Murph

For time:
Run 1 mile
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 air squats
Run 1 mile

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. If you’ve got a 14/20-lb vest or body armor, wear it.

Or

Hero workout of your choice

Review the list of Hero workouts and honor someone with an all-out effort.

Post your choice of workout and result to comments.

If you perform Murph, don’t forget to log your score in the Progress tab in the CrossFit app. You can also support the Murph Challenge by officially registering at themurphchallenge.com or by donating directly to the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation at murphfoundation.org.

Today’s workout was created in 2005 in memory of Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, New York, who was killed in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. This workout was one of Murphy’s favorites, and he’d named it “Body Armor.” It is now referred to as “Murph” in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.

Compare to 240527.

Stimulus and Strategy:
By design, most Hero workouts are meant to be extremely grueling, arduous, and mentally challenging. Many contain a very high volume of reps. Keep in mind that “challenging” is relative, and athletes should adjust workouts to align with their physical and psychological tolerances. If you are performing Murph, partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Consider 20 sets of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats, or 10 rounds of 10 pull-ups, 20 push-ups, and 30 air squats. If you have completed Murph previously, consider performing the pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats unpartitioned. Beginner athletes should reduce the work to a level that is attainable yet challenging.

Scaling:
Reduce the repetitions of the pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats. Reduce the distance of each run.

To reduce the complexity of the pull-up, consider ring rows. For the push-ups, perform this movement from the knees or with your hands on a 30-inch box. For the air squats, perform this movement to a target that allows for a pain-free range of motion.

In case of injury or limitation, perform 1,600/2,000 meters on a rower (this should be a last resort) or 3,500/5,000 meters on an Echo bike.

Intermediate option:
For time:
Run 1 mile
50 pull-ups
100 push-ups
150 air squats
Run 1 mile

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Head out for the second run no later than 25 minutes into your workout.

Or

Hero workout of your choice.

Review the list of Hero workouts and honor someone with an all-out effort.

Beginner option:
For time:
Run 800 meters

Then, 10 rounds of:
5 ring rows
10 push-ups with hands elevated on a box
15 air squats

Then, run 800 meters

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Head out for the second run no later than 20 minutes into your workout.

Or

Hero workout of your choice.

Review the list of Hero workouts and honor someone with an all-out effort.

Coaching cues:
In the push-up, squeeze your thighs, glutes, and abdominals to move the body up and down as one unit.

Resources:
Running Workshop: Pose Alignment
The Kipping Pull-Up
The Push-Up
The Air Squat
The Ring Row.
Push-Up Tips

As many rounds and reps as possible in 14 minutes of:
7 hang power cleans
7 front squats

♀ 145 lb
♂ 205 lb

Post total rounds and reps to comments.

Compare to 240531.

Stimulus and Strategy:
In today’s workout, moving this moderately heavy barbell is going to get way more metabolic than you want it to. Use a load that allows you to complete the hang power cleans in 1-3 sets and the front squats in 1-2 sets throughout the entire workout. Breaks are expected, but the goal is to keep marching forward and maintain at least 1 round every 2 minutes. If you completed this workout previously, use that score to help you navigate today’s effort.

Scaling:
Reduce the load of the barbell.

To reduce the complexity of the hang power cleans and front squats, use a pair of dumbbells to complete both movements.

In case of injury or limitation, perform Russian kettlebell swings in place of the hang power cleans. For the front squats, perform goblet squats with a single kettlebell or dumbbell. If necessary, squat to an elevated target that allows for a pain-free range of motion.

Intermediate option:
As many rounds and reps as possible in 14 minutes of:
7 hang power cleans
7 front squats

♀ 105 lb
♂ 155 lb

Beginner option:
As many rounds and reps as possible in 14 minutes of:
7 hang power cleans
7 front squats

♀ 55 lb
♂ 75 lb

Coaching cues:
In the hang power clean, focus on getting the elbows around the barbell as quickly as possible. Think about driving your elbows through the barbell after you get as tall as possible.

Resources:
The Hang Power Clean
The Front Squat

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Rest Day

Implementing Sprinting in CrossFit

CrossFit's comprehensive approach to fitness includes sprinting — a skill many of us have neglected for years. Implement this progressive three-phase plan to safely rediscover or improve your sprinting abilities while minimizing injury risk. Following this progression and incorporating regular speed work into your training will unlock incredible benefits that only high-intensity sprinting can provide.

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For time:
Run 5,000 meters

Compare to 241210.

Post time to comments.

