Two miles of running and 600 bodyweight repetitions sounds simple when written on a whiteboard. Doing all of it in one session is another matter entirely.
The murph workout is one of the best-known CrossFit Hero workouts. It combines running, pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats into a long test of aerobic endurance, muscular stamina, pacing, and mental discipline. More importantly, Murph is performed in honor of U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy.
The murph workout consists of a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and another 1-mile run, completed for time. The middle repetitions may be partitioned into smaller sets. Experienced athletes may add a 20-pound or 14-pound weighted vest, while beginners can reduce the distance, repetitions, or movement difficulty.
Understanding that last point matters. Murph is supposed to be challenging, but attempting the hardest version before you are physically prepared does not make the workout more meaningful.
What Is the murph workout?
Murph is a CrossFit Hero WOD, or Workout of the Day, named after Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy. Hero workouts commemorate members of the military, law enforcement, and other service communities who died in the line of duty.
The standard workout is:
| Exercise | Volume |
|---|---|
| Run | 1 mile |
| Pull-ups | 100 |
| Push-ups | 200 |
| Air squats | 300 |
| Run | 1 mile |
The clock runs from the beginning of the first mile until you finish the second.
CrossFit’s current Rx description allows athletes to partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats as needed. Athletes who have a 14- or 20-pound vest or body armor may wear it.
That produces a workout containing 600 bodyweight repetitions plus two miles of running. It tests several qualities simultaneously: cardiovascular endurance, upper-body pulling strength, pushing endurance, leg stamina, grip, movement efficiency, and the ability to maintain technique while fatigued.
Why is it called Murph?
The workout honors Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a U.S. Navy SEAL from Patchogue, New York.
Murphy was killed on June 28, 2005, during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan. He was leading a four-man SEAL reconnaissance team that also included Danny Dietz, Matthew Axelson, and Marcus Luttrell. During an intense firefight, Murphy deliberately moved into an exposed position so he could establish communications and request assistance for his team.
He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Murph was one of Murphy’s favorite workouts, which he reportedly called “Body Armor.” CrossFit introduced it as a Hero workout on August 18, 2005.
That history is why many athletes approach Murph differently from an ordinary fitness benchmark.
Why is Murph associated with Memorial Day?
Murph has become a Memorial Day tradition at CrossFit affiliates and other gyms. Thousands of participants perform it to remember Murphy and other fallen service members.
The annual Murph Challenge also serves as the official fundraiser for the LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation. According to the organization, proceeds help support the foundation’s scholarship work.
The 2026 Murph Challenge took place on Memorial Day, May 25, with an official six-week training program beginning April 13.
Quick takeaway: Murph is both a demanding fitness benchmark and a memorial workout. The purpose behind the workout matters as much as the number on the clock.
How to Do the murph workout Correctly
At first glance, the workout appears straightforward. The difficulty comes from controlling fatigue across hundreds of repetitions.
The basic sequence is:
- Start the clock and run 1 mile.
- Complete 100 pull-ups.
- Complete 200 push-ups.
- Complete 300 air squats.
- Run another 1 mile.
- Stop the clock when you finish the second run.
The first and second runs remain at the beginning and end. The middle bodyweight work can be divided into smaller sets under CrossFit’s current published Rx instructions.
Pull-up technique
Pull-ups primarily challenge the back, arms, shoulders, grip, and trunk.
Whatever pull-up variation your gym uses, the key during a high-volume workout is maintaining controlled, repeatable repetitions rather than fighting through increasingly poor movement.
If five pull-ups already represent a near-maximal set when fresh, attempting 100 standard pull-ups during Murph is probably inappropriate.
CrossFit’s 2026 guidance suggests scaling the movement so five repetitions can be completed comfortably in one or two sets. Ring rows and jumping pull-ups are among the alternatives it recommends when necessary.
Push-up technique
Push-ups are often the hidden bottleneck.
Two hundred repetitions place substantial cumulative demand on the chest, triceps, shoulders, and trunk. Someone capable of doing 30 or 40 fresh push-ups can still reach muscular failure surprisingly early if the first few rounds are too aggressive.
Keep your body controlled through each repetition and choose manageable sets before technique deteriorates.
Beginners can use knee push-ups or elevate their hands on a stable box or similar surface, both of which appear in CrossFit’s beginner version.
Air squat technique
Murph contains 300 air squats, making them the highest-volume movement.
