Half / Murph

These are without a vest. Add roughly 3 to 5 minutes to each band if you wear one. Getting under 20 minutes unvested is a sensible sign you are ready for full Murph.

Most fast athletes split the 50, 100 and 150 into 10 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 air squats, the same scheme as Cindy. Each round is short enough that no single movement gets near failure, and your shoulders get a break every 30 seconds.

Doing all the pull-ups, then all the push-ups, then all the squats only pays off if your push-up endurance is exceptional. Run the first 800m at a conversational pace, around 85% of your best, and spend whatever is left on the second.

Murph is named for Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005. He trained a version of it he called Body Armor, and it became the best-known Hero WOD and a Memorial Day tradition. Full Murph doubles everything: a 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats and a 1 mile run, with a 20lb vest for the prescribed version.

Half Murph keeps the shape and halves the volume, which makes it safer in the heat and realistic for far more people. Build up through Cindy, a quarter Murph (400m, 25, 50, 75, 400m), Half Murph, full Murph unvested and, after a clean full Murph under 50 minutes, the vest. Scale the movements before the volume: banded pull-ups, push-ups from the knees or box squats all keep the 50, 100 and 150.

Most Half Murph attempts go wrong in the same few places.

• Running the first 800m too fast. It feels easy, then the pull-ups arrive with your breathing already high. Run it at a pace you could chat at.
• Saving the push-ups for last. Push-ups fail first for most people, so keep them in small sets from the start of the partition.
• Changing the partition halfway through. Pick one scheme, such as 10 rounds of 5, 10 and 15, and stick to it.
• Skipping water in the heat. Half Murph is popular on hot days; have a drink ready by the bar.
• Adding the vest too soon. Get comfortably under 20 minutes without it first.

If Half Murph is well beyond the volume you normally train, start smaller. A quarter Murph or Cindy builds the same shape with less risk.