“Greater love hath no man then to lay down his life life for his brothers”

The Murph Challenge was created in honor of Lt. Michael Murphy, who lost his life in Afghanistan in 2005. The workout was dubbed the HERO WOD (workout of the day) and people all around the country began this annual challenge on Memorial Day in 2006.

Each year, Lt. Murphy and so many others who gave their lives for us, are remembered and honored.

Every year, the Murph Challenge is part of our May Strong to the Core Strength Challenge. Not only will we honor Lt. Murphy and other fallen soldiers, we will get stronger legs and arms along the way!

We don’t want to wait till the end of the month then struggle through the workout and be sore for days afterwards. Instead, we’re going to prepare for the challenge all month long. We are starting small and we won’t get close to the full Murph Challenge but we WILL be ready to get it done without crying! 😉 By the end of the month, we will be confident that we can complete the Murph Challenge without intense soreness and we will be stronger which will translate into more power for our running!

Want to support the official Murph Challenge? Click here to sign up and get a tank and/or hat! The proceeds will directly benefit the LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation. You don’t have to sign up to participate but if you decide to, your registration goes to a great cause!

The full Murph Challenge workout is below. We will start small and build up as we go. The build up is listed on our May Challenge Calendar so if you follow along you will be ready to crush it on Memorial Day!

The squats and push ups shouldn’t be too scary, even if you need to modify the push ups by doing them on your knees or a raised surface like a counter. Pull ups might be a little more challenging….

If you don’t have access to a pull up bar or don’t feel this portion of the challenge is doable within the month, don’t worry, we have options! Watch the video below to see exercises that you can substitute for the pull ups! Choose the pull up alternative that you feel is doable and let’s get ready to MUPRH!

We are taking a gentle approach to getting ready for the Murph Challenge. Twice a week, we will do Pull Ups (or the alternative you choose), Push Ups and Squats — and we will gradually increase the reps throughout the month so when it’s time for the Murph Challenge on Memorial Day, we will be ready!

Will you take on the Murph Challenge this year?

---