Use a comfortable stance, keep the feet stable, maintain control through the descent, and stand fully between repetitions. Avoid turning the movement into increasingly shallow partial squats simply to keep the clock moving.
The legs also have another job waiting: the final mile.
That means aggressively sprinting through early squat rounds can come back to punish you once you start running again.
Murph Partition Strategies: How Should You Break Up the Reps?
You do not necessarily need to perform 100 pull-ups, followed by 200 consecutive push-ups, followed by 300 consecutive squats.
CrossFit’s current benchmark instructions explicitly permit partitioning the three movements.
For most recreational athletes, dividing the work into manageable rounds is the more sustainable strategy.
20 rounds of 5-10-15
The most familiar strategy is:
20 rounds of:
- 5 pull-ups
- 10 push-ups
- 15 air squats
This rep pattern is identical to a round of Cindy, another classic CrossFit benchmark consisting of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats repeated for 20 minutes.
For Murph, completing 20 such rounds gives you exactly:
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 air squats
The major advantage is fatigue management. Five pull-ups are much easier to repeat than sets of 20, while sets of 10 push-ups reduce the chance of reaching early muscular failure.
10 rounds of 10-20-30
Another simple option is:
10 pull-ups
20 push-ups
30 air squats
Repeat for 10 rounds.
There are fewer transitions, but each set is twice as large as the 5-10-15 approach.
That can work for athletes with excellent muscular endurance. For someone attempting a first Murph, however, the 20 push-ups per round may become the limiting factor.
Straight-through Murph
The straightforward version is:
100 pull-ups
then 200 push-ups
then 300 squats
This eliminates repeated movement transitions but creates concentrated local fatigue.
Finishing 100 pull-ups before touching the push-ups can leave the upper body heavily fatigued, and 200 consecutive push-ups become a substantial obstacle even when divided into smaller sub-sets.
Unless you have specifically trained this approach or are following competition rules that require it, partitioning is usually easier to manage.
Which partition is best?
There is no universally fastest strategy because the limiting movement differs between athletes.
| Strategy | Best Suited To | Main Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| 20 × 5-10-15 | First-timers and most recreational athletes | Many transitions |
| 10 × 10-20-30 | Strong muscular-endurance athletes | Larger push-up sets |
| Straight through | Highly trained/specific competition attempts | Severe local muscle fatigue |
| Smaller custom sets | Athletes with a clear weak movement | More tracking required |
For many first attempts, 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats is a sensible starting strategy.
The practical rule is simple: choose sets that feel almost too easy during the opening rounds.
If you’re grinding repetitions in round three, the partition was probably too aggressive.
Quick takeaway: Murph is rarely won during the first few rounds, but it can easily be lost there. Sustainable sets usually beat early heroics.
murph workout for Beginners: How to Scale It
You do not have to complete the full Rx workout to participate meaningfully.
Scaling is built into CrossFit methodology: athletes perform versions appropriate for their current ability while preserving the workout’s intended stimulus.
CrossFit currently publishes intermediate and beginner Murph variations alongside the Rx workout.
Intermediate Murph
The current intermediate option is:
For time:
1-mile run
50 pull-ups
100 push-ups
150 air squats
1-mile run
The repetitions can be partitioned as desired.
This keeps both running portions intact but halves the gymnastics volume.
Beginner Murph
CrossFit’s beginner version is:
800-meter run
Then 10 rounds of:
5 ring rows
10 knee or elevated push-ups
15 air squats
Then:
800-meter run
This gives newer athletes the structure and experience of Murph without requiring 100 pull-ups or two full miles of running.
What if you cannot do pull-ups?
Do not force 100 repetitions of a movement you cannot yet perform reliably.
Depending on your equipment and ability, alternatives can include:
- Ring rows
- Jumping pull-ups
- Assisted pull-ups
- Reduced pull-up volume
CrossFit specifically identifies ring rows and jumping pull-ups as scaling options in its current Murph guidance.
The objective is to create a pulling movement you can repeat safely under fatigue.
What if you cannot run?
Running can also be modified when necessary.
CrossFit’s training guidance lists rowing and stationary-bike distances as potential run substitutions, including Concept2-style and other bike options.
Someone with an injury or medical limitation should choose substitutions based on professional guidance rather than assuming that a different cardio movement is automatically appropriate.
Should You Wear a Weighted Vest for Murph?
The weighted vest is probably Murph’s most recognizable piece of equipment—and one of its most frequently misused.
CrossFit’s current Rx listing says athletes with a 14/20-pound vest or body armor may wear it.
