“Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't.”- Rikki Rogers
WORKOUT
Memorial Day Murph: Six Week Plan to Be Ready
Next week will mark roughly six weeks until Memorial Day weekend, where thousands of people will be doing the hero workout Murph. The workout is in memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.
Murph is a staple event in the CrossFit community each year and today we’re going to give you a plan to prepare your body by Memorial Day weekend.
“Murph”
For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run
The pull-ups, push-ups, and squats may be partitioned as needed and the prescribed version of this workout requires a 20-lb vest for males and 14-lb vest for females.
Overview: You’re only going to incorporate one Murph specific workout into your weekly programming. The first week is bodyweight only (no vest), testing a benchmark workout to assess where the capacity is currently at. All of these workouts can and should be scaled appropriately like any other CrossFit workout.
April 24-30: First week in weight vest, with roughly 50 percent of Murph volume.
May 1-7: Second week in weight vest, with 60 percent of Murph volume.
May 8-14: Third week in weight vest, with 75 percent of Murph volume.
May 15-21: Fourth week in weight vest, deloading volume before Murph week.
May 22-29: Murph week
April 17-23: The most popular break up strategy for the bodyweight movements in Murph is to do five pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 air squats for 20 rounds. The benchmark workout Cindy tests this exact circuit in a 20 minute window. This will give your athletes an objective idea of where their capacity is heading into the next four weeks of training.
“Cindy”
20 minute AMRAP:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 air squats
April 24-30: Roughly 50 percent of the calisthenics volume for Murph (48 pull-ups, 96 push-ups, 144 squats).
For time
400m run
3 rounds of 4 pull-ups, 8 push-ups and 12 air squats
400m run
3 rounds of 4 pull-ups, 8 push-ups and 12 air squats
400m run
3 rounds of 4 pull-ups, 8 push-ups and 12 air squats
400m run
3 rounds of 4 pull-ups, 8 push-ups and 12 air squats
May 1-7: 60 percent of the calisthenics volume for Murph (60 pull-ups, 120 push-ups, 180 squats).
10 rounds for time
6 pull-ups
12 push-ups
18 air squats
200m run after each round
May 8-14: 75 percent of the calisthenics volume for Murph (75 pull-ups, 150 push-ups, 225 squats).
For time
5 rounds of Cindy
800m run
5 rounds of Cindy
800m run
5 rounds of Cindy
800m run
May 15-21: Volume deload before Murph week.
20 minute AMRAP:
Run 1 mile
AMRAP in remaining time of 3 strict pull-ups, 6 push-ups and 9 air squats
May 22-29 (Murph week): At this point, the work has been done and it’s time to test Murph. It may be smart to decrease your volume as the week progresses and approaches test day. This will vary depending on the day you decide to run the workout at your gym.
Running: The highest running volume workout during this program is a mile and a half during week four, so it may be a good idea to add extra running into one other workout each week.
Weight Vest: This is a Hero workout and I’m all for doing something outside your comfort zone. There does need to be a line drawn between toughness and danger. If someone can’t do at least 16 rounds when testing Cindy for week one, it’s not the best idea to wear the vest for the full workout. There are a few different things you can do to incorporate the vest.
Wear the vest for running portion
Wear the vest for the running and air squats
Make it a partner WOD: Murph is an intimidating workout, so you can make this more inclusive by offering a partner version of Murph on the day you run this at your gym. You can have partners do the run together and then alternate rounds of Cindy, completing 10 rounds each. This work/rest makes the workout more sustainable and fun for anyone looking to participate.
The bottom line: Remind your athletes that participating and completing this workout in any iteration is an accomplishment. The reason we do the workout is far more important than how we do the workout itself. Memorial Day Murph is a great way to celebrate your freedom with your fitness family and honor all of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
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🙌 Apollo High School in Henderson, KY has been selected for the CrossFit Scholarship Program. The free, two-day Level One course will take place on April 13-14.
ICYMI: Kaiden Hogan bulked up and won the teen Quarterfinals.
A new Hopper email came out yesterday and here’s what you need to know:
How Ava Georg Balances Military Duties, Work, School, and a Budding CrossFit Career
At eight-years-old, Ava Georg’s physical education teacher proposed a new activity for her: the competitive jump rope team. She had a natural aptitude for the sport and enjoyed the unit in class, so jumped at the opportunity to get more experience.
She competed in various style, speed, and skill competitions for over four years on the team, which nobody could have predicted would be an asset to her in the future.
