Memorial Day is for remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
As Americans honor the day in their own ways, people across the country will be participating in a tough fitness challenge honoring fallen Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy.
The challenge, known as “the Murph,” consists of a variety of strength training and cardio activities, which Murphy himself used to complete during SEAL training.
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Murphy’s former SEAL roommate, Kaj Larsen, told Fox News Digital how he also participated in these workouts, which have turned into a national movement of patriotism.
“Murph and I would often run to the pull-up bars and then do this workout where we did 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 air squats, and then we’d run back to our barracks room,” Larsen said.
Lt. Michael P. Murphy, shown at right in a photo from Afghanistan, did “the Murph” workout while in SEAL training. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images; iStock)
“The total run was about a mile to the pull-up bars and a mile back, and this became one of Murph’s favorite workouts.”
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Murphy would often wear his body armor as a challenge, originally calling the workout “Body Armor.”
Now, tens of thousands of people on Memorial Day complete “the Murph.”
Murphy, left, of New York and Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson of California sit in Afghanistan on June 8, 2005. Murphy and Axelson were assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and were killed by enemy forces during a reconnaissance mission, Operation Red Wing, on June 28, 2005. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
“It’s a really beautiful way to honor him,” Larsen said. “Murph would have loved the idea of thousands of people sacrificing through sweat. That was right up his alley.”
He added, “He loved working out. And I think he’s smiling down on us as he sees us all doing one of his favorite workouts.”
“Murph would have loved the idea of thousands of people sacrificing through sweat.”
The classic Murph consists of the following exercises, in order or broken up:
- one-mile run
- 100 pull-ups
- 200 push-ups
- 300 air squats
- another one-mile run
Murphy and Larsen would often do the workout with a 20-pound weighted vest, which is optional.
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For those looking to attempt the Murph this Memorial Day, Larsen said there is “no one way” to do it.
While some people train all year for the Murph, modifications are acceptable.
This can include partitioning the reps of push-ups, pull-ups and squats into sets, or subbing out pull-ups for jumping pull-ups or assisted pull-ups with a band. The runs can also be walked, Larsen noted.
While some people train all year for the Murph, modifications are acceptable. (iStock)
“The point is to do something hard that challenges yourself in recognition and honor of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “And if you do that, you have done the Murph.”
Act of heroism
Larsen, currently head of military investing and communications at Siebert.Valor, the military arm of Siebert Financial, spent 13 years in Naval Special Warfare as a SEAL and left the military at the rank of lieutenant commander.
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The veteran spent his rookie years with Murphy, who joined through Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL Training (BUDS) in 2001.
SEAL Officer Murphy, the son of a New York firefighter who is originally from Long Island, was part of a team that specialized in long distance and special reconnaissance.
SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy sits on the ground in Afghanistan on May 20, 2005. Murphy was part of a team that specialized in long distance and special reconnaissance. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
In 2005, during his first combat deployment to Afghanistan, Murphy was part of Operation Red Wings, designed to go after a senior-level Taliban operative, Larsen described.
The operation has been memorialized as one of the greatest losses in Naval Special Warfare history.
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Murphy’s team was compromised, overwhelmed by superior forces as a firefight broke out. There were no survivors except for one SEAL, Marcus Luttrell.
A Quick Reaction Force (QRF) helicopter with eight SEALs flew in to support the SEALs on the ground, Larsen said.
Navy veteran Marcus Luttrell, at right, wrote the book “Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10.” (Michael P. Farrell/Albany Times Union via Getty Images; Nick de la Torre/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
This helicopter arrived due to Murphy’s moment of heroism, where he exposed himself to “excessive enemy fire” to reach radio communication, Larsen recalled.
“He got up on top of a boulder, which was the only place that he could make comms to call in the quick reaction force,” he said. “This ended up saving the life of Marcus Luttrell.”
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“Mike was killed on June 28, 2005, in Afghanistan. They identified him in part because underneath his uniform, he was wearing a New York Fire Department T-shirt – FDNY T-Shirt – as a tribute to his dad, Daniel Murphy.”
Murphy received the Medal of Honor for his actions that day, and the U.S. Navy commissioned a battleship named the USS Michael Murphy.
Operation Red Wings has since been immortalized in a book by Marcus Luttrell and in the movie “Lone Survivor” starring Mark Wahlberg.
A museum in Murphy’s honor was also built in his hometown of West Sayville, New York.
“The Murph is hard, and it’s designed to be hard.”
Murphy’s workout was also picked up after his death by the CrossFit community, which turned it into a “massive cultural movement,” Larsen said.
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“The Murph is hard, and it’s designed to be hard,” he added.
“And I, for one, just appreciate everybody continuing to keep Murph and other soldiers like him who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in their hearts and in their minds.”
Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.
