I survived "Murph"

Well, that sucked!

Yesterday was Memorial Day, and since I got sucked into this CrossFit thing, the tradition at our gym is to do a workout called Murph. For those of you not part of the Crossfit craziness there are a ton of what are called benchmark workouts, these are things like "hero" workouts or "the girls," and Murph is possibly the most famous of the hero workouts.

It was named after Lt Michael Murphy a Navy SEAL that gave his life trying to save his platoon (Movie: Lone Survivor). The workout that was submitted to honor him and carry his name was supposedly one of his favorite workouts. Run 1 mile, do 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, 300 squats, Run another mile in a 20lb vest (if you are crazy). To call this a painful workout is generous, it f-ing sucks.

Now at certain times in my life, I have been fit and in shape but most of my 42 years have been in "another" shape... round is a shape damn it! And not even at my fittest would I have believed I could have done 100 pull-ups in a day much less in less than an hour. What makes yesterday even more impressive for me, when I walked into that gym three years ago, I could barely "jog" 200 meters (1/8 of a mile). Yesterday I finished "Murph."

Fitness and athleticism have been a struggle; sometimes a giant kick in the face, and sometimes my only place I have any control in my life by just showing up. But that is how progress and changes are made, just by showing up. Then once you get there, give it some intensity but first GET YOUR ASS THERE.

Now that "there" could be the produce section of Sprouts, or it could be Globo Gym or a yoga class at the local rec center, hell it could be with me at our little gym up in Frisco. I don't care what you do but make a change and start showing up, for yourself mostly. You are worth it, we need you here and we need you healthy.

So my challenge to you is to make a decision that you are going to change a little habit and start showing up for yourself. Start by going for a walk first thing in the morning, eat 6-9 cups of veggies, sign up for a personal trainer. Make a decision and commit to showing up every day for yourself.

What I can promise you when you do show up it isn't going to be pretty, my first "Murph" was horrible (took me an hour and 20 minutes wholly scaled, ring rows, knee pushups). Consistency is the key, keep showing up, and I promise you will see changes across all the aspects of life!