CrossFit Mt. Juliet goes Murph‑prep

CrossFit gyms always build toward something. Right now, at CrossFit Mt. Juliet, that something is Murph. The gym’s programming on Tuesday, May 12, and Wednesday, May 13, makes that pretty plain — both days are labeled under a “Memorial Day Murph Challenge 2026” banner, and both pair strength work with the kind of volume and movement patterns that show up in late-May prep. ### What changed this week? The clearest shift is that Murph is no longer just implied — it is named. The May 12 post opened with merch for “MURPH T’s & Tanks” and slotted athletes into a new cycle featuring strict press every 1:15, then dumbbell front and lateral raises after a warmup of pull-up-rack holds, dumbbell deadlifts, overhead walking lunges, and a 100-meter jog. The May 13 post kept the same Murph branding and moved into deadlift waves, banded deadlifts, tall box jumps, and extra strict toes-to-bar work. (crossfitmtjuliet.com) ### Why does that look like Murph prep? Because Murph is basically a long grind of pulling, pushing, squatting, and running. The standard version is a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, then another 1-mile run. CrossFit says gyms across its network program it on Memorial Day to honor Lt. Michael Murphy, and the official 2026 challenge says its training block began on April 13. So when a local gym starts layering shoulder endurance, grip work, lunging, jogging, and repeat strength exposures under a Murph label in mid-May, that is not subtle. (crossfitmtjuliet.com) ### Why the strict press first? Strict press is not part of Murph itself, but it trains the same weak link a lot of athletes hit — shoulder fatigue. Push-ups and pull-ups do not fail only because lungs give out. They fail because the shoulders and upper back start leaking tension rep after rep. A wave that climbs from 40% to 55% in short intervals is a clean way to build force without turning the day into a max-out. Then the front raises and lateral raises pile on local fatigue. (crossfit.com) That is a classic “durability first” choice. ### Why the lunges and deadlifts? Murph uses air squats, not loaded hinges or overhead carries. But the point of prep is not to cosplay the exact workout every day. Dumbbell deadlifts build posterior-chain stamina. Overhead walking lunges force trunk stability and single-leg control when tired. Box jumps on the next day add more elastic leg work. Think of it like overbuilding the chassis so bodyweight volume feels less chaotic later. (crossfitmtjuliet.com) ### Why keep the runs short? Because early prep often sneaks conditioning into warmups and mixed pieces instead of dropping the full 2-mile total on people every session. The 100-meter jog on May 12 is tiny by itself, but it keeps the run pattern in the day without blowing up the strength piece. That matters in a class setting, where coaches are balancing Murph prep with members who still need normal weekly training. (crossfitmtjuliet.com) ### Is this just one gym? No — the bigger pattern is that Murph season has its own calendar now. CrossFit calls the workout a long-standing Memorial Day tradition observed by thousands of gyms, and the official challenge runs a dedicated 6-week prep track. Mt. Juliet’s posts fit neatly into that window. ### So what’s the takeaway? CrossFit Mt. Juliet did not just post a random upper-body day. (crossfitmtjuliet.com) It flipped into an explicit Murph block, then reinforced it the very next day. Basically, the gym is telling members that Memorial Day is the target now — and training has shifted from general fitness toward being ready for that specific test. (crossfit.com)