Athletic Skill Levels I-IV for Crossfit

Credit

This is adapted from the “Athletic Skill Levels” table created by Dave Werner of Crossfit Seattle in 2007. Crossfit Seattle closed in 2017, and the handy table disappeared along with the website.

I have re-created it in web format here.

The Table

Explanation of Athletic Skill Levels I to IV

Crossfit develops all of the components of physical fitness by means using varied workouts.

To maximize growth in fitness, you have to set goals for each skill area, balance you effort across the skills appropriately, and measure your progress.

This table of skill levels makes your goal-setting super easy. You can evaluate your progress towards each level of fitness you’re working towards by checking the table.

Keep in mind that these levels are not meant to be a hard and fast “pass or fail” test. If you can do nearly everything on Level II, for example, it’s worth noting that and placing yourself much closer to Level II than Level I.

Use this also as a way to focus on your weak points. Maybe your leg strength is lagging behind, or you need to lose some fat to be able to conquer the pull ups and dips. With these tests, no weak point can hide for long.

Finally, take this table not as a level you achieve but as simply a way of gauging your athleticism in a helpful way, or if you’re a coach, as a way to gauge the athleticism of your clients and what kind of workout they are capable of performing. Otherwise, what would “intermediate” mean? It’s a nebulous term until it’s quantified. With this, we know exactly what intermediate means and can speak the same language in terms of specifically which intermediate level movements an athlete is capable of performing.

These are NOT meant to be done all at once! You can do each movement on different days when you’re as rested as you need to be. Realistically, there are some you can pack together on the same day, depending on how easy the movements are for you and what skills or muscle groups they work.

Level I – Well Rounded Beginner

At this level you have the flexibility, strength, and work capacity to move freely and perform normal tasks with correct body mechanics throughout the day. You can also perform moderate exercise of any kind.

Sedentary people do not start at this level. Even people who get regular exercise, such as avid cyclists, joggers, or tennis players, are most likely not at this level if they do not have a well-rounded workout routine outside of their active hobbies. For example, starting just at the top of list, 50 unbroken squats is not possible yet for many athletic people, and 10 pushups is not possible yet for many females. This level represents one that you have to work at to achieve.

Untrained people normally can reach this level within a year of regular training, or often much quicker if they are in somewhat good shape already and don’t have serious physical issues.

Level II – Intermediate Athlete

All healthy adults can reach this level of fitness with training. At this level you have gained significant strength and can perform all movements with good form.

Level II is a respectable level of fitness for anyone to aspire to. You can perform athletically well at a large number of sports.

Once you’ve reached Level I, Level II can take several months or longer to reach, possibly many years if you have issues to work through.

Level III – Advanced Athlete

Like Level II, any healthy person can reach this level, but this is a level of fitness beyond just being reasonably strong and athletic.

Some of the tests in this level may be easy for you, while others are way beyond your grasp at the moment. You have to perform all the tests, so you are not an “advanced athlete” until you can do so. For example, deadlifting 2 times your bodyweight is not something you just do one day without years of dedicated training, setbacks, and programming.

This is the level of athlete that has gone beyond normal athleticism or being able to do the WODs as rx’d. This takes a lot of time by yourself, day after day, working towards specific goals, mainly in strength.

Level IV – Elite Athlete

As the name suggests, very few people reach this level. These are the Crossfit Games athletes, the Olympians, and others who have pushed the limits of what we think the human body is capable of.

Many powerlifting champions can do a portion of the tests for this level, and many endurance athletes can do another portion, but it takes a special type of superbly rounded athlete to be able to perform all of these tests. There is not level V. That’s how hard level IV is. Once you reach IV, congrats, you win.