CrossFit recently announced a partnership with ATHX Games, bringing the global functional fitness competition into the official CrossFit Partner Event Series. ATHX will now sit alongside XENOM as a member of this new system.
The partnership gives CrossFit athletes a different and standardized competition format in which to test strength, endurance, and mixed modal fitness. ATHX runs events internationally, in cities such as LA, Miami, Liverpool and Texas, and their format is deliberately distinct from a traditional CrossFit competition.
Prior to game day, athletes know exactly which physical tests they will tackle. Each individual moves through a predefined 2.5 hour event timeline, including zones to prepare, warm up, complete each test then recover before the next workout.
ATHX has always positioned itself as a complementary challenge, rather than a replacement for traditional CrossFit competitions, where the concept of the unknowable is a core part of the basic philosophy. The ATHX score based system is designed to show athletes how they performed across three separate domains, then compare those results with other competitors to see how they stack up.
The Six Zones and 2.5 Hour Format
Every ATHX athlete goes through six zones in the same order, under the same overall conditions.
Warm Up and Strength
The day begins with 30 minutes in a dedicated warm up area, followed by a 20 minute Strength Zone. In the current 2026 individual format, athletes attempt a one rep max strict press, a three rep max back squat, and a five rep max deadlift. Their strength score is the total load successfully lifted.
Refuel, Endurance and Recovery
After the strength test section, athletes have 10 minutes to refuel before the 30 minute Endurance Zone begins. Competitors alternate between running and rowing for 22 minutes. ATHX division athletes switch after each 750 meter effort, while Pro athletes switch after each 1,000 meter effort. The score is the combined distance covered.
Athletes then move into the next 30 minute Recovery Zone before the final test.
MetCon X
The final portion is a 30 minute workout called MetCon X, a more traditional CrossFit/Functional Fitness style WOD.
In a 25 minute time cap, athletes must work their way through SkiErg calories, alternating dumbbell ground to overhead reps, a sandbag carry, box jump overs, dumbbell walking lunges, burpee broad jumps, and the final SkiErg effort to close out the workout.
MetCon X
- SkiErg: Men 45 calories / Women 30 calories
- 30 Single Arm Alternating Ground to Overhead: Men 20kg / Women 12.5kg
- Pro: 30 Dual Dumbbell Ground to Overhead: Men 22.5kg / Women 15kg
- 30m Sandbag Carry: Men 50kg / Women 30kg
- Pro: Men 70kg / Women 40kg
- 30 Box Jump Overs: Men 24 inches / Women 20 inches
- Pro: Men 30 inches / Women 24 inches
- 30m Dual Dumbbell Walking Lunges: Men 20kg / Women 12.5kg
- Pro: Dual Dumbbell Front Rack Walking Lunges: Men 22.5kg / Women 15kg
- 30m Burpee Broad Jumps
- SkiErg: Men 45 calories / Women 30 calories
25 Minute Time Cap
Score: Time to Complete
This workout blends aerobic work, loaded carries, jumping, and repeated full body movements. ATHX has specifically programmed lower skill based movements in the interests of safety and accessibility. Notice there are none of the higher skill based movements often found in CrossFit workouts such as muscle ups, handstand walks (and push ups), double unders or snatches.
What Athletes Should Know Before Entering
ATHX rewards athletes who, like CrossFit athletes, are good across the board. You need to be strong, have a good aerobic engine, maintain decent pacing, exercises efficient movement patterns, and be mentally tough to make it through the full day of tests.
The CrossFit partnership gives ATHX greater visibility within the functional fitness community, and it is interesting to see CrossFit as a company embracing and partnering with newer formats of competition.
References
- CrossFit (2026) ‘ATHX Games: An Official CrossFit Partner Event Series’, CrossFit Games, 17 September.
- ATHX Games (2026a) ‘ATHX 2026 Workouts’, ATHX Games.
- ATHX Games (2026b) ‘2026 Movement Standards’, ATHX Games.
- ATHX Games (2026c) ‘ATHX 2026 Finals Information’, ATHX Games.
- Wang, X., Soh, K.G., Samsudin, S., Deng, N., Liu, X., Zhao, Y. and Akbar, S. (2023) ‘Effects of high intensity functional training on physical fitness and sport specific performance among the athletes: A systematic review with meta analysis’, PLOS ONE, 18(12), e0295531.
