How I Completed Murph in Under 30 Minutes
A Murph, Rx’d on a continuously running clock in under 30 minutes? Yes, I did it. When I posted my time on Memorial Day there were a lot of questions. It can be done. There was much strategy in how to approach the workout, as well as the training leading up to the workout. Below I’ll detail some of the specifics of each.
Background:
As a former collegiate athlete, I was exposed to a lot of different methodologies of training. Being a college basketball player I trained in a variety of capacities as the sport requires. I say all of that so say this—for the past 15 years I have done some type of sport specific training nearly every day. For 10 of those years, I had to maintain a standard of fitness that allowed me to have great endurance, raw strength, explosive speed, and proficiency in bodyweight movements, along with dexterity and agility.
(I can’t hit all of these numbers now, but these are some of my PRs from over the years)—Bragging numbers–455 lbs back squat. 4.44—40 yd dash. 4:50–mile run. 38-inch vertical jump. 3:36–Marathon. 1:32—Half Marathon. 41:49—10K run. 335 lbs—bench press. 183 pushups in two minutes. 43 strict pull-ups. 5:17—35 mile run.
I also spent four years focusing specifically on endurance training. During this time I ran marathons and ultramarathons and over the course of that four year period and ran an average weekly mileage of 70 miles per week.
The combination of these factors has lead me to more easily adapt Crossfit style or tactical style workouts such as Murph.
As for Murph itself, I’ve done the workout over 100 times and have done it using every strategy you can think of. I’ve done double Murphs. I’ve done it in a 40# vest. I’ve done it indoors, outdoors, done the running on a treadmill, etc.
To date, I’ve gone sub 30 minutes three times (Rx’d in a 20# vest). My PR sits at 26:48. I’ve also logged times of 28:32 and 29:58.
Approaching the Workout/Strategy:
Rep Scheme
The 3 times I’ve gone sub 30 minutes Rx’d on this workout have 1 main thing in common—the rep scheme. I used what we refer to as “The Cindy Method” or “Cindy Style” on all three sub-30 performances. That is performing 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats. You hardcore Crossfitters may recognize this rep scheme as the same partition of the benchmark workout “Cindy.” Hence the name. You’re basically doing Cindy in a weighted vest with a mile on the front end and a mile on the back end.
Run Fast
Another part of my strategy that has served me well is counter to what a lot of training programs suggest. If this is your first Murph, then do not follow this advice. What I’m putting out here is how to set a PR and for those of you who are really fit, how to break the 30 minute barrier. So here it is—Run Fast!
What I mean is, get after it on the first mile. You don’t want to PR your mile, but you need to go hard. Purpose that in your mind before you start. Run the first mile hard. The three times I’ve gone sub-30 my first mile has been under 7 minutes. The way I see it is my two miles times can’t add up to more than 15 minutes total. So get after it on the first mile because inevitably you’re going to be slower on the second mile. For instance, if you can go 6:30 on the first mile, then you’ve bought yourself 2 extra minutes on the last mile when your quads are gassed from all of those squats.
I approach the second mile like this—just keep moving through the first half mile. My quads are on fire, my heart rate is spiking. I stay moving, focus on my breathing and make sure my form stays tight. After that first half mile, I get a second wind then I gradually begin to push the pace. By the last quarter mile, I have enough left in the tank to lay it all out there and finish.
Don’t Take Breaks
This is why the Cindy Method is so effective. You can transition from movement to movement without wasting time.
Do your 5 pull-ups. (Kipping is okay). Drop off the bar, hit the deck and do 10 pushups. Burpee up and use this motion to move you into your squats. Don’t pause at the top. You can do 15 squats without stopping. Get it? Good.
Continue the cycle at a pace where you don’t have to stop. You’re aiming for roughly 45 seconds per round.
Training:
While I’ve had very different styles of training during the phases where I hit my three PR’s, personally the last one I did (29:58), I think is the most “impressive” because I didn’t do much training specific for Murph. For me, this method of training illustrates a higher level of fitness in that I got really close to my PR without becoming a specialist.
The other two sub-30 minute times came during a build-up of training specifically to get good at Murph. During that time I was doing Murph 2x’s a week for two months and experimenting with rep schemes.
Running:
I break running weekly down into 3 blocks. Basically each running day is focusing on a different energy system. I’m a fan of running fast and getting great quality as opposed to getting a ton of volume. By doing it this way, I get speed work, expand my aerobic capacity and work on my lactate threshold—all of which are crucial to a better mile and improving upon my Murph time.