Stimulus and Strategy:
If executed properly, this workout challenges the boundaries of human performance and requires no equipment. It's a fantastic test of stamina, endurance, and mental fortitude. Experienced athletes should try for a PR on this benchmark effort. Look back at your previous time to help determine an appropriate pace. Newer athletes should reduce the distance to complete the run in no more than 20 minutes.

Scaling:
Reduce the distance of the run.
In case of injury or limitation, consider 11,200/16,000 meters on the Echo bike or 4,000/5,000 meters on the rower or SkiErg.

Intermediate option:
Same as Rx’d.

Beginner option:
On a 20-minute clock:
Run for distance

Coaching cues:
To avoid inefficient movement patterns while you run, imagine you’re running on the crossties of a railroad track, keeping your feet right under your body and landing on the balls of your feet.

Resources:
Running | Falling Forward
Running | Position Drill

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Rest Day

Don’t Skip Speed Day: The Lost Art of Sprinting in CrossFit

CrossFit’s foundation of broad, general, and inclusive fitness requires more than just met-cons and heavy lifts; it demands speed. This article explores why sprinting is just as essential as strength training in developing GPP. Drawing from Tony Leyland’s foundational work, we dig into the powerful physiological and neurological benefits of sprinting and its impact on sport and real-world performance. If you want to be a faster, stronger, and more resilient athlete, it’s time to start sprinting.

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Fight Gone Bad

3 rounds for max reps of:
1 minute of wall-ball shots
1 minute of sumo deadlift high pulls
1 minute of box jumps
1 minute of push presses
1 minute of rowing calories
Rest 1 minute

♀ 14-lb medicine ball to 9 feet, 55-lb barbell, 20-inch box
♂ 20-lb medicine ball to 10 feet, 75-lb barbell, 20-inch box

Post total reps to comments and log your score in the CrossFit app (CrossFit Benchmarks are located in the "Progress" tab).

Compare to 240412

Stimulus and Strategy:
Today’s workout is a classic CrossFit benchmark. Look back to your previous score to help you navigate today’s effort. Push to keep moving for as much of each minute as possible. Capitalize on movements you excel at and pace yourself on your weaker movements. If you have completed this workout before, don’t pace it. Give the first round a run for its money, and then hang on for the ride.

Scaling:
Reduce the loading of the barbell and medicine ball.

Reduce the complexity of the wall-ball shots by lowering the height of the target. For the sumo deadlift high pulls, perform the movement with a kettlebell or dumbbell. For the box jumps, reduce the height of the box. For push presses, perform the movement with dumbbells.

In case of injury or limitation, use any machine available to perform calories. For the wall-ball shots, perform medicine-ball squats (overhead limitation). For the sumo deadlift high pulls, perform kettlebell or dumbbell sumo deadlifts or Russian kettlebell swings. For the box jumps, perform step-ups. For the push presses, perform single-arm dumbbell push presses or shoulder presses.

Intermediate option:
Same as Rx’d.

Beginner option:
3 rounds for max reps of:
1 minute of wall-ball shots
1 minute of sumo deadlift high pulls
1 minute of box jumps
1 minute of push presses
1 minute of rowing calories
Rest 1 minute

♀ 6-lb medicine ball to 9 feet, 35-lb barbell, 12-inch box
♂ 10-lb medicine ball to 10 feet, 45-lb barbell, 12-inch box

Coaching cues:
From the top of the sumo deadlift high pull, focus on returning the hands to the hips before hinging at the hips to return the barbell to the floor.

Resources:
The Wall-Ball Shot
The Sumo Deadlift High Pull
The Box Jump
The Push Press
Rowing Technique Tips

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Rest Day

The Most Overlooked Key to Athletic Performance: GPP in CrossFit

General physical preparedness (GPP) is often the most overlooked element in athletic training, but it’s the foundation of CrossFit’s methodology. Recently, Stephane Rochet (CF-L3) and Joe Alexander (CF-L4) did a deep dive into how effective GPP can elevate performance across all levels, from everyday athletes to Olympians. Drawing on years of experience, they discuss how CrossFit develops unmatched GPP, why fixing foundational deficiencies often yields immediate sport-specific benefits, and how prioritizing GPP can actually reduce injuries and training volume while increasing long-term athletic development. This is essential viewing for anyone who wants to truly understand the goal of CrossFit training and why it’s different than any other fitness methodology out there.

