Memorial Day: Honor Through Effort – The Story Behind Murph

This episode is not about workouts—it’s about warriors.

Memorial Day is more than a long weekend. It’s a time to honor the men who gave everything for our freedom. In this episode, I share a personal story about Navy SEALs Michael Murphy and Danny Dietz—brothers I knew, trained with, and lost.

You’ll learn the meaning behind the infamous Murph workout and why it's become a powerful way to pay tribute to the fallen. This is not just about physical effort. It’s about digging deep, pushing through pain, and giving your all—because they did.

Inside my Highly Effective Man Inner Circle, we’re taking on Murph this Saturday—not for time, but for purpose.

If you’ve ever needed a reason to push harder, train with heart, or remember what matters most, this is the episode.

Make it count. For them. For us.

Resources:

• Book: Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell
• Workout: Murph – 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, 1 mile run (vest optional)
• Join the Inner Circle: [insert your link]

Connect with JP:
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Send us a text

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the Highly Effective man podcast hosted by
former Navy SEAL turned lifeand fitness coach.
I'm your host, jp Bolwan.
This podcast is your resourcefor unlocking the healthiest,
most productive and highlyeffective man within you.
Let's go what's up, guys?

(00:36):
Welcome back to the HighlyEffective man.
This episode is going to bedifferent.
It's not going to be abouttactics and it's not going to be
about habits.
Today, with it being MemorialDay, it's about honor, it's
about sacrifice and it's aboutdoing something hard for
somebody who can't.
Memorial Day isn't just anotherlong weekend.
It's a day that brings up a lotof emotions, and not just for

(00:57):
me but many others who've wornthe uniform.
I've lost brothers, some incombat and some after the war
ended, all of them warriors, allof them heroes.
One of the names I carry withme every year is Danny Dietz.
He was a close friend of mine.
He actually met his wife at ahouse party that we were having

(01:19):
in Virginia Beach back in theday, but Danny was on that
mission in Afghanistan with NavySEAL Lieutenant Michael Murphy
and two other guys.
Their position was compromised,they were surrounded and they
had to fight like hell to thevery end.
Only one man made it out andthat's Marcus Luttrell.
And you might have read thebook or seen the movie Lone

(01:41):
Survivor, but this story it'snot fiction, it's not fucking
Hollywood, it's real.
I knew those guys and I trainedwith them, I laughed with them,
I knew the guys that were goingafter them to try and help
rescue them and got shot down.
And now I remember them.

(02:10):
There's a workout that manypeople do on Memorial Day called
Murph.
It's named after LieutenantMichael Murphy, who was
posthumously awarded the Medalof Honor for his bravery.
The workout is one mile run,100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300
air squats and then another mile.

(02:31):
And if you wanted to take it toanother level, you can do it
with a 20-pound vest, becausethat's to simulate carrying your
body armor.
And this isn't about PRs, it'snot about impressing anyone,
it's just about remembering.
It's about honoring warriorswho never come home and by doing

(02:54):
something difficult, somethingthat demands effort, grit and
heart, because they gaveeverything.
Inside my coaching group, theHighly Effective Men Inner
Circle, we're taking on Murphtogether this Saturday, not to
check a box, but to stand sideby side in spirit and give

(03:15):
everything we got.
We're not just chasing numbers,we're chasing meaning, we're
pushing through the paintogether to pay tribute to the
ones who can't.
And you don't have to be a NavySEAL to do MRF.
You don't even have to finishit unbroken.
But if you're a man ofprinciple and you believe in

(03:38):
honoring those who made theultimate sacrifice, then you
give it your all.
That's the only requirement.
You show up, you put in thework and when your legs and your
lungs are screaming, youremember this pain is nothing
compared to what those guysendured.

(03:59):
Murph isn't just a workout.
It's a reminder that you'restill breathing to work out.
It's a reminder that you'restill breathing, you're still
walking and you're still capable.
So use that gift.
Be the kind of man who honorsthe fallen not just with words,
but with effort, because effortis the one thing we can control,

(04:19):
and today we give it freely inmemory of those who gave it all.
So get your fucking shoes on,grab your vest if you got one
and hit the ground.
Every rep, every step, everydrop of sweat.

(04:40):
Make it count For Murph, forDanny, for all the warriors who
never made it back.
They carried the weight.
Now it's our turn.
If this episode moved, youshare it with a brother who
needs to hear it, and if you'redoing Murph today or sometime
this week with your crew.

(05:00):
Tag me on Instagram atTheHighlyEive man.
I want to see it.
Let's honor the fallen the waythey would have wanted with
everything we've got.
Stay strong, live effective andnever forget.
Until next time.
This is JP out.
Thank you for listening to theHighly Effective man podcast.

(05:24):
If you enjoyed or learnedsomething on this episode, do me
a favor and share this withsomebody who you think needs to
hear it.
And one last thing if you wantto work with me as your coach to
help you get fit, be moreproductive and, in general, just
be the most effective versionof yourself, head over to my
site, higherlevelcoachingco.
Once again, that'shigherlevelcoachingco.
Once again, that'shigherlevelcoachingco.

(05:45):
And schedule a call with methere.
Thank you again.
Let's go.