The 30 Days of Murph

It was really one of my dumber ideas. Seriously unwise.

I could hurt myself permanently.

But I like to challenge myself. I like to push myself out of my comfort zone.

So, I did it and learned some things about myself.

What is MURPH anyway?

⭐Murph⭐

For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run

W/20 lb vest or body armor

In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.

This workout was one of Mike's favorites and he'd named it "Body Armor". From here on it will be 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.

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you've got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.

For many people, this is a lot. Because well, it is a lot. I’ll admit it isn’t my favorite workout. It just super hard.

• I hate running (yes I know I run a lot)
• I cannot do pull-ups unassisted to save my life (okay maybe I could do 10-15 if I had too).
• Push-ups I am just ok’ish with but I can do 200. I wont like it, but I can do it.
• Squats? Seriously does anybody actually like doing squats, because I don’t.
• Then you get to run yet ANOTHER mile 💩.
• Bonus you have to wear a 20 lb weighted vest or body armor. Okay I was cop many years, wore body armor a lot of the time. But a weighted vest is a dramatically different. It just totally sucks because it makes everything harder. 

So there you have it, all the movements aren’t fun in anyway at all. 

Why would anybody want to do that, everyday for 30 days?

Answer? Nobody would, seriously.

So you did it Dave? Why just why? 

Well....I wanted to prove something to myself. I wanted to do something that pushed me way out of my comfort zone. I wanted to challenge myself beyond my own perceived limits.

Was I sore? Yep every single day after the first day. Some days less than others. But believe me when I say that nobody does 200 push-ups and 300 squats that isn’t sore. It’s just an impossibility. 

On Day 21 I got a personal record (PR). That night and next day, I was so sore I had trouble standing up from a chair. I was so sore. I had trouble holding on to my coffee mug. That is a whole new level of sore muscles. 

I lost 18 lbs during the 30 days. I didn’t pay attention too much to my diet. I tried a little bit. I made sure I didn’t stuff myself with 6 pieces of pizza or a whole ribeye for sure. But I also didn’t exactly watch what I was eating. My wife bought a 4 pack of Twizzler Orange Cream flavor.....yep ate all 4 packs and I don’t care who knows. They are delicious 🍬.

A time or two, I drank beers, maybe had a shot of whiskey in there too. I didn’t feel good but I ran the next morning (I would advise against that btw).

I truthfully hated that vest. Still do. But I’ll continue to wear a vest. The benefits are just to great to ignore. Many times I wore a sauna suit under my vest (which is probably the most uncomfortable clothing piece in my vast collection of concert shirts and other lame t-shirts (my wife isn’t a fan of my t-shirts, lol).

We do things like this to see what the takeaways are. If we have learned anything.

Here’s a top ten list of things that I learned in those 30 Days.

1. Shorts with built-in underwear or tights in them are really nice to run in if your a dude.
2. Shorts with built-in underwear or tights in them can also be not quite as comfy doing squats in, if you are a dude. 👎
3. Sweat, wow I sweat a lot. I was drenched everyday. Taking off that stupid sauna suit is akin I imagine, to a lady taking off their bra at the end of the day. Oh what a relief it is. 
4. Times are times, I was all over the map and did not really care. It's a journey not a race. I had a 49 minute day one day, and a 55 minute the very next day. MURPH is hard, period. 
5. Partitioning is not the biz for me. I get it. 20 rounds of 5-10-15, it looks easier. It’s not in my opinion and you lose a ton of time in transition. (Thank you Damon for your sage advice).
6. Rest is important, so I fit brief rest in on Push-ups and Squats. Keep moving, just keep moving (Thank you Christi for that advice).
7. When running, look where you are going. Envision your path 5 steps ahead. You wont wipe out (I did and it left a mark or two).
8. Drink fluids, before - during - after. 🚫 Don’t drink beers the night before 🍺. Those don’t count as fluids and they will just kill your times. 
9. Fight the urge to quit. Fight it, just keep moving forward. Win the battle in your head. Envision a strong finish. Run as fast as you can the last 200 yds of the second mile. You are a damn warrior, act like it. 
10. Get up and go do it. Fight the urge to stay in bed. Yes you are sore, you don’t feel like, you have things to do. Remember the most important thing you can do for your family is be present and be healthy. So get up and get moving. 

➽⭐⭐ Bonus - Running with a face mask, gaiter or other option was just zero fun for me. I did it a few times, never liked it and I just could never get into a rhythm 👎

People have asked me if I would ever do it again. I’m not sure actually. I mean it was a goal. I got there. I did it. So on to the next challenge. On to the next thing I dread and makes me uncomfortable.

It is like slaying a dragon I suppose, momentous, difficult and your really beat up afterword....but you survived the battle

Many days during this challenge I was sore. I just didn't have the desire or just did not want to go run. But I kept putting on my running shoes and vest. 

I tried to mix it up a lot. I knew going into it would be a physical challenge, but did not consider that it might become monotonous with the same movements each day. So I changed it slightly each day. Thrusters for pull-ups, or Knees to Chest for pull-ups. Sometimes I swung a 70 lb kettle bell, threw up dumbbells and other times I did step-ups on a box. Those small changes added diversity and also kept me thinking. 

The mind is where the battle is by the way. You have to keep thinking. You have to keep looking ahead as you are moving your body. 

Whats the next challenge? I do not know. I will think about it awhile. I will go to the gym and continue to work out and try to do the smart things to keep healthy. 

Lessons learned: What I have learned is having goals are great for your overall attitude.  Thinking about success before it happens is really a big part of having a winning mindset. I am not the expert on this but I know what works and doesn't work for me. Think about being successful prior to do getting to work.

I learned a lot about myself. I pushed well past my perceived limits. Yes I wanted to quit. I wanted to stop. At times I really hated it. But, I pushed thru it. I kept thinking about my wife and family. My friends and the public. I wanted to be a good example. I wanted to show them the example of how to fight past your own perceptions and limits that we place on ourselves and even though I was exhausted and mentally breaking to keep pushing forward. These last 30 Days was really about learning who I am, better. 

Here is a list of things that have worked for me for this purpose:

1. Listen to advice from your coaches, teachers, experienced people and subject matter experts. You are probably not the expert AND sometimes hearing another perspective and comprehending the wisdom can truly help your performance at game time, in the gym and in life.
2. Keep an open mind about new ideas and new ways of doing things. Your way may not be the best or most efficient way (my bride taught me this). 
3. Criticism can help you. Yes sometimes it will bruise the ego, but truly constructive criticism and negative feedback can actually help your outlook and performance. 
4. Never stop learning. Seek knowledge and wisdom. It will feed your soul and give you increased confidence. 
5. Sleep well, eat well and move with a purpose, every single day. 

Just the stats man, just the stats:

During this challenge. while wearing a 20 lb weighted vest, I:

Ran 60+ miles (some days I ran more miles to stretch the ole sore legs)
3000 Pull-ups or an equivalent movement
6000 Push-ups
9000 Squats (every damn one of them 👎) 
Total time in motion 1,590.14 minutes or 26.5 hours
Total calories 29,040

 

At the end of the 30 Day Challenge, on July 4th. I was completely and totally exhausted. Mind and body completely drained. But I did it and was fortunate to PR my last day. 

Lt Mike Murphy did not quit when his number was called. He didn’t stop. He moved forward to the fight. He was a great American Hero. It was humbling to do this workout named after him.

In his honor.......