Tuesday, August 11, 2015

How Strong are the Top Athletes in the 2015 CrossFit Games?


INTRODUCTION

In a previous post, “How Strong are the Top Athletes in the 2013 and 2014 CrossFit Games”, I compared the strength numbers of the top 10 male and female athletes in the 2013 and 2014 CrossFit Games. Here, I will compare the strength numbers of the top athletes in the 2014 and 2015 games. In particular, I will focus on their one-rep max (1RM) deadlift, back squat, clean and jerk, and snatch.

Please see this spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is based on the data posted on the official CrossFit Games website in August 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Please note that many athletes who placed in the top 10 both in the 2014 and 2015 games (e.g. Ben Smith) listed the same 1RMs in August 2014 and August 2015. So, either they did not increase their 1RMs over the course of a year, or they simply did not update their 1RMs on their profile on the CrossFit Games website. The latter is probably true. In addition, three of the top 10 male athletes and two of the top 10 female athletes in the 2015 games have not posted their strength numbers. Nevertheless, I will use the available data, as they are still informative.

In this article, I use the terms absolute strength and relative strength. Absolute strength means the absolute most weight you can lift for a given movement. It is simply your one-rep max (1RM) for a given movement. Relative strength means your absolute strength relative to your bodyweight (i.e. divided by your bodyweight). One can express relative strength as a proportion or percentage of your bodyweight. For example, if you weigh 200lb and your 1RM deadlift is 500lb, then you can deadlift 250% of your bodyweight (BW).

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THE 2014 CROSSFIT GAMES (INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION)

Individual Winners

• The top male athlete (Rich Froning Jr.) can deadlift 545lb (280% BW), back squat 445lb (230% BW), clean and jerk 370lb (190% BW), and snatch 300lb (150% BW).

• The top female athlete (Camille Leblanc-Bazinet) can deadlift 300lb (230% BW), back squat 310lb (240% BW), clean and jerk 230lb (180% BW), and snatch 190lb (150% BW).

Top 10 Athletes (1RM Relative Strength)

• On average, the top male athletes in the 2014 CrossFit Games can deadlift 273% BW, back squat 240% BW, clean and jerk 178% BW, and snatch 147% BW.

• On average, the top female athletes in the 2014 CrossFit Games can deadlift 231% BW, back squat 198% BW, clean and jerk 153% BW, and snatch 122% BW.

Top 10 Athletes (1RM Absolute Strength)

• On average, the top male athletes can deadlift 522lb, back squat 459lb, clean and jerk 339lb, and snatch 280lb.

• On average, the top female athletes can deadlift 304lb, back squat 263lb, clean and jerk 203lb, and snatch 162lb.

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THE 2015 CROSSFIT GAMES (INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION)

Individual Winners

• The top male athlete (Ben Smith) can deadlift 540lb (280% BW), back squat 480lb (250% BW), clean and jerk 335lb (170% BW), and snatch 300lb (150% BW).

• The top female athlete (Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir) can deadlift 308lb (200% BW), back squat 253lb (170% BW), clean and jerk 216lb (140% BW), and snatch 187lb (120% BW).

Top 10 Athletes (1RM Relative Strength)

• On average, the top male athletes in the 2015 CrossFit games can deadlift 267% BW, back squat 241% BW, clean and jerk 178% BW, and snatch 150% BW.

• On average, the top female athletes in the 2015 CrossFit games can deadlift 233% BW, back squat 187% BW, clean and jerk 149% BW, and snatch 121% BW.

Top 10 Athletes (1RM Absolute Strength)

• On average, the top male athletes can deadlift 514lb, back squat 466lb, clean and jerk 343lb, and snatch 289lb.

• On average, the top female athletes can deadlift 344lb, back squat 276lb, clean and jerk 222lb, and snatch 180lb.

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2014 VERSUS 2015

Now, let us examine the change in relative strength numbers from 2014 to 2015.

In terms of average relative strength, the top male athletes slightly increased their snatch from 147% BW to 150% BW. They slightly decreased their deadlift from 273% BW to 267% BW. Their back squat and clean and jerk remained the same (240% BW and 178% BW, respectively). Thus, overall, the top male athletes in the 2014 and 2015 games are roughly equal in strength.

In terms of average relative strength, the top female athletes slightly increased their deadlift from 231% BW to 233% BW. But they moderately decreased their back squat from 198% BW to 187% BW. They slightly decreased their clean and jerk from 153% BW to 149% BW, and slightly decreased their snatch from 122% BW to 121% BW. Thus, overall, the top female athletes in the 2015 games are slightly weaker than the ones in the 2014 games.

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THE UPSHOT

In any case, the top male and female athletes in the 2014 and 2015 games are pretty strong overall. This comes as no surprise because functional strength largely drives performance on metabolic conditioning (metcon) workouts. All else being equal, the stronger you are, the better you will perform on metcons.

Given the above numbers, I would conclude the following.

1. If you’re a male looking to compete and perform well in the CrossFit Games, you will need to develop at least a 250% BW deadlift, a 225% BW back squat, a 175% BW clean and jerk, and a 150% BW snatch.

2. If you’re a female looking to compete and perform well in the CrossFit Games, you will need to develop at least a 220% BW deadlift, a 190% BW back squat, a 150% BW clean and jerk, and a 120% BW snatch.

Now, what is the best way to achieve these strength numbers or make substantial progress in achieving them? As I wrote in last year’s article, the best way is to do dedicated strength training and Olympic weightlifting. In particular, learn the proper movement patterns, train them constantly and systematically, and get progressively stronger and more explosive. Use a novice linear progression until it no longer works, and then do an intermediate program. In fact, this is the most effective way to achieve your strength goals in the shortest amount of time possible.


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