Murph Challenge brings pain, purpose to Fort Myers Beach on Memorial Day

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (WINK) — About 50 people spent Memorial Day morning at Margaritaville Beach Resort on Fort Myers Beach, taking on a workout built around pain, reflection, and remembrance.

Hammerhead Gym hosted the Murph Challenge, a Memorial Day fitness tradition dedicated to Lt. Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005. The workout includes a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and another 1-mile run.

For Armand McCormick, owner of Hammerhead Gym and a Marine Corps veteran, the workout is not meant to be just another competition.

“Memorial Day, it’s got a big meaning,” McCormick said. “Most people don’t really celebrate it that way, but essentially, the purpose of this workout on Memorial Day is to basically take it upon yourself to thank those who gave their lives, or sacrificed their lives for us.”

McCormick said the workout gives participants time to reflect on the sacrifice behind the holiday.

“So, I like to tell people it's a time for you just to shut up, be quiet. Just be in your own head and say thank you,” McCormick said.

Cade Logan, an Army infantry veteran, said the workout was difficult, but that was the point.

“It’s nothing compared to those who gave everything for us,” Logan said. “So, it’s the least we could do to come out here and suffer a little bit.”

For Logan, seeing people from outside the military community participate was part of what made the morning special.

“Reminds me that everyone’s sacrifice was for a reason,” Logan said. “I love to see the support. I love the community. And this is what being American is all about.”