As PWR LIFT is building deeper connections within our fitness communities, we recognize that active military members, veterans, and their friends and family are a large part of these groups. We wanted to find a way to honor the dedication and sacrifice of those who embody the idea of hard work more than anyone, and one of the best ways we could show our appreciation was to participate in MURPH on Memorial Day.
What Is MURPH?
MURPH is a workout challenge named after Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who sacrificed himself in combat in order to save the lives of his comrades. Every year on Memorial Day, gyms across the country take this brutal workout and make it into a challenge for their members as a way to show appreciation to those who serve or have served in the armed forces. The workout consists of:
- 1 mile run
- 100 pull-ups
- 200 push-ups
- 300 squats
- 1 mile run
How Did We Get Involved?
This Memorial Day, we partnered with U.S. VETS, the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to American veterans, to host MURPH in seven different cities across the country. For each event, we donated $1,000 to U.S. VETS, which will help fuel wellness, fitness, and mental health programming for veterans. We also teamed up with brand partners GORUCK, Ice Barrel, and Ten Thousand to offer event support and prizing.
What Were the Results?
Here is a breakdown of the partner gyms in each city and the overall participation:
- Austin, TX - Squatch Frontier Fitness
- Houston, TX - Skyline CrossFit
- Denver, CO - V23
- Phoenix, AZ - CrossFit Octane
- New York, NY - CrossFit Union Square
- New Rochelle, NY - The Body Blueprint
- Philadelphia, PA - CrossFit West Chester
- Total participants: 756
Anyone who couldn’t make it out to one of these gyms was able to participate online and tag us on social, and the online challenge was a huge success as well—200 people across the country completed MURPH and tagged @drinkpwrlift. For every online participant, we donated $20, and we ended up raising an additional $4,000 for U.S. VETS and their veteran-focused programming.
And, as usual, we wanted to make sure our hydration worked just as hard as all of our MURPH challengers, so we donated 100 percent of our PWR LIFT gross profits from Memorial Day Weekend as well, bringing our grand total of money raised to $13,000 for U.S. VETS!
Looking Forward
Special shoutout to all of the participants who showed out this Memorial Day and crushed the MURPH challenge in honor of Lt. Murphy and all of our other incredible military members and veterans. It was truly a special day, and we couldn’t help but feel inspired and uplifted by the supportive fitness communities that we’re so lucky to be a part of. Until next year’s MURPH, keep an eye out for other ways you can get involved with PWR LIFT and military communities within the greater fitness world.