The Complete CrossFit Benchmark WOD Guide

What Are CrossFit Benchmark WODs?

Benchmark WODs are standardized workouts that never change. They serve as fitness tests — reference points you revisit over months and years to measure real progress. Unlike daily programming that varies constantly, benchmarks give you an apples-to-apples comparison of your fitness over time.

There are three main categories of benchmark WODs. The Girl WODs — named after hurricanes — were the first benchmarks created by CrossFit founder Greg Glassman. Hero WODs honor fallen military personnel and first responders, and are typically longer and more grueling. Open workouts come from the annual CrossFit Open competition and test a wide range of skills and fitness levels.

You can explore all benchmark workouts with detailed descriptions and community performance standards on our benchmarks page, complete with percentile rankings so you know exactly where you stand.

The Girl WODs — CrossFit's Original Benchmarks

The Girl WODs were introduced starting in 2003 and remain the most widely tested benchmarks in CrossFit. They are designed to test different fitness domains — from pure barbell power to gymnastics endurance to mixed-modal capacity. Here are the most iconic ones:

More Girl WODs to Master

Girl WODs share common movements like thrusters, pull-ups, deadlifts, and clean & jerks. Mastering these foundational movements is key to improving your benchmark scores. See our complete CrossFit movement guide for technique breakdowns.

Hero WODs — Honoring the Fallen

Hero WODs are dedicated to fallen military personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers. They are typically longer, heavier, and more mentally demanding than Girl WODs. These workouts are a tradition of honor — pushing through discomfort as a tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

More Hero WODs

The dedicated Murph and Fran pages on EVOX include detailed strategy guides, scaling options, and the built-in timer to execute the workout with proper intervals.

CrossFit Open Workouts

The CrossFit Open is the world's largest participatory fitness event. Each year, three workouts are released over three weeks, and hundreds of thousands of athletes worldwide complete them — from beginners at home to Games-level competitors. Open workouts are designed to be accessible (with scaled divisions) yet have enough depth to separate elite athletes.

Open workouts typically combine standard CrossFit movements in creative ways — ascending ladders, chipper formats, or AMRAP windows with increasing complexity. They become permanent benchmarks that you can retest anytime to measure your year-over-year progress.

Browse all Open workouts on our benchmarks page — filter by "Open" category to see every workout from past seasons with community percentiles and detailed descriptions.

How to Use Benchmarks in Your Training

Benchmarks are more than just tests — they reveal your strengths and weaknesses. A slow Fran time with strong deadlift numbers suggests gymnastics endurance is your limiter. A good Murph but poor Grace means your barbell cycling needs work. Use benchmark data to guide your training focus.

Schedule benchmark retests strategically. Test one per week at the end of a deload week, or dedicate one week per quarter to testing your top 5 benchmarks. Always log your results — the EVOX workout tracker and PR tracker make it easy to see your progress over time with automatic personal record detection.

If you're training for Hyrox competitions, benchmark WODs help build the raw fitness foundation that translates directly to race performance — especially conditioning benchmarks like Helen and Cindy.

Scoring Standards & Percentiles

Benchmark scores are measured differently based on the workout format. "For Time" benchmarks (Fran, Grace, Diane) record your completion time — lower is better. AMRAP benchmarks (Cindy, Mary) record rounds and reps completed — higher is better. Some workouts use weight lifted or distance covered as the score.

EVOX provides percentile rankings for every benchmark, showing you where your score falls relative to the community. A 75th percentile score means you're faster or stronger than 75% of athletes who logged that benchmark. These percentiles are available for both Rx and Scaled versions.

Check your rankings on the EVOX benchmarks page and compare your lifts against strength standards to understand your overall fitness profile.

Essential Movements for Benchmark WODs

Most benchmark WODs draw from a core set of movements. Mastering these is the fastest path to better scores. Here are the most frequently tested movements across all benchmarks:

For detailed technique breakdowns, scaling progressions, and common faults for all 150+ CrossFit movements, visit our complete CrossFit movement guide.

Track Your Benchmarks with EVOX

EVOX is built for benchmark testing. Use the CrossFit timer with AMRAP, EMOM, For Time, and Tabata modes to execute any benchmark with precision. The timer automatically tracks your rounds and reps, saving your results with one tap.

Need a workout for today? The WOD Generator creates varied workouts based on your level and equipment — or build your own custom workout with the Workout Builder.

After your workout, share your results with a beautiful shareable card showing your benchmark score, time, and personal record status.

CrossFit Benchmark WODs — Frequently Asked Questions