Normative Scores for CrossFit^® Open Workouts: 2011-2022

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Performance Analytics

Background:

• The CrossFit Open (CFO) involves standardized workouts testing diverse physical capacities.
• Understanding sex-based performance differences in elite functional fitness is crucial for training and research.
• Normative data can provide benchmarks for athlete assessment and program development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish normative performance scores for all CrossFit Open workouts.
• To compare male and female performance across a decade of CrossFit Open competitions.
• To identify specific workout types where sex differences in performance are most pronounced.

Main Methods:

• Collected official CrossFit Open (CFO) scores from 2011-2022.
• Calculated percentile-based normative scores for male and female athletes (18-54 years).
• Utilized independent t-tests to analyze significant sex differences in workout performance.

Main Results:

• Significant sex differences (p < 0.05) were observed in 56 out of 60 CrossFit Open workouts.
• Men generally demonstrated higher performance in strength-based and speed-based events.
• Women showed superior performance in a smaller subset of workouts, with smaller effect sizes.

Conclusions:

• Despite adjusted programming, persistent sex-based performance disparities exist across CrossFit Open workouts.
• The findings suggest that workout challenges are not experienced equally by male and female athletes.
• Developed normative data can inform targeted training strategies and future research in functional fitness.