Seher Kaya: Paving the Way for Muslim Women in CrossFit, All the Way to Madison
Like many CrossFit women, Seher Kaya has long battled people telling her she’s too muscular.
The difference for 2022 CrossFit Games rookie, though, is that oftentimes these disapproving comments come from acquaintances, friends and even family members.
But the Turkish Muslim doesn’t get offended. Instead, she listens to their thoughts with compassion and sees it as an opportunity to show other Muslim women another alternative to the traditional thinking that muscles are for men.
“They’re not meaning anything wrong or to hurt me in any way (by their comments)…I think it’s just unlikely for them to see someone like me,” said 25-year-old Kaya, adding that it’s just unusual for women in her family to be muscular.
“But I think it’s just an important thing to show them (that I’m) a unique person.”
Challenging the norm has become one of Kaya’s overarching CrossFit goals.
“Of course, I see more and more women involved in fitness…(but) there aren’t many Muslims in the Games, and especially women. So it’s important for me to represent us. I want to show it’s possible and to (give other women) someone to look up to and relate to,” said Kaya, who trains at CrossFit Oslo in Norway.
So far, so good. Last year, Kaya snagged one of two Asian invites to the Games when she was second at the Far East Throwdown. She went on to place 29th in Madison, WI in her rookie season and heads into Semiinals this year the second ranked athlete in Asia from Quarterfinals, and is hoping to return to the Games again this summer.
Faith and CrossFit
Kaya’s parents are both from Turkey, but when they got married they moved to Norway, where Kaya was born and raised, along with her four siblings.
Growing up in Norway made it easy for Kaya to access all kinds of sports at a young age—from handball to badminton to dancing and swimming—and although it wasn’t her mother’s cultural experience as a child, Kaya said her mother always approved of her interest in sports.
“My mother has always been very supportive. She’s an unusual Turkish (woman)” Kaya said, adding that her mother always wanted to give her children access to opportunities she didn’t have growing up.
“She always told me, ‘Whatever makes you happy, do it,’” Kaya added.
The same was true when Kaya found and became hooked on CrossFit five years ago. No questions asked by her mother, growing muscles and all.
“She loves when I have muscles. She admires them so much. And she also started to train just because I was into it,” Kaya said.
Despite Kaya and her family embracing the Norwegian way of life, maintaining their Muslim faith has also always been so important to them. Doing so means following Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar dedicated to fasting, prayer, reflection and community.
In the past, Kaya has committed herself to fasting from 8 PM until 4 AM for the entire month of Ramadan, however, this year, she made the difficult decision not to fast.
“I really wanted to fast and I think that would be inspiration for me to fast and will workout and perform as I usually do, but I talked to my team and they said it would be too risky (to fast) two months from the Semifinals,” said Kaya, who speaks English, Norwegian and Turkish.
She took their advice, as she looked back to the last time she fasted during Ramadan—in 2020 in the middle of the first wave of the global pandemic—and remembered how challenging it was.
That year, Kaya would fast from 4 a.m. until 8 p.m., and then would eat and hit her first workout of the day at 8. She’d have a little nap and wake up before 4 a.m. to workout and eat again.
“It was really hard, but I did it…but I don’t know how it would be like going into the Semifinals,” said Kaya, who admitted fasting in 2020 really affected her strength numbers.
Though she has chosen not to fast this year, Kaya will continue to do her daily prayers and go to Mosque, and will continue to honor what Ramadan is all about, which for her means “to feel how people that have nothing feel.”
“It’s (meant) to humble people and to be grateful for what you have,” said Kaya, adding that honoring Ramadan, and her Muslim faith in general, has definitely contributed to her success in her sport.”
“I think it has helped me a lot on the CrossFit performance side…When I’m praying I’m always thinking about what I’m grateful for, so all these things just make me open my eyes,” she said.
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Ready to learn helpful information about yourself and your training? Whoop helps you monitor your recovery, sleep, training and health and gives recommendations to become a more efficient and healthy human. And don’t worry, for new members we’re hooking you up with a free Whoop 4.0 and a month of membership on us!
Looking to master the double under crossover like the pros? Then check out these drills from Games athlete Fee Saghafi who makes them look easy like Sunday morning.
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🎂 Happy birthday to Morning Chalk Up reader, Kim Geraghty.
Congratulations to Games veteran Steph Mireles (Chung) on qualifying for the North America East Individual Semifinals next month while still making her way through PA school.
🇪🇸 Congratulations to Spain’s Sara Alicia Fernandez Costas on this power clean + hang clean + front squat complex at 209 pounds/95kg.
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