TEXARKANA, Ark. - While many lresidents may have spent Memorial Day cooking outdoor meals, others spent the day working off the results of outdoor cooking by exercising in honor of a military veteran.
About 30 people spent a good part of Memorial Day working out in honor of Navy SEAL Team Member Michael Murphy, who at age 29, died in 2005, while combating terrorists forces hiding out in Afghanistan. To help celebrate Memorial Day, both members and guests of the CrossFit Texarkana Health and Fitness Center did variations of a "workout of the day" exercise, which Murphy helped develop, said CrossFit Texarkana owner Joe Byrd.
To perform as physically required by a Navy SEAL, Murphy developed a fitness workout that required 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 squats a day, in addition to two one-mile runs per day, Byrd said.
"Today our members and guests are only encouraged to calibrate and tailor Michael Murphy's daily workout to their own fitness levels," Byrd said.
"They are by no means required to perform these exact exercise workouts, in the same numbered amounts, as Murphy set for himself. Byrd added that CrossFit,which now has at least 15,000 gyms world-wide, opened a gym in Texarkana on Main Street in 2011, before moving it to 3911 E. 19th Street in 2012. "Ever since we've been here, we have held workouts of the day not only for military veterans, but also for police, firefighters and other first responders who risk their lives for us," Byrd said.
"The company itself came up with the idea of honoring our military and first responders when the very first CrossFit gym opened in Santa Cruz, California in 2000, and we here in Texarkana plan to continue doing this for our heroes."