20 of the Coolest CrossFit WODs in the World (2017)

With Murph done for another year for most of us, you might be wondering, what’s next? There’s a whole world of challenging and fun WODs to be explored; some much worse than Murph, and a few that are just straight-up crazy.



We’ve scoured competitions, the Games, Regionals and Hero offerings, to bring you 20 of the coolest CrossFit WODs in the world. Don’t see your favorite on the list? Let us know in the comments.

Murph

1 mile run

100 pull-ups

200 push-ups

300 air squats

1 mile run

Wearing 20 lb / 14 lb weight vest

In CrossFit, we kick off summer with a visit from Murph. It’s one of the most loved and hated WODs around, and while everyone can run a mile, doing it in a weight vest after 300 squats is a different story.

Fran

21-15-9

Thrusters

Pull-ups

It’s the quintessential benchmark WOD, and even though it sucks to do, there aren’t many cooler feelings in CrossFit than shaving a few seconds off your Fran time.

2016 Regionals event 6

1,000m bike

100ft handstand walk

10 overhead squats

500m row

50 burpees

5 overhead squats

This one was great fun to watch because it gave everyone a chance to see top CrossFit athletes taking on regular moves like burpees, while showing us how to smash a 100ft handstand walk and destroy heavy overhead squats.

Linda

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Squats clean ¾ bodyweight

Bench press bodyweight

Deadlift 1 ½ bodyweight

Linda is one of the few CrossFit WODs in which the weight is determined by your bodyweight. That means if you’re light and strong, you’re having a great time. If you’re a bigger individual, we hope you like powerlifting.

Cindy

Fun with #Cindy. Used my plate carrier and did all the pull ups strict. #crossfit #thegirls #cindywod #amrap #funwithvideos #platecarrier #fitdad #fitfam #fitness #goodtimes #thenewrx #army #myptisbetterthanyours #miltarymuscle #conditioning #cardio

A post shared by Andrew Gregory (@theandrewgregory) on May 16, 2017 at 3:07pm PDT

20 minute AMRAP

5 pull-ups

10 push-ups

15 air squats

The perfect practice WOD for Murph, we’re sure every box was doing this one the week before. The key to Cindy is staying consistent, and not burning out in the first 10 minutes.

2016 Open WOD 16.2

Beginning on a 4-minute clock, complete as many reps as possible of:

  25 toes-to-bars

  50 double-unders

  15 squat cleans, 135 / 85 lb.

For most regular CrossFitters, this was an awesome workout. Finish a round, and the weight on the cleans increases. A great test of some fundamental movements.

2015 Games Event 2

Sandbag move

Move sandbags across the stadium

Not the easiest to recreate in your own gym, but cool to watch, the sandbag move was something none of the athletes had done before, and there were some unique challenges thrown up throughout.

Nancy

Five rounds for time of:

Run 400 meters

Overhead squat 95 pounds, 15 reps

Another of the New Girls, Nancy is all about how well you can keep your composure at high intensity, when your heart rate is up.

Karen

150 wall ball shots for time

Karen has become something of a special challenge all of her own. Can you string 150 wall balls together unbroken? That’s the goal, although 75 and 75 is still damned intense.

Grace

Sunday Grace #thegymismychurch #sundayfunday #gracewod #30cleanandjerks #CrossFit #weightlifting #olympiclifting #barbellwork #handcalluses #BloQaid

A post shared by Don't Rip. Just Grip. (@bloqaid) on Jun 18, 2017 at 2:40pm PDT

30 clean and jerk for time

135 lb / 95 lb

Likewise with Grace, the top guys and girls are going unbroken for 30 reps. If you can hold on for two sets of 15, you’re in for a great score.

Kalsu

100 thrusters for time (135 lb / 95 lb)

5 burpees on the minute, every minute until completion

Some people call Kalsu the most difficult CrossFit WOD there is, and there’s no around it, you’re doing 100 thrusters as fast as you can, and if you’re resting, you’re doing burpees.

CrossFit Open WOD 17.4

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 13 minutes of:

55 deadlifts, 225 lb.

55 wall-ball shots, 20-lb. ball to 10-ft. target

55-calorie row

55 handstand push-ups

This is a repeat from 2016, and people enjoyed it because everyone had something to aim for. A few more handstand push-ups or a few more calories on the rower.

Annie

50-40-30-20-10

Double unders

Sit-ups

She’s not the most glamorous of girls, but as one of the ultimate 5-minute hotel WODs, we couldn’t leave out Annie.

Diane

21-15-9

Deadlift (225 lb / 115 lb)

Handstand push-ups

Dan Bailey famously completed Diane in a little over 01:30, proving that this is totally a sprint workout. If you’re willing to go for it, this can be a super fun WOD.

CrossFit Open WOD 13.1

Coach Jay rockin' leopard tights during the OPEN WOD #crossfit #crossfitcopenhagen #crossfitgames #crossfitopen #openwod131 #workout #wod #training #snatch #weightlifting #barbell #burpees

A post shared by CrossFit Copenhagen (@crossfitcph) on Mar 9, 2013 at 12:12pm PST

40 Burpees

75 pound Snatch, 30 reps

30 Burpees

135 pound Snatch, 30 reps

20 Burpees

165 pound Snatch, 30 reps

10 burpees

210 pound Snatch, as many reps as possible

17 minutes cap

One of the earlier Open WODs paired two movements which took a lot of people by surprise. Classic push and pull, but with plenty of lungs and technique to contend with.

2015 Regionals event 2

Tommy V

21 thrusters

12 rope climb

15 thrusters

9 rope climb

9 thrusters

6 rope climb

115 lb / 75 lb

One of the few time we’ve seen a hero WOD at Regionals, Tommy V was cool to watch just to see how the athletes paced out their reps.

Isabel

30 snatch for time

135 lb / 95 lb

Just like Grace, if you can complete Isabel without putting the bar down, you’re immortal.

2015 Regionals event 3

1 mile run

50 overhead squats

100 GHDs

150 double unders

50 sumo deadlift high pulls

100 box jump overs

Few events in the history of Regionals have fired up the crowd like this one. When athletes reached the box jump overs and started racing full-on, it was like the Games final had arrived early.

2014 Regionals event 5

10 rounds

1 legless rope climb

200m sprint

This one doesn’t sound like much, but it had athletes failing all over the place. A tough challenge, for sure.

Nicole

Come meet Nicole tomorrow at 9am. She may start off sweet, but we can't guarantee you may feel a burning sensation when you're done with her. In the forearms, of course. 🙊🙊 #burnssogood #girlswod #nicolewod #crossfitpurgatory #tucson #crossfit #purgees

A post shared by Purgatory (@crossfitpurgatory) on Apr 7, 2017 at 9:02pm PDT

Run 400 meters

Max rep Pull-ups (unbroken)

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.

Note number of pull-ups completed for each round.

Our final choice for the 20 coolest CrossFit WODs in the world is Nicole, because it’s simple, and like every great CrossFit WOD, the biggest limiting factor, is your own ability. Don’t want to run? Keep doing pull-ups.

Those are our picks, and if you’re going to give a try, pick up a Fire 2.0 and some intense hand repair balm in the Velites online store and get moving.

Picture: Edgewater CrossFit