The Games take place over fivedays of competition, and form the final sweat- and chalk-stained gladiatorial arena where the fittest men, women, masters, teens and teams from around the world have earned the right to compete through their placement in the global CrossFit competition called the Open, or through winning Sanctional events.These Games are filled with both old and new
weapons of mass muscle torture, which are paired with a variety of different exercises such as swimming, rowing and running, through to heavy deadlifts and snatches, and gymnastic challenges like handstand walks, muscle-ups and more. The challenges are mostly unknown before the Games officially start.What is known: every single workout of the 14 will
be brutal. The challenges in 2018 included rowing a marathon (!), biking, climbing pegboards, an obstacle course, a reworked sprint triathlon (swimming, paddling, running), and a workout that required the athletes to ‘rescue’ a 75kg dummy called Randy as part of an obstacle course – all while wearing a weighted vest.And that’s not even mentioning the heavy weights
work – like the clean and jerk speed ladder, or the
1-rep max tests – as part of the CrossFit Total. This
is not about TV ratings or social media likes; it’s
about rewriting the rules of human capability,
and trying to define what fitness truly is.And, of course, bragging rights. Because who
wouldn’t want to put “Fittest Man On Earth”
in his Instagram bio?Scott
Panchik:
Ring muscle-ups are one of the many different kinds of gymnastic challenge that CrossFit uses in its workouts, and they require a different kind of muscle dexterity, body awareness, and technique to master. A veteran of the Games, Panchik has competed there seven times, and he came 11th in 2018. He’ll be fighting for a top-ten spot in 2019.