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Rest Day

Why CrossFit Loves Hyrox (and Why That’s a Good Thing)

Lately, there's been a buzz about Hyrox possibly overtaking CrossFit as the next big thing in fitness — and as someone who's lived and breathed CrossFit for years, I've got some thoughts. Spoiler alert: They're not the same, and that's a good thing. This isn’t a battle. It’s a brilliant intersection. Here's my take on how Hyrox and CrossFit can — and should — thrive side by side.

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Rest Day

CrossFit Makes You Athletic? Here’s Why That’s a Lie (And Why It Still Matters)

Everyone loves to argue over whether CrossFit creates athletes — or just really fit humans. Scroll through social media, and you’ll find hot takes, call-outs, and reaction videos claiming CrossFit athletes are just pretending to be athletic. But the truth is far less sexy and way more powerful: CrossFit doesn’t teach you to sink three-pointers or master a tennis serve, but it does build the raw physical capacity — the strength, speed, balance, and stamina — that fuels athletic greatness. So, let’s cut through the noise and finally settle it: What does CrossFit really do, and what are we actually training for?

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Rest Day

Featured Article

Beyond the Open: 15 Benchmark Workouts to Guide Your CrossFit Progress Year-Round

The CrossFit Open may highlight our strengths and weaknesses, but real progress happens year-round. By strategically incorporating 15 key benchmark workouts — from strength tests to endurance challenges — you can track your fitness, identify gaps, and ensure your programming drives well-rounded improvement. Rather than training for the test, these workouts serve as checkpoints, helping you assess whether your training is building strength, stamina, and resilience across all modalities. Ready to take control of your progress? Let’s dive in.

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Featured Article

Efficient Training: The 80/20 Rule of Fitness and How CrossFit Maximizes Results with Minimal Time

The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, suggests that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. CrossFit embodies this principle by focusing on high-intensity, functional movements, constant variance, and mixed-modality workouts to deliver maximum fitness gains efficiently. Unlike traditional training that prioritizes volume, CrossFit optimizes intensity to drive adaptation, ensuring long-term progress without excessive time investment. With proper nutrition as its foundation, CrossFit’s methodology enables athletes to achieve elite fitness levels in less time, leaving them more opportunities to enjoy life outside the gym.

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Featured Article

The CrossFit Physique: When Performance Builds a Better Body

CrossFit’s mission is to forge elite fitness, but an undeniable byproduct is its athletes' strong, capable physiques. Unlike traditional bodybuilding, which often prioritizes aesthetics over function, CrossFit’s constantly varied, high-intensity training produces bodies that are powerful, resilient, and beautiful. Rooted in the training philosophies of early strongmen and Olympic weightlifters, CrossFit builds muscle, strength, and endurance through functional movements, lifting heavy, and pushing intensity. When paired with a whole-foods-based diet, this approach delivers the ultimate combination — unmatched fitness and an athletic physique. In short, train like an athlete, and you’ll look like one, too.

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Rest Day

Featured Article

The CrossFit Approach to Building Healthy Habits

Achieving health and fitness goals isn’t about willpower alone — it’s about creating a smart action plan, reshaping your mindset, and focusing on small, manageable steps. By automating decisions, addressing triggers, and designing environments that support healthy habits, you can reduce reliance on willpower and build momentum. Viewing willpower as a skill to practice and linking small, achievable goals to larger ambitions creates a cycle of success. Whether you’re reigniting an important goal you set months ago or preparing for the 2025 CrossFit Open, these strategies will help you stay on track and achieve lasting progress.

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Rest Day

Featured Article

Strong Women are the Standard

The 2021 NCAA basketball tournament highlighted a long-standing misconception about women and strength training, but CrossFit has always challenged this narrative. In CrossFit, women lift heavy, develop real-world strength, and reap the benefits of resistance training — including improved metabolism, bone density, mobility, and overall health. Strength is essential for true fitness, and any program that neglects it is incomplete. Strong women aren’t the exception — they’re the standard.

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Featured Article

The Power of CrossFit for the Aging Athlete: Strength, Longevity, and Community

Aging doesn’t mean slowing down — especially in the CrossFit world. Despite societal misconceptions, aging adults often see the most significant fitness gains, improving strength, mobility, and overall well-being. CrossFit’s emphasis on functional movements, weight-bearing exercises, and high-intensity training helps counteract age-related muscle loss, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular decline. Beyond physical benefits, it fosters mental resilience, social connections, and a strong sense of community — crucial for maintaining motivation and independence. With scalable workouts tailored to individual needs, CrossFit empowers aging adults to stay active, confident, and engaged, proving that fitness is for every age.