That should not be interpreted as meaning everyone needs one.
A vest increases the demands of both running and the bodyweight exercises. Every pull-up, push-up, squat, and running stride now involves additional load.
CrossFit’s own training guidance recommends considering a vest only if you have previously performed Murph or have regularly trained while wearing one.
For a first attempt, completing a properly scaled unweighted workout is often the better choice.
20-pound vs. 14-pound vest
Current CrossFit guidance refers to 14/20-lb vest options.
Regardless of load, the same principle applies: adding weight should come after movement competence and adequate conditioning, not before them.
Do not let the vest become a badge of legitimacy.
Scaling intelligently does not make the workout meaningless.
How Long Does the murph workout Take?
There is no single “normal” Murph time.
Completion time varies dramatically according to:
- Fitness level
- Weighted vs. unweighted performance
- Partition strategy
- Pull-up ability
- Push-up endurance
- Running pace
- Transition speed
- Weather and temperature
- Scaling choices
This is why comparing two Murph times without knowing how each athlete completed the workout can be misleading.
CrossFit’s current training plan targets an overall 35-50 minute stimulus for the prescribed training-day versions and recommends keeping each run under 10 minutes within that particular programming context.
Its May 2026 Workout of the Day guidance also advised athletes who expected the session to take longer than 60 minutes to consider removing the vest and/or reducing volume.
Those are useful programming guidelines, not universal pass/fail standards.
For a first attempt, finishing an appropriate version with controlled technique is more useful than chasing somebody else’s leaderboard time.
What is a good Murph time?
A “good” time should be judged against the version performed and your previous performance.
For example, these are fundamentally different achievements:
- 45 minutes with a vest
- 45 minutes without a vest
- 45 minutes with scaled pull-ups
- 45 minutes using half volume
All can represent excellent individual performances.
If you’re tracking progress, record your exact version alongside the finishing time: vest weight, rep partition, movement substitutions, and total volume.
That makes next year’s comparison meaningful.
How to Pace Murph Without Burning Out
Murph rewards restraint.
A common mistake is running the opening mile as though it were a one-mile race. You arrive at the pull-up bar breathing hard, your heart rate remains elevated, and movements that normally feel easy suddenly become expensive.
Keep the first mile controlled
Run at a pace that allows you to begin the bodyweight work almost immediately.
Think “comfortable but purposeful,” rather than “fast.”
Saving a minute on the opening run does little good if it costs several minutes during the next 600 repetitions.
Stay below failure
This is particularly important with push-ups and pull-ups.
Once local muscular fatigue becomes severe, recovery between sets can become painfully slow.
If you can normally perform 15 pull-ups when fresh, that does not mean you should begin Murph with 15.
Sets of five might allow you to accumulate far more work with shorter rests.
Keep transitions short
Partitioned Murph contains many opportunities to waste time.
Finish your pull-ups, move to the floor, complete the push-ups, stand up, squat, and repeat.
You do not need frantic transitions. You need consistent ones.
Ten unnecessary seconds repeated over 20 rounds becomes more than three minutes.
Expect the second mile to feel different
After 300 squats, your legs may feel heavy when you begin running.
Do not panic and sprint to compensate.
Use the opening portion of the second mile to establish your stride. Once your legs loosen up, gradually increase your effort if you still have capacity.
How to Train for the murph workout
Murph is not a workout you need to test repeatedly in order to improve at it.
Training should build the individual capacities that Murph combines: aerobic fitness, pull-up volume, push-up endurance, squat stamina, and the ability to perform those movements while moderately fatigued.
CrossFit provides an official multi-week Murph preparation program; its 2026 official Challenge program used six weeks of preparation.
Build your running base
You need enough aerobic capacity to complete two miles while surrounding those runs with high-volume calisthenics.
Useful preparation can include:
- Easy aerobic runs
- Interval sessions
- One-mile pacing practice
- Short runs immediately before or after bodyweight work
You do not need to race every training run.
Much of your preparation should build the ability to sustain steady work without excessive fatigue.
Increase pull-up capacity gradually
Going from 20 weekly pull-ups to attempting 100 in one workout is an enormous jump.
Increase volume progressively.
For example, an athlete might accumulate several manageable sets during training rather than repeatedly going to failure. If strict pull-ups are not available yet, build strength through appropriate assisted variations and rows.
Movement quality comes first.
Develop push-up endurance
Push-ups deserve dedicated preparation because 200 repetitions expose weaknesses quickly.
