Crossfit Palm Bay

TWO OR THREE YEARS NEAR THE JOB DOESN’T MAKE YOU AN EXPERT IN THE LONG-TERM COST OF THE JOB.

Most first responders are training backwards.

The problem is that the job isn’t a fitness test. The job doesn’t happen in a controlled environment. The job doesn’t start when you’re fully recovered. The job doesn’t care how fast you can move through a standardized workout.

And a lot of coaches programming for first responders have very little real exposure to what the job actually demands. Two or three years around the job is not enough to fully understand the physical cost of doing it for a career.

So the training ends up looking good on paper. Hard workouts. Fast times. Sweat. Clean movement standards.

But the job is rarely clean.

It demands awkward carries, dragging, lifting, climbing, sprinting, getting up and down, and making decisions while fatigued.

It demands durability.

It demands strength that transfers outside the gym. Nothing wrong with fitness. But fitness should support the mission. The mission shouldn’t support the fitness. Train for the demands of the job first.

Everything else is secondary.

A coach’s job is to protect people first, then protect the standards.

That can be a hard conversation. Nobody loves hearing “not today,” especially when they showed up ready to prove something.

But good coaching is not just pushing harder. It is knowing when to pull someone back so they can keep training tomorrow, next week, and next year.

Anybody can yell “send it.”
A real coach cares enough to say, “not like that.”

A few weeks ago, I caught some heat for saying HYROX didn’t invent conditioning. I still stand by that.

HYROX packaged conditioning really well. Clean format. Easy to understand. Lower barrier to entry. Good for them.

But now I’m seeing “HYROX MURPH” workouts, and that’s where I’m out.

MURPH is a memorial.
HYROX is a race.

Before it was called MURPH, it was reportedly Lt. Michael Murphy’s own workout. He called it “Body Armor.”

When people do MURPH, they’re not just doing a hard workout. They’re taking part in a tradition tied to a man who gave everything in service to this country.

So no, I don’t think you swap the workout for whatever format is popular right now and keep the name.

That doesn’t sit right with me.

And yes, I already know the comeback!
“Not everyone can do MURPH RX.”Correct. That’s why scaling exists.

Take the vest off. Cut the volume. Partner it. Use ring rows. Use bands. Adjust the reps. That still keeps MURPH intact.

Replacing it with HYROX stations and HYROX movements is not scaling. That’s a different workout using the MURPH name. Make a HYROX-style memorial workout if you want. Make a station-based tribute. Make something hard and meaningful.

But don’t call it MURPH if you removed MURPH. A hard workout doesn’t automatically become a Hero WOD.

A popular race format doesn’t get to rewrite a tradition or its meaning.

MURPH is remembrance.
HYROX is a race.

As we come together for MURPH this Memorial Day, we want to keep the focus where it belongs,on remembrance, respect, and honoring LT Michael P. Murphy’s legacy.

For anyone who feels moved to give, there will be a QR code available at the gym to donate directly to the LT Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation.

There is absolutely no pressure to donate. We are not collecting money at the gym. The QR code is simply there for anyone who would like to support the foundation directly.

MURPH means a lot to many people, and this is one small way we can honor LT Michael P. Murphy, his sacrifice, his family, and the legacy that continues in his name.

Thank you to everyone showing up, participating, supporting, cheering, volunteering, or just being part of the day.

It matters.

See you Monday.

Home - Murph Foundation LT Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation Scholarships About LT Michael P. Murphy About the Foundation The LT Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation was started in 2007 by Michael’s parents, Dan and Maureen, and Michael’s brother John. Michael was an avid reader and felt th...