Yes, You Can Handle CrossFit's Memorial Day Murph Challenge

Murphy was a Navy Seal who was killed in action in Afghanistan. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the U.S. militarys highest decoration, for his actions, becoming the first U.S. Navy member to receive the award since the days of the Vietnam War. He designed Murph while on deployment, and it became one of his go-to workouts . Its become a favorite of Hollywood celebs as well, with the likes of all gutting it out to raise awareness for veterans issues.

Its also one of CrossFits most intimidating hero WODs, thanks to a pair of one-mile runs (yes, two of them), and some big numbers for the calisthenic movements. Fighting through Murph demands both physical and mental fortitude, especially if you do it the way its meant to be done, wearing a 20-pound weight vest for the entire endeavor.

But you can take down Murph. You just need a smart plan. Thats what Im going to give you right now.

The Workout

There are two ways to get through Murph, neither of which is easy. Either way, you work through the following pieces.

1-mile run
100 pullups
200 pushups
300 air squats
Another 1-mile run

When the event showed up in the 2016 CrossFit Games, it was contested unpartitioned, meaning you had to complete all the moves in order, finishing all 100 pullups before moving onto the pushups, then finishing all your pushups before moving to the squats.

At most boxes, though, youll see people doing it partitioned. That means you're permitted to complete the pullups, pushups, and squats in any order and way you see fit. You may do, say, 10 pullups, 20 pushups, and 30 air squats for 10 sets. Doing it this way helps you move faster, since one muscle group can recover (at least a little bit) while another one is being worked.

Either way, its all about pacing. And either way, if you really want the true Murph experience, youll do the entire gauntlet while wearing a 20-pound weight vest.

Need a weight vest for your Murph? Check out this option from Hyper Wear, or any of these great choices .

Setting Your Murph Goal

Some CrossFit workouts are sprints. This isnt one of them. Youll want to pace yourself, and should expect a 30- to 40-minute grind - if not more. A beginner should expect to finish Murph in 50 minutes. More experienced CrossFitters can shoot to finish in 35 minutes. Im shooting to finish in less than 32 minutes.

Those times, by the way, are for the partitioned version of Murph; the unpartitioned version is even more vicious. For proof, check out the 2016 CrossFit Games, when the unpartitioned version of Murph was an event. Josh Bridges finished first in 34:38. Mat Fraser, a three-time champ, was second in 35:48. Take on the unpartitioned Murph at your own risk.

All that said, this workout is relative to you! Once you figure out a strategy, step back and estimate a goal for completing it based on how proficient you are in pullups, pushups, and air squats. And remember: That weight vest will catch up with you after awhile, no matter how strong you are in those calisthenics movements.

Your Murph Game Plan

Were going to focus on the partitioned version of Murph in this breakdown, because thats the more common challenge. Theres also loads of strategy within Murph, too. We can mentally break the challenge into three parts: The opening mile, the movements, and the final mile.

Your First Mile

Like many longer-duration CrossFit workouts that open with a cardio-based buy-in, the opening mile run wont win you this workout, but it could ruin things for you. Its common for people to want to fly out of the gate, but unless youre a very experienced runner, you shouldnt do this. Instead, start out at a moderate, comfortable pace, get the nerves out, then gradually pick up the pace as the run wears on. You dont want to burn out on this mile, because the meat of the workout is still ahead.

Athlete friends running on footbridge in city during sunny day BusinessInsider USA Images

Think about breaking your mile into quarters or thirds, and pick up the pace with each interval. Comfortable running an 8-minute mile? Then start with an 8:30 pace and try to finish at a 7:30 pace. You should only be operating at 70 to 75 percent of your best mile capacity on this run.

The Movements

Once youre through the run, its onto those exercises. And while the moves may seem simple (pushups and squats are pretty basic), you still need a plan here. To achieve your best time, you need to partition reps so you can keep moving the entire time without hitting failure and missing a rep. Your goal is to do a set amount of reps of the pullup, then come down and do a set amount of reps of the pushup, then do a set amount of reps of the squat; youll repeat your rep scheme until youve finished off all the required reps of all three moves. Your goal is to minimize rest; its OK to break the reps up into many sets, but keep moving!

Like most long CrossFit workouts, little details can go a long way in this workout, too. So optimize your setup before diving into the exercises. You want to find a pullup bar that you dont have to jump too high to reach. Also, find your best pushup position before fatigue sets in. Chalk your hands heavily and put handprints on the floor to mark your ideal hand position. Plan for your hands to be in position directly underneath the pullup bar; thatll allow you to drop to the floor seamlessly and go straight into each set of pushups. Aim to squat directly under the bar as well; thatll position you ideally to jump back onto the bar and do pullups after your last set of squats.

Most people will eventually run into problems on either the pullups or the pushups (or both). Your shoulders and chest are smaller muscle groups, so theyll fatigue quickly and need to recover. Again, thats why you should play to your strengths and be creative in how you break up the reps. Lets run through the movements, then dissect a few common rep schemes.

Pullup

Man doing chin-ups in rooftop gym, Asok, Bangkok, Thailand BusinessInsider USA Images

You want to be very familiar with your pullup capacity. Youre coming off the run and your upper body may seem fresh and ready to go, so its tempting to bang out a big set of pullups. Dont do it, though, because itll wear you down by the time youre onto the final 50 pullups. Instead, find a number of reps you can do consistently under fatigue. For most, that may be 5 reps or less - and thats OK.

Whatever rep scheme you choose, if youre resting too much, cut it back. Dont even be afraid to do quick singles. The goal is to be consistent and minimize rest. Aim to come off the pullup bar and rest no more than 1 to 3 seconds before jumping back on for more reps.

Note too: This is also the workout where youll want to bust out kipping pullups if youre comfortable and proficient at kipping mechanics. Strict pullups will take you even longer to battle through.

Pushup

For most people, Murph becomes a pushup workout, because they arent ready for how quickly their chest will wear down. Much like the pullups, dont attempt big sets early. Whatever rep scheme you choose, aim to stick with 10 reps or less at a time, and when your chest begins to fatigue, break things up just a little more. For example, if youre doing sets of 10 and starting to struggle, do a set of 5, followed by a 2 or 3-second rest, and then another set of 5. If you start to really struggle, do single pushups, resting 1 to 2 seconds between each rep. Two hundred pushups is a lot. Dont underestimate them-and don't lose your form either. For a quick primer on pushup form, check out the video here.