Well, its official, school is over and that means summer time fun has officially begun! We have a long busy summer. As most of you already know, we are moving to Dothan, Alabama next month, so we have a lot to do to get ready for the move, in a very short period of time. Our new home has an in ground pool in the back yard, which will be used a ton once we get there, so we are excited about that! I am excited to be able to incorporate some pool time into my daily sweat sessions, and even be able to use some pool therapy with some of my new clients. So, we have a lot going on. There is one thing I am looking forward to doing before we move, and that is the chance to do ‘MURPH” at my local crossfit box. Some may understand, some may not. Memorial day is next Monday, which is what most consider the official kick off of summertime festivities. Most either don’t realize or are unaware of the actual meaning of this holiday.
Memorial day is a national holiday, which is meant to honor and give thanks to our service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect our freedoms. Fifteen years of war, most of us are connected to it in some form or fashion. You may know someone who has been affected by war in some way, or know a family that has been affected. Memorial day is not a day to thank a Veteran, its a day to thank our Gold star families; those who lost a loved one to war, to remember those individuals and their sacrifice.
As Americans, we celebrate this holiday with cookouts, fun on the lake and good times with friends. Enjoying the nice sunny weather, warmer temperatures and carefree feeling that summer time brings. Which is great, because that means the sacrifice our service men and women gave, will not be in vain. They paid the ultimate price, so that we can live that carefree life our four fathers fought so hard for us to have. With that being said, I am looking forward to participating in Murph this year. For those who are unfamiliar with this workout, let me break it down for you:
1Mile run
100 pullups
200pushups
300 air squats
1 mile run
all while wearing a 20lb weighted vest.
BRUTAL, RIGHT?! That’s what I like. Its a challenge, mentally and physically. This is one of those Workouts that tests your mental strength from the beginning.
“MUPRH”, was named after Lt Micheal Murphy, a US Navy Seal who while under heavy enemy fire for more than 2 hours, risked his life when he exposed himself in order to make radio contact in order to prpvide his teams location for rescue. Its reported that this workout was Lt Murphy’s favorite workout, in his honor, it was named after him.
Murph, normally performed on Memorial day each year, and in the weekends following, crossfit boxes all over the country perfrom a Hero Wod every Saturday for the duration of the summer. This is the communities way of acknowledging and showing love and appreciation for our fallen soldiers. I have had the privilege of completing numerous Hero wods over the past few years, they are excurutating and most represent the Hero in some way. When you get down to the bare bones of these Hero WODS, its about sacrifice, its about pushing through when you think you cant, because the soldiers who are being honored, did just that. They kept going, even in dire circumstances they never gave up. Thats what its all about. Pushing yourself, channeling those brave soldiers who risked their lives for us, they never thought twice, they jumped in, head first and literally gave everything. I am honored to spend my life honoring my fellow brothers and sisters in as many ways as I possibly can. With that, I have decided, following Murph on Memorial day, I will spend every Saturday completing 1 Hero Wod for the duration of the summer, I will dedicate that day to that soldier, I will know his/her story, and I will compelte that Wod in their honor. Scaled, Rx, it doesn’t matter.
I am not currently affiated with a Box at this time, and most likely wont be for awhile, thankfully, I am blessed enough that our soon to be new home has a large enough garage that will be converted into my own little gym, where I will complete these WODS. My plan is to complete each Wod, and then blog about my experience, , my thoughts, feelings, etc while doing so. I am really truly excited about doing this. It will give me a chance to jump back into crossfit ater some time off, give me a chance to work on my weaknesses, and be able to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. SO, HERE IS TO THE SUMMER OF HERO WODS.
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