Practice small repeatable sets.
A useful question during preparation is not merely, “How many push-ups can I do once?”
Ask instead:
How many clean push-ups can I repeat every minute without reaching failure?
That is much closer to what Murph demands.
Build squat volume
Air squats may appear easy individually, but 300 repetitions create substantial cumulative fatigue.
Increase volume progressively while keeping depth and control consistent.
You can also combine squats with easy running so you become familiar with transitioning between lower-body calisthenics and running.
Practice your partition before Murph day
Do not choose your strategy while standing at the pull-up bar after the first mile.
Test your planned partition beforehand at reduced volume.
For example:
10 rounds of:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 air squats
This is half of the middle portion of a full Cindy-style Murph and can reveal whether the rep scheme is sustainable.
If the push-ups collapse halfway through, adjust your plan before the real attempt.
Practice with a vest only if you intend to use one
Do not make Murph day your first weighted-vest workout.
CrossFit specifically advises athletes to consider the vest when they have previously completed Murph or have been training regularly with one.
Introduce external load gradually and give your body time to adapt.
How Often Should You Do Murph?
Murph is better viewed as an occasional benchmark than an everyday training session.
The combination of high repetition counts and running creates far more fatigue than the individual exercises suggest.
You can train for Murph regularly without performing the complete workout regularly.
Most preparation sessions should use smaller amounts of the total volume. This allows you to develop capacity while still recovering sufficiently for subsequent training.
A useful distinction is:
Training: builds the qualities required for Murph.
Testing: puts all those qualities together in the complete benchmark.
Testing too frequently can interfere with training.
Is the murph workout Dangerous?
Murph can be performed responsibly, but the workload should be taken seriously.
High-volume exercise becomes particularly risky when someone jumps into a workload far beyond their normal training capacity.
One concern with unusually strenuous exercise is exertional rhabdomyolysis, a condition involving rapid muscle breakdown that can cause serious complications. The CDC identifies high-intensity and prolonged physical exertion among risk factors and recommends gradually increasing physical conditioning, avoiding overheating, and maintaining appropriate hydration.
This does not mean Murph itself is inherently unsafe. It means the dose needs to match the athlete.
Signs you should scale
Consider reducing the workout if:
- You have never trained anywhere near this volume.
- You cannot perform the movements with consistent technique.
- Pull-ups require maximal effort from the beginning.
- You have never run close to the required distance.
- You have not practiced high-volume push-ups or squats.
- You are considering a weighted vest despite never training with one.
- Heat or environmental conditions significantly increase the challenge.
CrossFit’s own programming emphasizes reducing volume, loading, or movement difficulty to preserve the intended workout stimulus.
Hydration and heat matter
Murph is frequently performed around Memorial Day in the United States, when outdoor temperatures can be high in some locations.
Heat adds physiological stress to an already demanding workout.
The CDC recommends avoiding overheating, staying hydrated, allowing acclimatization to hot conditions, and increasing strenuous physical conditioning gradually.
Hydration is important, but it does not compensate for being unprepared.
Know when to stop
Ordinary muscular fatigue is expected during a hard workout. Severe or unusual symptoms are different.
Stop exercising and seek appropriate medical attention for concerning symptoms such as severe pain, collapse, confusion, chest pain, extreme weakness, or other signs that go beyond normal exercise discomfort.
If you have a medical condition, injury, or significant uncertainty about your ability to tolerate strenuous exercise, obtain individualized medical or qualified professional advice before attempting Murph.
Quick takeaway: Scaling Murph is a training decision, not a failure. The best version is the hardest version you can perform with appropriate technique, pacing, and preparation.
Common Murph Mistakes
Murph exposes poor decisions because every small mistake gets multiplied across a long workout.
Starting the first mile too fast
Adrenaline makes this tempting.
Treat the first run as the beginning of a long endurance event, not an isolated race.
Choosing sets based on fresh strength
Your maximum pull-up or push-up set tells you little about what you can sustainably repeat during hundreds of total repetitions.
Select your sets based on repeatability.
Taking push-ups to failure
This is one of the easiest ways to turn Murph into a stop-and-start grind.
Break the sets earlier than you think necessary.
Adding a vest too soon
The vest is not a requirement for every athlete.
Master the unweighted movements and workload before adding external load.
Ignoring technique
One ugly repetition might not seem significant.
Repeated hundreds of times, poor mechanics can become a much bigger issue.
Scale before technique consistently breaks down.
Attempting full volume without preparation
Mental toughness cannot replace physical conditioning.
