Mark Zuckerberg seems intent on one thing, he was, is, and will remain the fittest CEO in Silicon Valley. Proof lies in his continuing Memorial Day tradition of taking on the very demanding “Murph” challenge. “I try to do the Murph challenge with the girls every Memorial Day as a tradition to honor those who defended us,” Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook. Murphy was a U.S. Navy SEAL who was killed during Operation Red Wings and later received the Medal of Honor. In 2026, CrossFit described Murph as a worldwide Memorial Day ritual uniting athletes, military members, first responders, and everyday people.
But the only tech tycoon who seems to have joined the bandwagon is the Meta boss, worth $206 billion. He answered a direct call to action from retired Navy SEAL and leadership author Jocko Willink with a 5.11 Tactical TacTec Plate Carrier packed with 20 pounds of weight. Sounds like quite a load, right? But it is the prescribed standard for the men’s Murph.
In the past, Zuckerberg completed the Murph workout in 39:58. It comprises a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and another 1-mile run, all while wearing a weighted 20-pound vest. Not one to avoid a challenge, the MMA enthusiast is seen sprinting on a high-end Peloton Tread, clocking a time of 8:49.
What looks like the confines of his plush private gym shows the 42-year-old father of three executing strict, dead-hang pull-ups. He does not waste time and jumps into an alternating routine of push-ups and squats, displaying excellent range and commitment. The Harvard University dropout is no stranger to fitness and rigorous regimes, as he is known to be a jiu-jitsu enthusiast, surfing fanatic, and someone who has aced the Murph challenge in the past.
Zuckerberg finishing the challenge in under 40 minutes put him in elite athletic territory, which is when we coined the prefix “fittest CEO in Silicon Valley” for his well-deserved title. For now, though, he seems less than impressed with his results, as he called his 8:49 mile pace in this clip “slow” by Zuckerberg standards. With Memorial Day only a few days away and Zuckerberg’s preparations in full swing, it will be exciting to see if he defeats the world’s sixth-richest man, himself.