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Featured Article

CrossFit and the Interference Effect

Traditional fitness wisdom once dictated that strength and endurance training should be separate to avoid the “interference effect,” where endurance work was believed to hinder strength gains and vice versa. CrossFit challenged this outdated approach by blending strength and conditioning within the same workouts, maximizing both in a way that traditional split routines cannot. While CrossFit incorporates pure endurance and heavy lifting days, its signature mixed-modality met-cons effectively bridge the gap, developing both aerobic and anaerobic capacity. This method yields superior fitness adaptations without excessive interference, preparing athletes for real-world demands where strength and endurance must coexist seamlessly.

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Featured Article

Training Through Injury: Smart Strategies to Stay Fit and Recover Faster

If you get injured, your priority should be maintaining as much fitness as possible while allowing your body to heal. Instead of completely resting, adapting your training can help minimize fitness loss and prevent long-term setbacks. Strategies such as varying exercises, adjusting range of motion, and modifying tempo allow you to work around injuries safely. For more significant injuries, training surrounding muscles, focusing on cardiovascular fitness, and using contralateral training can support recovery. By staying active and making smart modifications in CrossFit classes, you can continue progressing your fitness without worsening your injury.

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Featured Article

An Open Invitation

The CrossFit Open is more than a test of fitness — it’s a challenge that builds mental toughness, resilience, and confidence. While it provides valuable insights into our progress, it also forces us to perform under pressure, face our fears, and push beyond our comfort zone. Whether it’s conquering a tough movement, racing the clock, or battling self-doubt, the Open is our chance to choose growth over fear and walk away stronger, fitter, and prouder. This year, embrace the challenge — do the hard thing and make it count.

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Featured Article

CrossFit for Health and Fitness vs. CrossFit for Points

Observing CrossFit Games athletes can be an inspiring and educational experience, offering insights into their techniques, pacing, and strategies. However, it’s essential to recognize the difference between competitive tactics and training for long-term fitness and health. Games athletes prioritize speed and efficiency, often sacrificing range of motion, tempo, or even safety to gain an edge. For general fitness, focusing on controlled rep tempo, full range of motion, sound technique, proper refueling with whole foods, and listening to the body to avoid injury is paramount. By understanding the context behind competitive practices, we can adopt the elements that align with our goals while leaving the extreme measures for competition.

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Featured Article

From Step-Ups to Deadlifts: How Midline Stability Can Transform Your CrossFit Training

CrossFit prioritizes effective and functional core training as part of its commitment to forging elite fitness. Unlike programs that focus on flashy, high-repetition ab exercises, CrossFit emphasizes midline stabilization — the ability to maintain a neutral spine and resist unwanted trunk movements —through compound, isometric, and functional movements. Core strength is developed primarily through foundational movements, Olympic lifts, and single-limb exercises that challenge the spine's ability to stabilize under load. Additional complementary exercises isolate and strengthen specific core muscles, ensuring a comprehensive approach to injury prevention and performance enhancement. By prioritizing core stability over superficial "core work," CrossFit prepares athletes for the demands of sport, combat, and life.

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Featured Article

‘I’m Not Alone’: Scott Hanley Continues to Inspire Parkinson’s Community

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2018, Scott Hanley refused to accept a grim prognosis. In 2020, he began working out, discovering that fitness and strength training eased his symptoms. Joining CrossFit Belfast in 2021, Hanley embraced high-intensity workouts and skill-building, remarkably reducing his symptoms. Inspired by his transformation, others, like Ian Haldane, followed his lead, finding relief and improved quality of life through CrossFit. Backed by science linking intense exercise to neuroprotection and neuroplasticity, Hanley’s story highlights the power of fitness, community, and determination in living well with Parkinson’s while inspiring others to keep fighting.

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Featured Article

Keep the Muscle, Lose the Fat

Chris Masterjohn’s “How to Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle” emphasizes the importance of prioritizing fat loss while preserving lean mass during weight loss. He advises against excessive calorie restriction, recommending instead a focus on full-body resistance training, high-intensity intervals, and adequate protein intake to support muscle retention and overall health. Slow, consistent weight loss—up to 2 pounds per week—is optimal, with exercise playing a critical role in minimizing lean mass loss. Masterjohn’s findings align closely with CrossFit principles, underscoring the effectiveness of functional fitness and whole-food diets in achieving sustainable, healthy results.

