Sweaty Salutes: Observing Memorial Day Our Way

Welcome back to the Daily Dumbbell, where every weekend feels like a 3 day weekend and every work week feels short. You have to ease into Mondays and it’s not a real Friday if you don’t take the afternoon off for business meetings on the golf course.

Listen, science has shown 4 day workweeks are better. If the powers that be refuse to optimize our lives, we’ll just have to do it for them.

Today is short and sweet. We’re paying tributes

Let’s dive in!

Monday Motivation:
Memorial Day Muscle

Memorial Day—it’s not just about barbecues and a day off work.

It's about respect, remembrance, and a whole lot of reverence for those who've served and sacrificed for their country. But, ever noticed how many of us are swapping the burgers and beers for running shoes and finish lines?

Welcome to the new era of commemoration, where sweat is our salute.

Memorial Day: Your Fitness Tribute

Across the fruited plain, Memorial Day events are popping up like wildflowers after a spring rain. The main attraction? Fitness. From half-marathons to hardcore CrossFit pain-fests, physical challenges have become our new favorite way to pay tribute to those who've served.

And why not? It makes sense. Every gasp for breath, every bead of sweat, every muscle burning with fatigue—it's a nod to those who knew endurance and strength like no other.

Ever heard of The Murph Challenge? It’s a beast of a CrossFit workout named after Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, a real-life hero lost in Afghanistan. It's not just a test of your fitness; it's a tribute in sweat to the spirit and memory of a man who gave his life trying to save his team.

The hardcore Crossfitters do this wearing a 20lb weighted vest. How? We have no idea.

But we do know the why. It was Michael Murphy’s favorite workout. Before his death, the workout was called Body Armor and was a favorite among servicemen.

But why Murph? 

In 2005, on a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan, Michael’s 4 person Seal Team were spotted by a group of goat farmers. After briefly detaining the herders they were faced with nothing but bad choices.

Unable to get a call through to HQ, Murphy made the call to free them, knowing they’d likely head straight to the closest village to alert the Taliban.

Less than an hour later the team’s nightmare came true as they came under heavy fire from dozens of Taliban forces.

Outmanned more than 10-1 and having suffered multiple gunshot wounds already, Murphy risked his life to get to a clearing that allowed him a better signal to call for backup.

After a 2 hour gunfight Murphy and two other members of their team had fallen, along with an estimated 35 Taliban fighters. The lone survivor, Marcus Luttrell had been blasted over a cliff edge by an RPG and knocked unconscious.

He later came to and was able to make his way to a village where he called for help and was eventually rescued.

If this sounds familiar to you, Luttrell was the focus of Mark Wahlberg’s 2015 blockbuster “Lone Survivor”.

Flex Your Muscles, Strengthen Your Mind

In the military, fitness isn't just about building buff bodies; it's about forging mental steel and being ready for anything thrown at you. When you're out in the field, it's not just your muscles that need to be strong, your mind does too.

Workouts are a double whammy. They don't just keep you in fighting shape; they also boost your mood, reduce stress, and improve your overall mental health. This kind of psychological resilience, this mental muscle, is what keeps servicemen and women standing tall in the face of adversity.

But it doesn't stop when the uniform comes off. For veterans, fitness can be a lifeline, a way of navigating the challenges of transition, of fostering a sense of community.

So, this Memorial Day, let's not just remember. Let's get out there and break a sweat, and in doing so, pay tribute to those who have served. In the words of Murphy himself, "Education will set you free." Let's educate ourselves not just in history but also in the power of fitness.

Research Recipe Roundup

We hardly work on normal Mondays so you know we’re not going to work on a holiday!

And listen, you don’t need our help to grill meat for your friends and family. But we’ll leave you with two tips:

• Season your meat

• Don’t overcook it

For an easy crowd pleaser, we recommend beer butt chicken.

It does however require some light poultry sodomy. Apologies to any vegans reading this.

Make sure to throw some veggies on there too. A little olive oil, salt and pepper is all you need. Even your friends who think they don’t like vegetables will swing by for seconds.

Have a fantastic Memorial Day!

We hope you enjoyed this special edition of the newsletter. Make sure to come back tomorrow for our feature on Meditation & a belated research roundup!