Me after doing Murph on Memorial Day 2012.
I go to the gym daily, Monday through Saturday. I usually do some strength work and/ or skills practice and then the class. This is my gym routine, and with routines, at least for me, sometimes it is hard to see my progress or how much I have improved since x date, especially if I do it every day.
About a month ago, it came to my attention, how much I have improved in one year. Like most CrossFit gyms, we too did Murph on Memorial Day. Conveniently, the last time we did Murph was also around that time last year (05-07-2011, to be exact). I've done Murph twice since starting CrossFit in January 2011.
I distinctively remember my first time doing Murph, last May, because of three reasons:
About a month ago, it came to my attention, how much I have improved in one year. Like most CrossFit gyms, we too did Murph on Memorial Day. Conveniently, the last time we did Murph was also around that time last year (05-07-2011, to be exact). I've done Murph twice since starting CrossFit in January 2011.
I distinctively remember my first time doing Murph, last May, because of three reasons:
- I finally convinced a couple friends to try CrossFit.
- I got the worst tears ever. It took my hands over a month to completely heal, no joke.
- It was the first workout where I did all the pull-ups as prescribed. This made the tears totally worth it, haha.
2. Jav and I after Murph. May 2011.
3. My rips last year. This picture does not do them justice. The giant one in the middle of my left hand took forever to heal!
The Murph workout. For time:
- 1 mile Run
- 100 Pull-Ups
- 200 Push Ups
- 300 Squats
- 1 mile Run
If you have a 20lb weight vest, wear it. The pull-ups, push ups and squats can be partitioned in any way.
The first time I did this workout, last year, I partitioned the pull-up, push ups, and squats as 20 rounds of Cindy (1 round of Cindy = 5 pull-ups, 10 push ups, 15 air squats). I also did not wear the 20lb weight vest. Screw that, I was so excited to be Rxing pull ups for the first time last year. So this year, as much as I wanted to do it with the weight vest on and in order, I decided to follow the same rep scheme, for comparison purposes. It is the only workout with a year gap in between.
This year, I completed the workout almost TEN minutes faster than last year! Holy cow! I was shocked! My time last year was 46:12 and this year, I did the workout in 36:33! And this is with two hours of sleep the night before.
Some people can't complete this workout. I had no athletic background prior to CrossFit. When I started CrossFit last January, I had a hard time doing pull-ups with the extra thick green band. Last May, I ditched the bands and did Murph, as prescribed, all 100 pull-ups. I struggled through them, but I did them. This year I did unbroken butterfly pull-ups. The next time I do Murph, it will be with a weighted vest. This is corny, but so true: I am getting stronger, faster, better, and healthier, and this is just one example to support that claim.
So whenever you have a bad a day at the gym, or when you feel like you have hit a wall, just remember that for every day you come in, you are getting better, not worse. Progress takes time. Keep coming in. Keep hitting the workouts hard. Keep your movements legit and keep your chin up. Hard work pays off. Record numbers and times on lifts and benchmarks so you can see how you improve. You can't argue with data.
Related Posts: 2013 Goals | 2012 Goals | Jes' CrossFit Beginnings
This year, I completed the workout almost TEN minutes faster than last year! Holy cow! I was shocked! My time last year was 46:12 and this year, I did the workout in 36:33! And this is with two hours of sleep the night before.
Some people can't complete this workout. I had no athletic background prior to CrossFit. When I started CrossFit last January, I had a hard time doing pull-ups with the extra thick green band. Last May, I ditched the bands and did Murph, as prescribed, all 100 pull-ups. I struggled through them, but I did them. This year I did unbroken butterfly pull-ups. The next time I do Murph, it will be with a weighted vest. This is corny, but so true: I am getting stronger, faster, better, and healthier, and this is just one example to support that claim.
So whenever you have a bad a day at the gym, or when you feel like you have hit a wall, just remember that for every day you come in, you are getting better, not worse. Progress takes time. Keep coming in. Keep hitting the workouts hard. Keep your movements legit and keep your chin up. Hard work pays off. Record numbers and times on lifts and benchmarks so you can see how you improve. You can't argue with data.
Related Posts: 2013 Goals | 2012 Goals | Jes' CrossFit Beginnings