Great news guys - A couple of weeks ago I started working full-time out of a CrossFit gym again. As you may know, CrossFit has been an integral part of my life for over a decade now. The past couple of years, however, I have done the bulk of my nutrition and health coaching work from home. Yes, I was still writing programming and doing CrossFit and working with CrossFit athletes (among other athletes), but this was still a significant step back from my usual total-immersion in the sport since 2009. Now that I’m back to spending almost every waking hour in my happiest of places - the gym - I’ve been thinking about some of my absolute favorite CrossFit named and hero workouts (for those of you who don’t know, hero workouts are dedicated to and named after heroes who have fallen in the line of duty). As a lover of lists, I thought I’d try to make a list of my Top 5 Favorite CrossFit workouts. Please feel free to try them, retry them, use them as inspiration, or just tell me what your favorites are!
Holleyman (In honor of U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Aaron N. Holleyman)
30 Rounds For Time
5 Wall Ball Shots 20/14#
3 Handstand Push Ups
1 Power Clean 225/155#
Y’all, I love this workout. It’s long. The sets are short. It’s got heavy cleans (every tall person’s favorite lift). It’s got 150 wall ball shots (again, did I mention that I’m tall?). It’s perfect.
DT (In honor of USAF SSgt Timothy P. Davis)
5 Rounds For Time
12 Deadlifts 155/105#
9 Hang Power Cleans 155/105#
6 Push Jerks 155/105#
I love medium-heavy barbell cycling, so DT is an obvious choice here. Overhead work has never been a huge strength for me, but the deadlifts and hang power cleans make up for this.
Kelly (this is one of The Girls from OG CrossFit days)
5 Rounds For Time
400m Run
30 Box Jumps 24/20”
30 Wall Ball Shots 20/14#
I love a long leggy endurance grind. For me this workout is about picking a pace, and not letting your legs talk you out of it when they start to burn. Plus, you know, wall balls…
Badger (In honor of Navy Chief Petty Officer Mark Carter)
3 Rounds For Time
30 Squat Cleans 95/65#
30 Pull Ups
800m Run
I’m not the fastest runner, and gymnastics definitely aren’t my strong suit, but I like this workout regardless. There’s enough barbell to give me a leg up, and since it’s only three rounds (instead of 5 or 10 or more) I can get through the other two components without too much grief.
Karen (this is one of The Girls from OG CrossFit days)
For Time
150 Wall Ball Shots 20/14#
… Have I mentioned that I’m tall and therefore like wall balls? Karen is the tall person’s ultimate stamina test. I dig it.