3 Beginner-Friendly Tips to Survive Your First Murph Workout – and Build Serious Bodyweight Strength

The Murph is one of the most iconic workouts in fitness. The WOD has become a permanent fixture in the training calendar, evolving into a Memorial Day tradition that extends far beyond the CrossFit and military communities that first embraced it. Now, fitness fans of all levels pull on weighted vests to run, pull, press and squat their way through the brutal challenge – both to test themselves and pay tribute to military personnel.

If you’re taking on your first Murph this year, the standard version of the workout might feel intimidating. That’s perfectly normal. People of all experience levels attempt the WOD every Memorial Day, and the key is finding the right way to approach it for your current fitness level.

To help, we turned to Erik Bartell, ACE – a former Army officer and fitness coach. Bartell says completing your first Murph is entirely achievable – provided you keep three key tips in mind.

1/ Scale the Workout

The Murph is tough however you approach it. Here’s the standard format:

The Murph Workout

• 1-mile run
• 100 pull-ups
• 200 push-ups
• 300 squats
• 1-mile run

That’s 600 reps plus two miles of running. If you’re attempting the workout RX (CrossFit terminology for completing the workout exactly as prescribed), you’ll also wear a 9-10kg weighted vest.

For beginners, that’s likely to be too much. Instead, scale the workout by ditching the vest and breaking up the reps into manageable chunks rather than attempting them all in sequence.

‘Do 10 rounds of each exercise,’ Bartell advises. That would look like:

• 10 pull-ups
• 20 press-ups
• 30 squats

You can also create your own structure if needed. For example, lowering the number of pull-ups per set can make the session feel far more manageable.

‘It’ll stop the workout feeling overwhelming,’ Bartell says.

2/ Start with a Half Murph

The full Murph involves a huge amount of volume. To build up gradually, Bartell recommends starting with half the total reps first:

• Half-mile run
• 50 pull-ups
• 100 push-ups
• 150 squats
• Half-mile run

Even at half volume, the workout will still challenge most first-timers while giving you a useful rehearsal before attempting the full version.

3/ Train with More Pull-Ups Than You Need

For most people, the hardest part of the Murph is the 100 pull-ups. Almost everyone – not just beginners – will need to scale them in some way.

To make the workout feel more manageable on the day, Bartell recommends making your training harder than the event itself by doubling the number of pull-ups you intend to perform per set.

If you plan to complete the workout in 10 rounds of 10 pull-ups, aim for 20 reps during training. If your sets are five reps during the workout, practise sets of 10 instead.

Even if you fail occasionally, you’re preparing your muscles to keep working when fatigue hits.