5 Considerations to Determine the Best Murph Strategy For You

In the CrossFit community, the United States’ Memorial Day is virtually synonymous with Murph — the “Hero Workout” created to honor the legacy of U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy, who died in the line of duty in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005.

Murph has proven to be a popular workout beyond the CrossFit community. Perhaps because it is a challenging full-body fitness test that can also be adapted to any fitness or skill level. Like the best CrossFit workouts, it is not just a physical test; it also requires mental stamina and strategic planning.

With the focus on Murph comes the inevitable debates and dilemmas about whether to partition the workout’s 600 reps, and, if so, how to partition it.

This year, I did Murph for my second time, using a different strategy than I did first time.

In this post, I’ll break down the two approaches I used and how they worked, offer some insights into what to consider when you’re planning your workout — or any big project in your life outside the gym.

Roadmap

In case you want to skip ahead, here’s a roadmap for this post:

• What is the Murph Workout?
• Murph Strategies
• My Experience: Comparing 2024 and 2025
• 5 Considerations to Determine the Best Murph Strategy For You
• The Most Important Thing

What is the Murph Workout?

In case you’re unfamiliar with it, Murph is a workout done “for time” that consists of the following:

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

This workout is simple on paper, but challenging in practice. It involves basic movements that everyone should be able to do at some level, and that involve all body parts, making it an excellent test of physical fitness.

You can adapt it to any fitness level by scaling the movements or even cut down the volume. And you can make it more challenging by adding a weighted vest.

Strategy Component

Murph isn’t just a physical test, however. Like many of the best CrossFit benchmark WODS, it’s also a strategic challenge. The workout seems simple on paper, but the real challenge of it is in implementation. If you’re going to get through it without breaking apart, you’ll need a strategy.

And I love a strategy game.

Murph also offers lessons that you can apply to your work outside the gym.

Murph Strategies

Straight Through

The highest-level athletes often do the workout “straight through,” meaning that they complete all of one movement before moving on to the next movement. Even if you’re breaking the reps into smaller sets, it’s still entails a high level of muscle endurance.

The official CrossFit instructions specify that athletes should partition the reps in whatever way works for them, and most athletes take this approach.

Partitioning means that you do multiple rounds of a circuit consisting of pull-ups, push-ups, and squats until you complete all the reps of each. This approach allows you to rest one muscle group while working a different muscle.

Partition Options

Once you’ve decided to partition, the strategic game becomes how to split up the reps.

Here are some of the most popular options I’ve seen, with numbers indicating pull-ups, push-ups, and squats, respectively:

• 5 Rounds of 20–40–60
• 10 Rounds of 10–20–30
• 20 Rounds of 5–10–15
• 25 Rounds of 4–8–12
• 33 Rounds of 3–6–9 plus 1 Round of 1–2–3
• 50 Rounds of 2–4–6

There are also variations on these general rep schemes. For example, some people like the 20 rounds of 5–10–15, but they break up the push-ups into 2 sets of 5, with 5 before the squats and 5 after the squats. This can help manage the push-ups, which are the limiter for many people.

Which rep scheme is best for any athlete depends on many factors. Based on my experience in 2024 and 2025, I came up with several factors to consider in making your decision.

Breakdown of My Murph Workouts

First, here’s a comparison overview of my experience from 2024 and 2025.

2024: 5–10–15 Method

In 2024 I did my first Murph, using the common strategy of partitioning to 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats. I started without support for pull-ups and set up a band in case I needed to scale, but I was able to complete all the movements without scaling the pull-ups.

• Rounds 1–2: 5 pull-ups unbroken
• Rounds 3–5: I broke the pull-ups 3/2.
• Rounds 6–20: I did 5 quick singles each round
• All rounds: I split the pushups 5/5, with a brief push back to child’s pose to rest between sets.
• I did the runs on the treadmill. I don’t recall my exact splits, but to my recollection my 1st mile was around 9 minutes and the second was around 11 minutes.

Total time: 71:52

2025: 3–6–9 Method

In 2025, I came to Murph with a different body. I had my knee immobilized in March, and since then I’ve been rehabbing to regain full range of motion. I haven’t been running or biking, and I’ve slowly been re-introducing squats. Although my knee is getting better, I am still not allowed to kneel. That meant I needed to find an approach to managing the push-ups that did not require me to rest on my knees.

I decided to try the 3–6–9 strategy, which involves 33 rounds of 3 pull-ups, 6 push-ups, and 9 squats, plus a final round of 1–2–3. I figured this would help me manage the volume in a way I could keep moving and also not force too many squats at once.

Here’s how it went:

• Rounds 1–17: I got 3 pull-ups without dropping from the bar. In full transparency, not all of these pull-ups were qualified chin-over-bar reps.
• Rounds 18–26: I switched to fast singles. I hit failure on the 3rd pull-up in Round 26.
• Rounds 27–34: I switched to banded support for the pull-ups, with a resistance band around the squat rack j-hooks.
• I didn’t break up the pushups.
• I did not hit full-depth on the squats, because I’m still rehabilitating my knee.

I ran on the treadmill for the first time in months, and my runs were slow. The first mile was just over 13 minutes and the second mile was just over 15 minutes. For context, I can walk a mile faster than 15 minutes.

Total time 64:23

5 Considerations to Determine the Best Murph Strategy For You

Here are some of my observations and takeaways from my Murph experiences, with some guidance on how to consider the best strategy for you.