Running Day 1: Lactate threshold. It may look something like this.
6 Rounds: Run 400 meters < 1:20, 20 squats, 20 lunges, 20 situps. Rest 1:00.
I’m running 400 meters a little faster than my desired mile pace. So it’s not a full sprint, but it’s fast enough to get some good lactate work which is why I add the calisthenics at the end of the run. So now my body is getting used to running at a pace faster than my mile time and doing bodyweight movements while my heartrate is high. Think of it this way…I want to run a 6 minute mile easily, so with this workout I’m running at 5:20 pace and adding calisthenics. The translation is that when I get out to run, my body will be adapted to running at a 6 minute pace rather easily.
Running Day 2: Short Sprints.
5-8 x 100 meter Sprints or 10-12 x 40 meter sprints or 3 x 100 meter and 2 x 200 meters.
The focus here is force production when my foot strikes the ground. I.E. more fore equals more speed. Sprints are a great way to hone this in. The sprint work also reinforces proper running form and efficiency which will translate to a better mile time. Also here, we are digging into speed. So I will take big rest breaks between each set of sprints. I want to be close to fully recovered for each sprint. I’m also tapping into the anaerobic capacity by using this approach.
Running Day 3: Long Run. Buzzword: pure aerobic capacity.
For me this looks like a 7-8 mile run and I’ll usually throw in some kind of calisthenics every ½ mile or so (40 air squats, 40 pushups or 20 air squats, 30 pushups, 20 lunges). You get the idea. On average this will take me 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes of work time. My last mile time trial I ran a 5:18 mile, so I pace these miles at around 7:30-7:45 per mile depending on the terrain. Add an extra minute-2 minutes for the calisthenics and it adds up to between 8:45-10 minutes per mile roughly.
The purpose of the long run is to build aerobic capacity. I’m not going as hard as I can, but I’m going for a long time. Biologically this allows for you to build the volume of plasma your blood can hold and it help strengthen your mitochondria. Do it consistently enough and your cells will actually build more mitochondria onto of the ones you already have. In others words, your cardiovascular system becomes more efficient and more powerful at the cellular level.
Weight Training and Calisthenics:
During this last block of training leading up to Murph I broke my sessions down in to movement archetypes. By this I mean I focused on a different major movement patter each day. The four areas I break this down into are 1. Upper Body Pull 2. Lower Body Push 3. Upper Body Push 4. Lower Body Pull. Over the course of a week it may look like this:
Monday—Back squat—6 x 2 (Compliments—air squats, jump squats, lunges, jumping lunges, step ups)
Tuesday—Weighted Pull-ups (Compliments—pullups, pendlay rows, lat pulls, lawnmower pulls)
Wednesday—Bench Press and Overhead Press (Compliments—pushups, dips, ring dips)
Thursday—Deadlift (Compliments—GHD situps, RDLs, Farmer’s carries, vertical jumps, broad jumps, box jumps)
Typically I’m doing heavy weights 75-85% of my 1 rep max for 2 reps for 6 or 7 sets. I will then incorporate a bodyweight movement that compliments the weighted movement
For instance, if I’m doing weighted pull-ups for my strength sessions that day, then for the conditioning piece I may do double unders and negative pull-ups or run 400 meters and do regular pull-ups.
Rest to work ratio during this period was 1 rest day for every 3 work days. In the cycle above, you’ll see four days with weight training, which leaves me with two days of training to fill. 1 of those empty days will be my long run. The other I will do a workout that is strictly bodyweight calisthenics. Usually this is high volume, high repetitions with some type of conditioning component mixed in.
For instance Saturday may look like—25 minute AMRAP of 15 pull-ups, 20 step ups, 25 situps, run 300 meters. Rest 5 minutes then 1 set of max rep pull-ups.
The Distinguishing Factor:
The number 1 distinguishing factor if you want to PR your Murph or to go sub-30 is your mindset.
You need to purpose it in your mind to bleed for 29:59. That’s it. It’s going to hurt. It’s supposed to. But you can do it. The training will help build your confidence and stimulate to trigger system into doing what you need it to do.
If you can’t don’t go into the workout with this mentality, you’re not going to do it. Bottom line.
Michael Murphy died on the battle field after all. You might as well put yourself through a little bit of suffering to honor the sacrifice.
Work In Progress 