The WOD Hero in honor of Michael P. Murphy

Considered one of the toughest and most iconic CrossFit workouts, the WoD Murph CrossFit is a tribute to Michael P. Murphy, an American soldier who lost his life in Afghanistan in 2005.

Who was Michael P. Murphy

The WoD Murph CrossFit , CrossFit's WoD Hero training, was born precisely in honor of soldier Michael P. Murphy, considered a national symbol in the United States. He has received the highest decorations of the North American Army posthumously, such as the Medal of Honor or the Purple Heart, for his bravery in combat.

'Murph' lost his life on June 28, 2005, at the age of 29, during a mission in which a commando made up of four Navy SEALS was trying to locate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan. The team suffered an ambush, which led the soldier to abandon his cover, to look for an elevated position with the aim of contacting by radio and requesting support. He was exposed to a hail of projectiles, but his action saved the life of one of his companions, who would ultimately be the only survivor of that mission.

After this heroic act, the tributes followed one another. In fact, his story made it to the big screen: 'Lone Survivor' is a film written by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson, based on the story of that historic event. Today, Michael P. Murphy names parks, squares, US Navy ships and this tough training routine, probably one of the most demanding in CrossFit: the Murph.

Murph CrossFit: What it is

The WoD Murph Crossfit is a workout that first appeared on the CrossFit website on August 18, 2005. It was one of Michael's favorites and, at that time, he described it as 'body armor', a term that in Spanish means 'armor'.

Michael's favorite training would later become a Hero WoD. The Hero Wod were created by CrossFit in honor of those men and women who fell in defense of their country during the war. The Murph Crossfit WOD consists of performing:

1 mile Run (run 1600 meters).</li>

100 Pull-Ups (Dominated).</li>

200 Push-Ups.</li>

300 Air Squats (Squats).</li>

1 mile Run (run 1600 meters)</li>

*With a 20 lb Vest or Body Armor (if possible, the WoD Murph Crossfit will be performed with a 9 kilogram weighted vest).

Cap or time limit: 60 minutes.

When does WoD Murph Crossfit take place?

On the last Monday of the month of May, the memorial is celebrated for the military who serve and have served the United States. CrossFit, as a sports institution, marks this day to do the Murph workout, to pay tribute to Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy. It is, without a doubt, a way to raise awareness of suffering and share the effort and sacrifice in community.

How to manage and scale the WoD Murph Crossfit

Only a few are able to do this training with the weighted vest, so most people perform this WoD without weight due to its high volume of work.

Hero WoDs are always complicated wods. In this case, the difficulty does not come from the execution of the exercises, since they are basic training movements, but from the large volume of repetitions. A managed overload occurs in about an hour.

Therefore, this routine can be scaled, since there are various versions. For example, you can do smaller sets while maintaining the same workload:

Scaled version 1

1600 meters.

20 rounds of: 5 pull ups + 10 push ups + 15 air squats</li>

1600 meters.

Scaled version 2

600 meters.

20 rounds of: 5 pull ups + 5 push ups + 15 air squats + 5 push ups.

1600 meters.

This way, you can give your muscles some rest, alternating the exercises and doing them in smaller series. The sensation will be very different from that of performing 100, 200 and 300 repetitions, respectively. In addition, each of the exercises can be performed with the relevant help: rubber pull-ups, ring rows, push-ups with supported knees, box squats... The point, as in all CrossFit WODs, is to create a community spirit.

WoD Murph at the CrossFit Games

Crossfit's WoD Murph became known outside the United States in 2015, when it became one of the events of that year's CrossFit Games , to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Murphy's death. In that edition, several athletes were not able to withstand the Californian heat. Specifically, Annie Thorisdottir had to leave the competition due to heat stroke, and Kara Webb fainted and required medical assistance. Sam Briggs won with a time of 39:10, and Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson with 38:36.

In 2015, SEAL Josh Bridges was unable to participate in the Games. The athlete himself said that this wod was made for him. Josh also had an extra feeling over the rest of his classmates, since he is a soldier.

Murph 2015 Results

Women

1.- Samantha Briggs, 39:10.14

2.- Alethea Boon, 40:33.65

3.- Kristin Holte, 40:39.82

Men

1.- Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson, 38:36.21

2.- Mathew Fraser, 39:20.93

3.- Noah Ohlsen, 39:33.74

In 2016, Castro offered another opportunity to athletes. This time, he made some adjustments such as advancing the time of the test to avoid the midday heat peak, and breaking the wod into<strong>5 rounds of 20 pull ups – 40 push ups – 60 air squats.

Kari Pearce was the winner that year, with a time of 36:42; while SEAL Josh Bridges won with a time of 34:38. The images of Josh excited, celebrating the victory in that wod, are already CrossFit history.

WoD Hero Murph best times

Record in official competition:

38:36, by Icelandic Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson (CrossFit Games, 2015)

39:10, by the English Samantha Briggs (CrossFit Games, 2015)

Record without competition:

34:30, by American Hunter McIntyre (2020)