It’s back.

The 2020/21 Benchmark Series kicks off in two weeks! This time around we’re changing up the structure.

Here’s how it will work.

Once a quarter, we will program the same six workouts, Monday through Saturday for athletes to come in, test, and then repeat throughout one year.

When is the first week of testing?

Monday, September 28th – Saturday, October 3rd

Should I do all six workouts?

No, we don’t recommend it. We recommend you pick 3-5 workouts and aim to hit them for all four quarters of testing. The workouts will always be programmed in the same order, Monday through Saturday to help you plan.

Why do we test benchmark workouts?

“Our intent is two-fold in examining these workouts. First, these workouts, being exemplars of the CrossFit ideal, give us opportunity to lay bare some of the possibly unseen considerations and details we weigh in our programming design. Second, these six workouts introduce a series of workouts that will serve to measure and benchmark your performance and improvements through repeated, irregular, appearances in the “Workout of the Day”.”

Read more about the original benchmark workouts and the theory behind benchmark testing in programming here.

Why this new structure?

We wanted to try something new! And we believe this might be a more effective system to enable athletes to plan to attend certain workouts in a week. In the previous structure we sprinkled them throughout a month but it was hit or miss if an athlete attended class that day.

What if the order of the workouts means I’ll be sore for one of the workouts I’m testing?

Sure, depending on the order, you may find that you’re a little sore or fatigued by the time you get to Saturday’s workout. That’s OK. That’s real life, that’s GPP! We’re not looking to test every workout in a perfect environment or scenario. Do your best on each day and you’ll get the information you need.

Which workouts should I test?

In CrossFit and general physical preparedness, it’s the development of our weaknesses, not our strengths, that make us better.

As you review the workouts, there will probably be 3-5 workouts that you will view and think, “Ugh, I DON’T want to do that!” Or maybe you’ll do a few workouts in the first rotation and think, “Why was I so not good at that?” Listen to those sentiments and results because in those moments you have self-identified the exact workouts that YOU MUST come to if you want to improve your fitness over the year. We don’t become better athletes by working on our strengths. If you fall short in capacity on the workouts that involve running, make every effort to come to the workouts at the gym that involves running in the coming months. It’s your fitness, make it count this year!

What do I do with my scores?

First, be SURE to enter them in SugarWOD so you can track your progress over a year. Then, if there are workouts that you personally fall short in. compared to your abilities in other workouts and movements, remember that those are the workouts you need to target to attend during the three months before you retest!

What are the workouts?

They’ll be announced THIS WEEK on the blog!