If your normal weekly training contains relatively little running or calisthenics, jumping directly into two miles and 600 repetitions is an unnecessarily large workload spike.
What Muscles Does Murph Work?
Murph is essentially a full-body endurance workout.
Pull-ups heavily involve the latissimus dorsi, upper back, biceps, forearms, grip, and trunk.
Push-ups challenge the pectoral muscles, triceps, anterior shoulders, and core.
Air squats emphasize the quadriceps and glutes while involving the hamstrings, calves, hips, and trunk.
Running places repeated demands on the lower body while challenging the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
But describing Murph as a muscle-building workout misses its defining feature.
The challenge comes from repeated submaximal work under accumulating fatigue.
You are not simply testing how strong your chest, back, or legs are. You are testing how long they can continue producing acceptable repetitions while your cardiovascular system is also working hard.
Does Murph Build Muscle or Burn Fat?
Murph provides a substantial endurance and conditioning stimulus, but it should not replace a structured resistance-training program if maximum muscle growth is your primary goal.
Pull-ups and push-ups can contribute to muscular development, especially for less experienced athletes. However, muscle growth is usually better supported by progressive resistance training where volume, loading, proximity to failure, and recovery can be controlled more precisely.
Likewise, Murph uses considerable energy, but completing it once does not create lasting fat loss.
Long-term body composition is influenced by consistent training, nutrition, energy balance, sleep, and recovery rather than one exceptionally hard workout.
Think of Murph primarily as a fitness benchmark and memorial challenge, not a shortcut for physique goals.
Equipment You Need for Murph
One reason Murph has become so widely performed is its relatively simple equipment requirement.
For the traditional version, you need:
- A measured running route or suitable running setup
- A pull-up bar
- Space for push-ups and air squats
- A timer
- An optional weighted vest or body armor
Scaled versions may use rings, a stable elevated surface for push-ups, or appropriate cardio equipment if running is being substituted.
You do not need elaborate equipment.
Your preparation matters far more.
A Practical First-Murph Strategy
If you already have adequate general fitness and can safely perform the required movements, your first attempt should be conservative.
Start with an appropriately scaled version if necessary.
Run the first mile at a controlled aerobic pace. Enter the bodyweight portion without needing several minutes to recover.
If completing full volume, consider 20 rounds of:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 air squats
Keep the first five rounds deliberately comfortable.
Avoid taking pull-ups or push-ups to muscular failure. Move steadily between exercises rather than rushing transitions and then resting.
When you reach the second mile, allow your legs time to adjust after the squats. Establish your running rhythm before increasing your pace.
Most importantly, record exactly what you did.
Write down your finishing time, partition, scaling, and whether you wore a vest. When you return to Murph later, you will have a genuine benchmark instead of relying on memory.
The Meaning Behind the murph workout
It is easy for Murph discussions to become dominated by times, vests, rep strategies, and leaderboards.
Those things matter for training, but they are not why the workout exists.
Michael Murphy was 29 when he was killed during Operation Red Wings on June 28, 2005. During the battle, despite being wounded and under enemy fire, he moved into an exposed position to establish communications and call for assistance for his team. His actions resulted in a posthumous Medal of Honor.
CrossFit subsequently named the workout in his honor, and Murph developed into an annual Memorial Day tradition.
The LT Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation was established by Murphy’s family in 2007 and now awards scholarships while working to preserve his legacy. The annual Murph Challenge helps fund that work.
That context changes how the workout is best approached.
Your goal does not need to be the fastest time in the gym.
It can simply be to prepare properly, choose an appropriate version, perform each repetition with purpose, and finish knowing why you started.
Final Thoughts
The murph workout is simple on paper: run one mile, complete 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 air squats, then run another mile. In practice, it is a demanding test of aerobic conditioning, muscular endurance, pacing, movement quality, and patience.
For experienced athletes, Murph can be performed with the full volume and an appropriate weighted vest. For intermediate athletes, reducing the repetitions may preserve the intended challenge. For beginners, shorter runs, ring rows, modified push-ups, and lower total volume provide a sensible entry point. CrossFit itself publishes these scaled variations.
Preparation is the part that matters most. Build running fitness gradually, increase pull-up and push-up capacity over time, practice your partition strategy, respect heat and recovery, and do not add a vest simply because somebody else is wearing one.
Then, when the day comes, start slower than your adrenaline wants you to, keep the repetitions clean, and remember the person whose name is on the workout.
