What is the Murph for beginners?

Author: Grover Kub MD  |  Last update: Thursday, July 31, 2025

The Murph challenge is an intense workout that starts with a 1 mile run, followed by 100 pullups, 200 pushups, and 300 squats. To cross the finish line, you complete another 1 mile run. The Murph requires just a pullup bar (but can be adjusted for those who can't yet do pullups), and challenges your whole body.

What is a good murph time for a beginner?

What is a 'Good' MURPH Time? What's considered a good time is relative to the exerciser. If you're a beginner, less than 60 minutes is considered a good finish time. For exercisers who are advanced, you'll want to complete it in less than 45 minutes, and for elite athletes, less than 35 minutes.

What is murph workout for beginners?

The murph is a 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups and 300 squats and another 1 mile run. The original WOD requires doing this with a weighted vest. For beginners, its better to start off with a mini murph ie cut the bodyweight exercises in half and then ramp up from there.

How to break up murph for beginners?

a) Divide the exercises into rounds

So if you can do a maximum of 10 push-ups and 5 pull-ups at a time (unexhausted), simply divide the exercises into 20 rounds. Then 5 pull-ups followed by 10 push-ups and 15 squats are completed and the whole thing is repeated 20 times.

How long does it take to do a murph?

Elite: A good time for an elite athlete would be under 30 minutes. Average Gym Athlete: For an average gym athlete, a good time would be between 35-50 minutes. Beginner: For a beginner, a good time would be anything under 75 minutes.

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Why is the Murph so hard?

The Murph workout is challenging because it stresses most major muscle groups: the back and shoulder muscles with the pull ups, the chest with the push ups, and the legs and torso with the squats.

How many calories do you burn in the Murph?

On average, you're looking at burning anywhere from 500 to 800 calories.

Is Murph strict pull-ups?

What types of pull ups are in Murph? Any pull-up variation is acceptable; providing you begin (or pass through) under the bar with straight arms and finish the rep with your chin above the bar. This can be achieved with strict pull-ups, kipping pull-ups or butterfly pull-ups.

Can you do the Murph without training?

If you have never done 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats in a workout, don't try it out of the blue, and certainly do not add weight to the repetitions. The Murph without a weight vest requires an advanced level of fitness. The added 20-pound weight vest just makes it even harder.

Should you wear running shoes for murph?

They ensure your feet are supported in the best way every step of the way. The shoes you wear matter. Wear running shoes to run.

What are the rules for the Murph?

The Murph challenge is an intense workout that starts with a 1 mile run, followed by 100 pullups, 200 pushups, and 300 squats. To cross the finish line, you complete another 1 mile run. The Murph requires just a pullup bar (but can be adjusted for those who can't yet do pullups), and challenges your whole body.

What should I eat before a Murph?

Carbohydrate-Rich Meal:
  • When: Eat your pre-workout meal 2-3 hours before starting Murph.
  • What: Focus on a meal rich in complex carbohydrates to provide sustained energy. Examples include oatmeal with fruit, a whole-grain bagel with peanut butter and banana, or brown rice with lean protein and vegetables.

How to do the murph for beginners?

How do I complete the Murph workout? As prescribed, Murph is performed for time. It starts with a 1-mile run, followed by a grueling sequence of 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 air squats. The workout concludes with another 1-mile run.

What is a murph wedgie?

But yes, it was a thing. Perhaps regional, as I'm also from California. If I remember correctly, the difference between a wedgie and a murph, is that a wedgie is intentional, usually provided by some bully, whereas a murph just happened naturally, perhaps from, say, wearing tight pants or roughhousing.

How do I prepare for Murph the day before?

How to Warm Up For Murph?
  1. 3 Rounds for Quality:
  2. 10 Push up into Downward Dog (pause in downward dog)
  3. 10 Air Squats with a 3s eccentric.
  4. 10 Kip Swings.
  5. 3 Strict Pull-ups.

What can I replace pull-ups with in Murph?

What Is a Pull-Up Alternative for Murph?
  1. Assisted pull-ups.
  2. Inverted rows.
  3. Pull-downs.
  4. Seated rows.
  5. Kneeling lat pulldowns with resistance bands.

Can you break up reps in Murph?

In Murph, while the run portions must be done as a sandwich around the reps, athletes may break up the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats however they'd like. Spending a bit of time thinking through your rep scheme can help both the newbie and veteran athlete succeed in this workout.

How do you survive the Murph?

If this is your first Murph, make sure you:
  1. - DON'T sprint the first mile. “Imagine trying to PR your mile, then having to finish a 10K race,” he says. ...
  2. - DON'T sprint the first five rounds of calisthenics. “You need to start with a measured pace out of the gate.”
  3. - DON'T wear the weight vest. ...
  4. - DO break up the sets.

How many calories does the murph burn?

Plus the work is bodyweight exercise which isn't going to be as much as moving barbells full of plates. Due to the duration of Murph it's likely that you aren't going as hard as on shorter WOD's either. Assuming a 200 pound athlete, I'd estimate you're in the 600-700 calorie range if you did Murph in 45 minutes.

What is the hardest pull-up to do?

An overhand grip pull-up is the hardest to do, because it places more of the workload on your lats. The wider your grip, the less help your lats get from other muscles, making a rep harder.

Does Murph build muscle?

The Murph Workout also helps to improve strength, power and endurance. The combination of running and bodyweight exercises helps to build lean muscle mass, allowing you to become stronger and more powerful. This can help to improve athletic performance in any activity or sport.

What is considered a good Murph time?

In general, the average Murph time for beginners is 63-80 minutes, so any Murph finish time that's an hour or less would be good for beginners. The average Murph WOD time for intermediates is 50-58 minutes, so a good time for an athlete with a year or two of training experience would be under 50 minutes.

Why is it called the Murph Challenge?

Michael P. Murphy, the first service member to receive the Medal of Honor for service in Afghanistan, during a Memorial Day event on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, May 24, 2015.

Is it possible to do a Murph everyday?

Every single day for 362 days straight (as of publication), Jim Lubonski has put on a 20-pound weighted vest. Then he runs one mile, does 100 pullups, 200 pushups, 300 squats, and follows that with another one mile run. If he's still feeling good, he finishes up by doing his own workout as well.

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