CrossFit is renowned for pushing athletes to their physical and mental limits. Since its inception in 2001, CrossFit.com —fondly referred to as “the main site”—has served as a rich repository of workouts designed to challenge even the most experienced athletes. Among these are benchmark workouts, meticulously crafted to test fitness across a wide range of time domains and modalities, while providing a consistent standard for tracking progress.

Over the years, countless workouts have been developed to push the world’s elite athletes at the CrossFit Games, the ultimate test of CrossFit competition. Simultaneously, the broader CrossFit community has created its own infamous workouts—grueling tests of fitness that have achieved legendary status for their sheer intensity and difficulty.

In this blog, we present our ranking of the five toughest workouts ever created and celebrated by the global CrossFit community. Brutal in their simplicity and relentless in execution, these workouts have earned a place in CrossFit lore. Brace yourself—this list is not for the faint of heart.

5. Murph

For time: 

• 1-mile run  
• 100 pull-ups  
• 200 push-ups  
• 300 air squats  
• 1-mile run  

 (With a 20/14 lb weight vest)

Few workouts symbolize grit like “Murph.” Named in honor of Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, this hero WOD is a mental and physical battle. The sheer volume of bodyweight movements, combined with the weight vest, turns a deceptively simple structure into a true endurance test. Scaling and breaking the reps smartly is key to survival.  

One of the most grueling performances of Murph took place at the 2015 CrossFit Games, where two-time champion Annie Thorisdóttir famously collapsed from exhaustion. The event was ultimately won by Samantha Briggs and Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson, showcasing their incredible endurance and resilience.

First Published: August 18, 2005

4. Linda (aka “Three Bars of Death”)

For time: 

• 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:  
  • Deadlift (1.5x bodyweight)  
  • Bench press (bodyweight)  
  • Squat clean (0.75x bodyweight)  

This heavy, barbell-laden benchmark is notorious for its unrelenting demand on strength and stamina. Balancing three different lifts at challenging loads ensures no muscle group is spared. Pacing and barbell cycling efficiency are critical to avoid hitting a wall midway through this grueling workout.  

“Linda” first appeared on CrossFit.com (the main site) on July 5, 2003.

3. Fran

21-15-9 reps for time:

• Thrusters (95/65 lb)
• Pull-ups

“Fran” is a sprint workout that feels like a fight with gravity itself. Its high-intensity, couplet structure creates an explosive lactic acid build-up, earning it the reputation of being one of the most physically demanding workouts in CrossFit. The elite aim to finish under 2 minutes, but Fran never fails to humble even the fittest athletes.  

The world record for the CrossFit workout Fran is held unofficially by Noah Ohlsen, who completed it in 1 minute and 49 seconds in late 2022. Another noteworthy Fran time is by Marisa Flowers, who completed it in 1 minute and 53 seconds earlier in 2020.

“Fran” first appeared on CrossFit.com (the main site) on November 21, 2001

2. Kalsu

Complete 100 thrusters (135/95 lb): 

– Every minute, on the minute (EMOM), perform 5 burpees.  

Although not an official benchmark on the CrossFit main site, it occasionally makes an appearance on boxes worldwide and embodies everything CrossFit stands for: relentless work, mental toughness, and raw power. The heavy thrusters combined with burpee intervals leave no room to breathe, making this a workout where every second feels like eternity.  

IMPORTANT!: The workout starts with 5 Burpees. 

Try it, you’ll see what we mean.

1. Atalanta

• 1-mile run
• 100 handstand push-ups
• 200 pistol squats (alternating legs)
• 300 pull-ups
• 1-mile run

(With a 20/14 lb weight vest)

The workout Atalanta, which was featured as the final event of the 2020 CrossFit Games, is widely considered one of the hardest CrossFit workouts ever programmed. It combines extreme physical demands with a relentless workload that pushes even the fittest athletes to their limits.

Atalanta’s combination of endurance, strength, and technical proficiency, combined with the psychological strain of being the Games finale, justifies its reputation as one of the hardest CrossFit workouts ever. It remains a benchmark for extreme fitness capacity.

Why Atalanta is Considered One of the Hardest:

1. Volume and Complexity: Atalanta is a high-volume workout, requiring 600 bodyweight movements after an opening mile and finishing with another mile. The weighted vest significantly increases the challenge, especially for the pull-ups and pistols.
2. Unforgiving Nature: The combination of upper body (handstand push-ups and pull-ups), lower body (pistols), and cardiovascular endurance (mile runs) creates compounding fatigue. It demands exceptional strength, stamina, and mental resilience.
3. Final Event Pressure: As the final event of the Games, Atalanta added psychological stress, as athletes were already fatigued from days of grueling competition. It was a true test of the elite’s capacity to push through extreme exhaustion.
4. Injury Risk: The workout places significant strain on the shoulders, legs, and grip. Some athletes, including CrossFit legend Katrin Davidsdóttir, noted that Atalanta caused long-term soreness and fatigue due to its difficulty​

Both winners of the 2020 CrossFit Games, Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey, called it one of the most difficult workouts they had ever completed. Fraser, despite dominating the event, acknowledged its brutal nature due to the weight vest and extensive pull-up volume​

These CrossFit workouts aren’t just workouts —they’re tests of character. Whether you’re tackling these for the first time or revisiting them to measure your growth, they remain timeless challenges and will and prove to anyone that CrossFit is a sport of the mind as much as the body.