How One Rep in 20.3 Can Buy You 8,487 Spots on the Leaderboard

It’s hump week and it’s going to hurt. 

For many of us, it’s a pain that’s all too familiar completing this variation of Diane less than 18 months ago (18.4). 

The beauty of a repeat — not only can we retest our strength (deadlift) and skill (handstand pushup and handstand walk) — before heading into the workout it’s also possible to evaluate just how valuable each rep will be on the leaderboard. 

We’ve crunched the numbers – looking back at 18.4 – but relative to how many people registered for this year’s CrossFit Open. 

For what it’s worth: With the not-so-generous time cap of nine minutes, it’s no surprise every rep could buy you hundreds, if not thousands of positions on the leaderboard. If you needed any extra motivation to keep moving the barbell, let the following statistics sink in. 

The HSPU 

• For RX women, that first HSPU rep could earn you a massive 7,887 spots on the leaderboard in 20.3. The second rep, however, is even more valuable (proving it wasn’t a one-off!) and could see female athletes bypass another 8,487 competitors worldwide. 
• RX males can expect to overtake 2,979 athletes with that first HSPU rep and another 3,524 for the second rep in the round of 21 HSPUs. 
• Every subsequent HSPU rep in the round of 21 is worth an additional 864 (women) and 1,182 (men) positions. 
• In the round of 15, women will bypass 701 athletes and men will hurdle 1,517 fellow athletes. 
• In the round of 9, each rep will buy athletes 499 (female) and 1,218 (male) positions respectively. 

That heavy deadlift 

• The ability to grip and rip 205lbs and 315lbs isn’t as rewarded as the skill component in 20.3, however each single repetition is predicted to be worth 391 positions for women and 1,135 for men. 
• You do the maths, but 21 (reps) x 391 (spots) for one single round of a workout? Certainly makes it worth showing up this weekend and maybe shooting for a new 1RM. 

Handstand walk 

• Again, it’s all relative and the numbers decrease significantly due to the small percentage of athletes expected to make it to this point in the workout. 
• That first HSW is worth 852 positions for women and 1,310 men.  
• If you’re into the second round (15 heavy deadlifts later), 994 spots are on the line on the female leaderboard, 1548 for the men. 
• We’re really talking about the upper echelon of athletes here who are likely to finish this workout in nine minutes – still the difference between completing the final HSW is expected to be worth 242 positions for women and 485 for men.