The barbell is indeed back.
The morning after letting the world know that the 2017 Reebok CrossFit Games will include a one-rep max snatch individual event, Director of the CrossFit Games Dave Castro has returned to Instagram to announce a new team event.
A one-rep max clean & jerk.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWxb2OGlmT3/
You can almost hear the athletes rushing back into the gym.
This has been a very unusual year for the Reebok CrossFit Games, and not just because you can now play Fantasy CrossFit. There were zero barbell movements to be found in this year’s Regional events and the first three events that were announced for the Reebok CrossFit Games themselves were also barbell-free. They were endurance events.
The first announced event, which Castro disclosed on July 5, is simply Run, Swim, Run.
The second was just a picture of a bike, the first time biking has appeared in the Games.
[Check out our full article on the CrossFit Bike, which costs $7,950, here!]
The third announced event was an obstacle course, which we haven’t seen in the Games for five years.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWoPVrrlt_8/
It’s probably not a stretch of the imagination to say that all of this cardio might have thrown some athletes for a loop. Now that we know there will be heavy Olympic weightlifting, it”s probably a welcome return to tradition for some — but then again, it’s a lot harder to train for biking, swimming, obstacle course racing, and the more standard heavy weightlifting and metcons. We have a feeling that CrossFit cardio gurus like Chris Hinshaw are busier than ever right now.
[One CrossFit athlete did “Murph” ten times in a row. Read our interview with him!]
This might be the most challenging Reebok CrossFit Games ever, and if nothing else, it’s certainly hammering home the core message of the sport: Fitness means being ready for anything.
Featured image via @thedavecastro on Instagram.
