How to Prepare for CrossFit Murph?
CrossFit Murph is a grueling workout that was created in honor of Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEAL who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2005. The workout consists of a one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and another one-mile run, all done while wearing a 20-pound weight vest. It's a tough workout that requires strength, endurance, and mental toughness. It is performed on Memorial Day every year at most CrossFit gyms.
However, with high volume workout like CrossFit Murph, there is always the risk of injury, especially when your training hasn't prepared you for the volume. That's why it's important to approach this workout with caution and to take the necessary steps to prevent injury. In this blog post, we'll discuss some important preparation tips for CrossFit Murph as we are under 2 months out from the big workout.
Focus on Form: In any workout, proper form is essential to prevent injury. With CrossFit Murph, it's especially important to maintain proper form throughout the workout, especially when you start to fatigue. Poor form can lead to strains, sprains, and other injuries. One of the biggest things you can do a few months out to the big workout is this: make sure you can achieve the proper positions for pull-ups, push ups, and squats. If you compound poor technique with hundreds of reps (you may not be prepared for) with a vest, you could be leading down the injury path. Remember, you will be under a lot of aerobic fatigue as well with the hot run with a weight vest, so you need to be extra locked in on form as fatigue will set in.
Adapt to the Volume Slowly: We ideally dont want to increase weekly volume by more than 5-10%. So if you are use to doing about 50 pull ups in a session and need to be able to do 100 for Murph in a three month span, this is very possible with 5 rep increases in workout volume each week. However in a two month span, we would have to break that 5-10% rule. Now this isn't a perfect rule, a study by Tim Gabbet states that an important Acute:Chronic ratio of not exceeding 1.5 is part of the solution to helping athletes find the balance of increasing volume. The math would be to take your weekly volume average for the previous month and only jump up the volume to about 120-130% of that average. So if you build up to somewhere in that 75 - 90 of pull up volume for one month leading up to Murph, you should have plenty of capacity to handle the volume. 100/80 would put you right in that sweet spot at only 125% of your acute volume. Long story short, create a training plan and stick with that plan for 6 weeks- 8 weeks to achieve the volume capacity for the workout. I recommend seeking out help if you don't know where to start so a proper progression can be made in order to attack the workout with high performance, but also to keep injury risk mitigated by proper volume management.
In conclusion, CrossFit Murph is a challenging workout that requires physical and mental toughness. By taking the necessary steps to prevent injury and improve performance, you can safely and effectively complete this workout and achieve your fitness goals. If you do experience any pain or injury during the prep for Murph, it's important to seek medical attention and consult with a physical therapist to help with recovery and prevent future injuries. Check out Hercules Performance and Physical Therapy in Jupiter and Vero Beach, FL.
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-Dr. Alec Spano, PT, DPT, CSCS, Cert DN, Pn1
