Hero WODs: The Stories and Standards Behind CrossFit's Toughest Workouts
Quick answer
A hero WOD is a CrossFit workout named for a member of the military, law enforcement, or the fire service who died in the line of duty or as a result of their service. The workouts tend to be long, heavy, or high in volume. The names are not decoration. Each one belongs to a real person.
The tradition began on July 6, 2005, when CrossFit posted a workout called JT in memory of Navy Petty Officer First Class Jeff Taylor, killed in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. Hundreds have been published since. This guide covers the most searched ones, the standards as written, and the people behind them.
In most gyms a coach reads a short paragraph about someone before the clock starts. That paragraph is the point. The workout is just the vehicle.
Below are the hero workouts people search for most, with the loads and rep schemes as published and a factual account of who each one honors. We have also included the benchmark "Girl" workouts, because Fran and Cindy get grouped in with hero WODs constantly and they are a different category.
The hero workouts, one by one
Murph
For time, wearing a 20 lb vest for men or 14 lb for women: 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, 1 mile run. The middle 600 reps can be partitioned in any order.
Murph honors Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, a SEAL officer killed in Kunar Province, Afghanistan on June 28, 2005 during Operation Red Wings. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. It is the most widely performed hero workout in the world.
Our full Murph workout guide covers partitioning, scaling, finish times, and an eight week build. For the official fundraiser, see The Murph Challenge.
DT
Five rounds for time. All 12 deadlifts, then all 9 hang power cleans, then all 6 push jerks, then back to the top. Same barbell throughout.
| Level | Reps per round | Load (women / men) |
|---|---|---|
| Rx | 12 deadlifts, 9 hang power cleans, 6 push jerks | 105 lb / 155 lb |
| Intermediate | Same | 65 lb / 95 lb |
| Beginner | Same | 35 lb / 45 lb |
DT honors U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy P. Davis, 28, who was killed on February 20, 2009 while supporting operations in Afghanistan when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his wife, Megan, and their son, who was one year old at the time. The standard is published on CrossFit's hero listing.
Strategy: the push jerks are the bottleneck, not the deadlifts. Most people hold the bar too long in round two and arrive at the jerks with dead shoulders and a fried grip. Break the hang power cleans early, cycle them in sets of three, and drop the bar between movements if that keeps your setup honest. Good Rx times sit around 6 to 9 minutes.
Kalsu
100 thrusters at 135 lb for men or 95 lb for women, for time, with 5 burpees performed at the top of every minute. You start the minute with burpees, then do as many thrusters as you can before the next minute begins.
Kalsu honors 1st Lt. James Robert "Bob" Kalsu, U.S. Army, a first-team All-American at Oklahoma and the Buffalo Bills' 1968 team rookie of the year. He fulfilled his ROTC commitment and deployed to Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division. He was killed by enemy mortar fire on July 21, 1970 at Fire Support Base Ripcord near the A Shau Valley. His son was born two days later. He remained the last professional football player killed in action until Pat Tillman in 2004. More on his life and service.
Worth noting: Kalsu is not on CrossFit's official hero list. It originated with CrossFit Football in June 2009 and spread from there. Sources also vary on burpee timing, with some gyms starting the clock on thrusters instead.
Strategy: the burpee penalty is fixed, so your only lever is thruster efficiency. Plan on 5 or 6 thrusters in minute one, then settle into singles earlier than your ego wants. Scale the load to something you can move for 10 reps fresh, usually 40 to 50 percent of your best thruster.
Chad 1000X
1,000 box step-ups to a 20 inch box, for time, wearing a weighted ruck.
| Level | Reps and box | Load (women / men) |
|---|---|---|
| Rx | 1,000 step-ups, 20 in box | 35 lb ruck / 45 lb ruck |
| Intermediate | 1,000 step-ups, 20 in box | 20 lb ruck / 30 lb ruck |
| Beginner | 500 step-ups, 12 in box | No load |
Chad 1000X honors Navy SEAL Senior Chief Chad Wilkinson, who died by suicide on October 29, 2018 as a result of traumatic brain injuries, blast-wave injuries, and post-traumatic stress accumulated across more than two decades of service and many deployments. He is survived by his wife, Sara, and their two children. Chad built the workout himself to train for a 23,000 foot climb in Argentina.
The CrossFit community performs it every Veterans Day to raise funds and awareness for veteran mental health through The Step Up Foundation, which Sara founded in his memory.
Strategy: this is a two hour problem for most people. Alternate lead legs every 20 to 50 reps and rest standing on the box rather than on the floor. The Rx load is a ruck, not a vest, though many athletes use a vest or split the reps with a partner. Sara Wilkinson has said plainly that there is no shame in going slick or sharing the steps.
