Murph, honored a fallen Hero and now it’s time to recover and undo the soreness that’s accumulated from a high volume workout.
Here are some recovery videos that you can follow immediately after, towards the end of the day or early the following day:
UPPER BODY – LATS
EQUIPMENT NEEDED – MOBILITY BAND, PULL UP BAR
UPPER BACK -THORACIC SPINE
EQUIPMENT NEEDED – FOAM ROLLER OR 2 LACROSSE BALLS TAPED TOGETHER
UPPER BODY – BICEPS, ELBOWS, FOREARMS
EQUIPMENT NEEDED – BARBELL
LOWER BODY – QUADS
EQUIPMENT NEEDED – FOAM ROLLER
LOWER BODY – HIPS, HAMSTRINGS
EQUIPMENT NEEDED – NONE
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO A GYM, EQUIPMENT OR CAN’T DO ANY OF THIS?
That’s ok. If you don’t have access to equipment, go for a leisurely walk, swim, bike ride. The thing you want to minimize is being immobile because your body needs movement to stimulate the lymphatic system and flush out toxins and other waste products from the body. So do something at a low intensity to keep moving. Remember, Motion is Lotion.
If you liked the content that we shared with you today, please share this with others. At Evolve to Perform, our goal is to keep active New Yorkers doing the activities they love and enjoy, without unnecessary surgery or medication.
And a huge part in achieving this is for you to take agency in your own health and wellness.
Happy Memorial Day everyone.
To get more information about us and how we can help you solve a movement-related problem, call (516) 421-6353 or email [email protected]