Completing Murph for Remembrance Day

Monday was a bank holiday for us in the UK, and in Crossfit, we perform Murph this time of year to remember those who fought for us. CrossFit is primarily an American sport, and it’s to remember Murph, a Navy who got killed during his time fighting in Afghanistan. Those outside of the US always keep this in mind when performing it in our local boxes.

I’m trying to progress to more RX movements, and this means kipping pull-ups and push-ups without the use of a box. I managed to get all 100 pull-ups finished using the kipping method, and it was the first time where I didn’t use a band. For the push-ups, I did use my knees, and had to use a box for the last 20. This is because my arms would no longer allow me to push myself back up from the floor.

It might seem a little extreme (and to be honest, it is), but I’m all for challenging myself in the hopes to get better next time. I’m getting there, and I’m pleased with my progress. The final finish was 1 hour 30 minutes which is around the same as my last attempt. Again, I’m happy with that because I’m not scaling the movements as much.

Also, my muscles have been sore since Monday and my hand has been torn from the pull-ups. You can see from the picture below.

Are you looking to take part for the first time?

I’ve also seen people online who would love to try out Murph but say they want to get strong first. The great thing about CrossFit is the fact you can do the workout no matter what your level of fitness is. There are always ways to scale each exercise, and Murph is no different. When I first attempted Murph, I did the first 1-mile run, jumping pull-ups, push-ups with a tall box, standard air squats and finished with an 800-metre run. If you’re not a runner, then you could use a rowing or bike machine, or you can do two 800 metres instead.

It doesn’t matter how you scale, just as long as you attempt the workout and you enjoy how you’re taking part.

I have two articles to share which show precisely how you can break things up.

• https://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/how-break-down-crossfit-murph-workout
• https://wodwell.com/wod/murph/

If you do attempt the workout, remember to have fun and don’t overdo it, and let me know how it goes. I always enjoy hearing other people’s stories.