Randy
75 power snatches at 75 lb for men or 55 lb for women, for time. One barbell, no rest prescribed, nothing else in the workout.
Randy honors Los Angeles Police Officer Randal "Randy" Simmons, 51, a 27 year LAPD veteran and member of the department's SWAT team. He was shot and killed on February 7, 2008 during an entry in the Winnetka neighborhood of Los Angeles, becoming the first LAPD SWAT officer killed in the line of duty. Off duty he mentored young people in South Los Angeles. He is survived by his wife and two children, and the LAPD memorial page holds the department's account.
Strategy: the light load is the trap. Early sets feel free, then your grip and lower back arrive together around rep 40. A common plan is 25, 20, 15, 15 with short breaks. Keep the bar close. Sub 5 minutes is a strong time.
Josie
For time, wearing a 20 lb vest for men or 14 lb for women.
| Order | Work | Load (women / men) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 mile run | Vest only |
| 2 | 3 rounds of 30 burpees, 4 power cleans, 6 front squats | 105 lb / 155 lb |
| 3 | 1 mile run | Vest only |
Josie honors Deputy U.S. Marshal Josie Wells, 27, of Mississippi, who was killed on March 10, 2015 near Baton Rouge, Louisiana while a task force attempted to arrest a murder suspect. He had joined the Marshals Service in 2011. His wife was pregnant when he died, and their son was named for him. The workout was published on the CrossFit main site in June 2018.
Strategy: 90 burpees under a vest is the whole workout. The barbell portion is only 30 reps, so treat it as rest and pace the burpees for all three rounds. Run the first mile at a pace you can talk through.
Hero WODs vs the Girls
Fran and Cindy are not hero WODs. They belong to the benchmark "Girl" workouts, a separate set of tests named after women the way the National Weather Service names storms. They exist to give you a repeatable number to measure against yourself. There is no memorial attached to them. People search them alongside hero workouts constantly, so here are both, correctly labeled.
| Workout | Category | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Fran | Benchmark "Girl" | 21-15-9 reps of thrusters (65 lb / 95 lb) and pull-ups, for time |
| Cindy | Benchmark "Girl" | 20 minute AMRAP of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats |
| Murph | Hero | Run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, run, in a vest |
The categories do overlap in one useful way. Cindy is the rep scheme most people use to partition Murph: twenty rounds of 5, 10, 15 equals 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 air squats.
Weighted vest standards for hero WODs
Several of these are done under load, and the standard is more consistent than people assume. Murph and Josie both prescribe a 20 lb vest for men and 14 lb for women, a number that traces back to the body armor the workouts came from rather than to any strength target. Chad 1000X is the outlier: its published standard is a 45 lb ruck for men and 35 lb for women, though many athletes substitute a vest.
Three rules. Heavier is not more respectful: going 30 lb on Murph does not honor anyone better, it just wrecks your push-ups. Fit beats weight, because a vest that rides up on pull-ups costs more than the load itself. And earn it. If you cannot finish the workout unweighted with clean mechanics, do it unweighted this year. Our guide to how heavy your vest should be covers load selection in more detail.
VEST STANDARD, MET
Hybrid Weight Vest MK2
Adjustable to the 20 lb hero WOD standard used in Murph and Josie, and back down to 14 lb or lighter for training days. Low profile so it stays put through pull-ups, push-ups, step-ups, and both miles. $199.99.
Shop now →How to approach a hero WOD
Scale it. Every one of these was published expecting athletes to adjust load, volume, or movement to fit their capacity. Finishing a workout you modified says more than quitting one you should not have started at Rx. Pick one or two a year and train for them.
Then read the name out loud before you start. That is the whole tradition, and it takes fifteen seconds.
Hero WOD FAQ
What is a hero WOD?
A CrossFit workout named in memory of a member of the armed forces, law enforcement, or the fire service who died in the line of duty or as a result of their service. The first was JT, posted July 6, 2005.
Is Fran a hero WOD?
No. Fran is a benchmark "Girl" workout, 21-15-9 reps of thrusters and pull-ups for time. The Girls are tests used to measure progress, not memorials. Cindy, Grace, and Helen are the same.
What is the hardest hero WOD?
It depends on what you are bad at. Kalsu is the most commonly cited, because the burpee penalty compounds as you slow down. Chad 1000X is the longest grind and Murph has the highest rep count. Any of them will humble you at Rx unprepared.
Do you have to wear a weight vest?
Only for the Rx version of the workouts that call for one, which here are Murph and Josie at 20 lb for men and 14 lb for women. Chad 1000X calls for a ruck instead. DT, Kalsu, and Randy carry no bodyweight load.
