CrossFit provides a method for a personal journey to constantly improve oneself physically, mentally, and spiritually. The intensity of the workouts often makes you question your physical and mental capacity. I heard Greg Amundson say that "The biggest improvement that CrossFit athletes experience is between the ears." The mind can allow us to achieve greatness or cause us to fail. There are only two ways to fail...quit or die.


Since starting CrossFit I have always had a deep appreciation for the Hero WODs. I grew up on various Military Bases as my Father served in the USMC as a helicopter pilot. I remember when we got the news of a helicopter crash involving his squadron while lifting off from a carrier off the coast of Okinowa. He lost good friends, most of which had their families living in Hawaii while they were deployed. I remember seeing these families pack up and move back to the mainland. I often wonder what happened to the children.


I was introduced to CrossFit by a fellow Police Officer back in 2005. "Fight gone bad" on my first day? Really Rochet? Well, I was hooked. "Murphy" came to be my favorite workout. I remember the days when every six months or so we would see a new Hero WOD. Now, I think it's almost three a month. I went to "Randy" Simmons funeral. (Hero Workout #10). I was a new SWAT officer myself at the time and was taken back at how he died. More so, I was incredibly moved by what type of man he was outside of law enforcement. He left two children behind that loved and admired their father. He led a group of inner city youth from his Church who were left without a great mentor.


My personal desire to become a better husband, father, and find some inner peace pushed me to find a way to appreciate life and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and to those left behind. Since opening my own CrossFit affiliate with my wife in 2009, I have missed completing many of the new Hero WODS. The Challenge I came up with for myself was to complete all the Hero WODs, as prescribed, in the order they were posted. To add to the challenge, I decided I would do one Hero WOD a day, six days a week, resting on Sundays. When I started the challenge there were 50 Hero WODS.

20110312

Wednesday - February 16th, 2011


In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, NY, who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.  This workout was one of Mike's favorites and he'd named in 'Body Armor.' From here it will be referred to as 'Murph' in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve the great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.

First posted 18 August 2005





Day 3 of the Hero WOD Challenge

"Murph"
 1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run

with a 20 pound vest

Time: 36 min 30 seconds (New PR)

My wife thinks it's a bad idea to be doing 6 Hero WODs per week.  It's day three and I'm feeling really good even after the past two days.  Hit this one as hard as I could, mainly because it's my favorite WOD and I need to keep up the intensity. Set a new PR by over a minute.
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