(1) Consider Your Personal Goal

Because Murph is a workout done “for time,” most people assume that the goal is simply to get the fastest time you can. But that might not be your goal. All things being equal, I would like a faster time, but I also wanted to see where I was with my pull-ups. I would have taken 100 good unassisted pull-ups in a longer time over the faster time I achieved.

While I can celebrate the fact that I ran two miles after months of not running, and that I persevered, I’m disappointed that I hit failure on the pull-ups.

Takeaway: As with any endeavor, the best strategy for you depends on your personal goal.

As with any endeavor, the best strategy for you depends on your personal goal.

(2) Consider Your Muscle Capacity

Doing the 3–6–9 method made the rounds move faster, but that might have worked against me. Perhaps because they went faster I was back on the pull-ups without as much time to rest. As a result, my pull-ups fatigued quickly and I hit failure. This was a huge disappointment.

It’s important to consider your overall capacity and how much time you need to refresh your muscles for the next set. If you know you can do a high volume of pull-ups unbroken, and you’re going for a faster time, then smaller sets might indeed be a winning strategy for you.

I’m not sure this strategy works as well if you’re breaking up the movements into small sets to accommodate a smaller capacity. In that case, it may be better to break up a bigger set into smaller subsets with a moment of rest between.

Incorporating strategic rest within larger sets can help you sustain your muscle capacity for longer. For example, you might do better with a 4–8–12 scheme in which you break up the pull-ups 2/2 and the push-ups 5/3.

Takeaway: When approaching a high volume of work, consider your personal capacity for how much you can do at once. Incorporate strategic rest within a work block to avoid hitting failure.

When approaching a high volume of work, consider your personal capacity for how much you can do at once. Incorporate strategic rest within a work block to avoid hitting failure.

(3) Consider What Pace You Can Sustain

Another consideration with faster rounds is that the faster you move through the rounds of bodyweight movements, the more the they turn into cardio.

How long can you sustain a workout with an elevated heart rate before it impacts muscle fatigue?

Relative to many CrossFit workouts, which are often “sprints” of under 20 minutes, Murph is a marathon. Even the fastest people take at least 30 minutes to complete it. You need to find a pace that you can sustain for a longer duration. That may require moving slower and pausing more for rest.

You can’t sprint a marathon.

Partitioning the reps into higher volume sets with strategic rest between might seem slower, but it can also be more sustainable. You don’t want to hit a wall.

As the Marines say, slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

Takeaway: When approaching a high volume of work, consider what pace you can sustain for the duration.

When approaching a high volume of work, consider what pace you can sustain for the duration.

(4) Consider Your Transitions

Generally speaking, both in workouts and in daily life, minimizing transitions is the best way to stay efficient. That said, not all transitions are created equal. Some work for you and some work against you.

In 2024, I did the push-ups and squats a few feet from the pull-up bar. That entailed walking away from the rig and back to the rig — time that wasn’t otherwise productive.

I also broke up each set of 10 pushups into 2 mini sets of 5 and rested on the floor between sets. That rest proved to be helpful transition time.

In 2025, I did the pushups and squats directly under the pull-up bar. I came off the bar, put my hands down, and stepped back into my push-up position. When I stepped forward, I planted my feet, stood up, and started the squats. No extra movements. That’s efficiency and a good way to cut extra time.

On the other hand, doing a rep scheme with so many rounds involved more transitions from standing to the floor and from the floor to standing — which is effectively a burpee each time. Those extra movements create fatigue and earn no “credit” toward the movement.

This is a crucial point to consider if you’re contemplating a strategy that breaks up the movements to 5 pull-ups, 5 push-ups, 15 squats, 5 push-ups: remember that each time you hit the floor for pushups you’re adding extra arm and leg work on the way down and up. You might be better served by resting on the floor instead.

Takeaway: Not all transitions are created equal. Transitions that expend extra energy don’t serve you, while those that give you a moment of rest can be helpful. Be mindful of whether the transition helps or hurts your outcome.

Not all transitions are created equal. Be mindful of whether the transition helps or hurts your outcome.

(5) Consider the Mental Load

Like any big undertaking, Murph is not just about physical or muscular endurance; it’s also a test of mental fitness. Don’t underestimate the toll of the mental load when you’re facing a large number of rounds.

In a workout with many rounds, I keep track by writing out the numbers on a white board and erasing a number after each round. Other people use poker chips.

Tackling 34 rounds felt like a much bigger mountain to climb than 20 rounds — even if the work per round was less. When I was 14 rounds in and still had 20 left to go, my brain wasn’t thinking about the volume of each round; it just knew that I was tired and still wasn’t even halfway through.

Each time I completed a round I felt like I had barely chipped away at the total. The feeling like it’s going to take forever to get to the finish line can also create fatigue.

Takeaway: When breaking up a big task into smaller chunks, don’t underestimate the mental load. Find a middle ground between a volume that allows you to chip away slowly and also helps you feel like you’re making progress.

When breaking up a big task into smaller chunks, don’t underestimate the mental load.

The Most Important Thing

Murph is a great way to test your fitness, and it helps us remember a soldier who gave his life for our country, but it’s also supposed to be fun. Find a way to approach it that leaves you feeling good about your efforts. Whether you walk the miles or do only half, remember that you’re winning just by moving your body.