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Featured Article

Your Environments Determine Your Health

Are you relying on willpower alone to stick to your health and fitness goals? This article reveals the most important strategy people overlook: shaping your physical and mental environments for success. From reorganizing your kitchen and meal prepping to crafting a workout routine and fostering a positive mindset, it’s all about creating a foundation that makes healthy choices easier and setbacks manageable. Discover actionable tips to transform your surroundings, stay consistent, and make this the year you finally achieve lasting results.

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Featured Article

Kill Fake Hunger: Simple Strategies to Overcome Cravings and Hit Your Nutrition and Performance Goals

Mastering your nutrition plan starts with understanding that cravings often stem from boredom, habit, or sugar addiction — not true hunger. Build a solid foundation by consuming high-quality foods, balancing macronutrients, and following a consistent eating schedule. Address triggers like dehydration, junk food access, and lack of sleep, and embrace the slight discomfort of hunger as part of the process. If you slip up, don’t dwell — refocus with your next meal. Progress comes from consistency, not perfection, and with patience and these strategies, you can achieve your nutrition and fitness goals.

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Featured Article

How Fit Are You?

CrossFit’s original fitness competition, predating the CrossFit Games and Open, features five challenging tests designed to assess absolute strength, relative strength, and gymnastics skills. These tests include 1-rep-max lifts, bodyweight movements, and complex gymnastics, with scaling options available. The key goal is not just scoring but identifying weaknesses to improve over time. By working on deficiencies in strength or skill, you can make significant progress, guided by training suggestions included in the article. This approach highlights how focused efforts on weaknesses can lead to remarkable fitness improvements and long-term adaptability.

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CrossFit: The Fountain of Youth

CrossFit challenges the narrative that aging leads to inevitable physical decline, offering a lifelong approach to fitness that improves work capacity and health markers at every stage of life. By focusing on mechanics, consistency, and intensity, CrossFit helps delay age-related limitations, promoting strength, endurance, mobility, and independence. Aging well is a matter of active, intentional choices and continuous training.

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Featured Article

What Is Metabolic Conditioning?

Metabolic conditioning (met-con) is a cornerstone of CrossFit, designed to optimize your body’s ability to store, deliver, and use energy efficiently across varying intensities and durations. By targeting all three energy systems, met-cons boost energy efficiency, enhance fitness, support heart and lung health, promote fat loss while preserving muscle, and prepare you for real-world physical demands. Best of all, CrossFit-style met-cons build exceptional endurance without the need for traditional endurance training.

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Featured Article

Hitting the Stimulus in Every CrossFit WOD

Intensity and variance are essential to CrossFit programming, driving results and fostering broad fitness. Preserving the intended stimulus of each workout ensures we optimize both elements. Factors like how a workout feels, loading, timing, volume, and movement patterns play a crucial role. The math method helps scale workouts to maintain intensity, guiding athletes to hit the desired time or rep targets. Whether tackling Fran, Cindy, or Amanda, scaling appropriately ensures athletes achieve the intended stimulus, maximizing fitness and results over the long term.

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The Deadlift

The deadlift, a fundamental hinging movement pattern, is highly effective for building strength, increasing muscle mass, improving back health, and enhancing athletic performance. Engaging major muscle groups like the glutes, hamstrings, and spinal erectors, the deadlift supports full-body strength and resilience. Regular deadlift training promotes muscle growth and reduces back pain by strengthening the spine and surrounding muscles. It also boosts athletic abilities, improving speed, power, and midline stability essential for sports. By incorporating deadlifts consistently, you can achieve significant improvements in strength, health, and overall fitness.

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Featured Article

Staying Strong Through the Holidays: A Message for Your Future Self

The holiday season often leads to small weight gains that add up over time, increasing health risks and straying from fitness goals. Instead of letting indulgence derail your progress, focus on staying intentional with your choices, prioritizing movement, and maintaining discipline. Enjoy the season while aligning your actions with your long-term health and performance aspirations. Come January, you’ll thank yourself for staying consistent, waking up stronger, fitter, and proud of your commitment.

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Primer on Protein, Part 6: The Immune System

In the final article in this six-part series, we discuss how following CrossFit’s fitness and dietary guidelines not only enhances physical performance but also fortifies your body’s immune system. Protein is vital in this process, supporting immune cell production and function. High-quality animal proteins provide essential amino acids like glutamine, arginine, and cysteine, critical for immune defense and recovery. This holistic approach to health strengthens your body against chronic diseases and acute illnesses alike, making fitness a lifelong pursuit.

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