The board lists 100 pull-ups, then 200 push-ups and 300 air squats. You picture finishing every pull-up before touching the floor. For Murph, that order is not your only option: the published instructions allow you to divide the middle section into smaller pieces while keeping the runs at either end.
Partitioning changes how you organize the repetitions, not how many you owe. That distinction can make the workout easier to understand without making the full prescription appropriate for every athlete.
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The permission applies between the runs
CrossFit’s official Murph benchmark starts and ends with a one-mile run. Between them are the pull-ups, push-ups and air squats, with explicit permission to partition those movements as needed.
That permits alternating movements within the middle section. It does not mean distributing the run distance throughout the rounds. And “unpartitioned” means completing each movement’s total before moving on—not necessarily doing every repetition without a rest.
Build the rounds around repeatable sets
In its original partitioning guide, CrossFit Roots recommends starting with the movement that limits your repeatable set size. The useful number is what you can keep completing, rather than the biggest set you can produce when fresh.
One listed arrangement is 20 rounds of five pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 air squats. Multiply the three numbers by 20 and the totals remain 100, 200 and 300.
The affiliate also shows a version that divides the push-ups within each round: five pull-ups, five push-ups, 15 air squats, then five more push-ups. Each completed round still contains the same repetitions as the previous arrangement.
These are coaching options, not proof that one scheme produces the fastest time for everyone. A plan that suits your pull-ups can still ask too much of your push-ups. Discuss a repeatable arrangement with your coach instead of choosing solely by the number of rounds on paper.
Partitioning and scaling are separate decisions
Breaking the work into smaller sets leaves all 600 middle-section repetitions in the full workout. Smaller chunks do not erase the total volume. CrossFit’s benchmark page separately provides reduced-volume and modified-movement versions; selecting one is a different decision from rearranging the full totals.
Our guide to matching a CrossFit workout’s intended stimulus explains why prescribed demands need to fit the athlete. Ask about the intended version, movement standards and volume before worrying about a partition strategy.
Once those are settled, make your count match your plan. In the split-push-up example, a round is complete only after the second set of five push-ups. Marking it finished after the squats would leave five push-ups uncounted every round. Across 20 rounds, that mistake would leave 100 push-ups unfinished.
Check the instructions for the session or event you actually entered, too. A specifically programmed unpartitioned version is a different assignment. Permission in the general benchmark should not be substituted for the rules your coach or event has set.