Are We Testing 1 Rep Max Olympic Lifting Too Often?

Image Credit: CrossFit LLC

With the recent announcement from the Dubai Fitness Championship of Event 2, which they are calling “Dubai Elite Lifters Clash” (but is really just the Olympic lifting total- one rep max Snatch plus one rep Clean and Jerk), a few friends who I have tremendous respect for as both programmers and evaluators of programming have suggested that programming is getting repetitive with regards to the heavy lifts, and that high level competitions should not be testing the Olympic lifting totals in isolation, or at least are suggesting that some more creativity could be implored in doing so.

In particular, one of them mentioned that the “Olympic Total” was just tested at the CrossFit Games this year. Another mentioned that Dubai has tested a one-rep max snatch once before and a one-rep max clean and jerk twice previously. 

Rather than just accept their frustrations as objectively correct, I thought it would be worth diving into the question of whether or not the max snatch and max clean and jerk are being programmed too often. 

Questions we’re after: 

• How often have the Olympic Lifts been tested as 1-rep maxes in individual competition?
• How many athletes competing in Dubai just did this at the Games?
• Which athletes have competed in the most competitions as individuals that have tested 1-rep max Olympic Lifts?

One-Rep Max Snatch Testing History

Since 2009, a One-Rep Max Snatch has been programmed 25 times that we have record of in the B.Friendly Stats database: 

*Note that 3 of those 25 are as part of the “Olympic Total”

Competition	Year	Event Title	Event
CrossFit Games	2009	Snatch	1RM Snatch
CrossFit Games	2011	Skills 2	1RM Weighted Chest to Bar Pull Up for load1RM SnatchJug Carry for distance in 60 seconds
Regionals	2012	Regionals 12.5	EMOM until Failure20 Double Unders1RM Snatch
Regionals	2015	Regionals 15.5	1RM Snatch
CrossFit Games	2017	1RM Snatch	2 x 20 sec window to lift1RM SnatchTop 10 will get 2 additional attempts
Sanctionals: Dubai CrossFit Championship	2018	Max Snatch	5 min to establish a 1RM Snatch
Sanctionals: MACC	2019	Milo (Snatch)	6 min to establish a 1RM Snatch
Sanctionals: Reykjavik CrossFit Championship	2019	Last Man Standing	1RM Snatch LadderA Snatch ladder culminating in the last 5 standing going head to head on 3 attempts for 1RM
Sanctionals: MACC	2019	Milo (Total)	Total Weight from 1RM Snatch and 1RM Clean and Jerk
Sanctionals: CrossFit French Throwdown	2019	Event 8	Every 75 seconds with increasing barbell weight8 cal Ski1RM Snatch
Sanctionals: Filthy 150	2019	Snatch	1RM Snatch
Sanctionals: SouthFit CrossFit Challenge	2019	WOD 4B	1RM Snatch
Semifinals: Granite Games	2021	2018’s Flashback Snatch	1RM Snatch
Semifinals: MACC	2021	8 Mile	1RM Snatch
CrossFit Games	2021	Event 12	1RM Snatch
Madrid Challenger Series	2021	Eleiko	1RM Snatch1RM Clean and Jerk
French Throwdown	2022	Snatch+OHS	1RM Snatch + Overhead Squat Ladder
Zelos Games	2022	Ace of Spades	Every 1:30 until failureRound 1: 30 Double Unders + 3 Snatch (185)Round 2: 30 Double Unders + 3 Snatch (205)Round 3: 30 Double Unders + 3 Snatch (225)Round 4: 30 Double Unders + 2 Snatch (235)Round 5: 30 Double Unders + 2 Snatch (245)Round 6: 30 Double Unders + 1 Snatch (255)Round 7: 30 Double Unders + 1 Snatch (265)Round 8: 3 min to find a 1RM Snatch
Metcon Rush	2022	Lift Off	1RM Snatch
Black Challenge	2022	Max Lift	1RM Snatch
Malaga Throwdown	2022	WOD 2	3 attempts at 1RM Snatch every 2 min
Turun Tuomiopäivä	2022	Max Track and a Couple of Bishops	1RM Snatch
Semifinals	2023	Test 4	800m Assault AirRunner1RM Snatch Rest 2 minutes, then Test 5
CrossFit Games	2023	Olympic Total	1RM Snatch1RM Clean and Jerk 2 x 20 second windows per lift
NorCal Classic	2023	Big Snatch Energy	6 min to establish a 1RM Snatch50 Double Unders at 0:00 and 3:00

One-Rep Max Clean and Jerk Testing History

The Clean and Jerk was first programmed as a 1-rep max four years later in 2013, it has been programmed much less often (60% of the time) as compared to the 1-rep max snatch. Here are the 15 times a 1-rep max clean and jerk has been programmed since 2013: 

*Note that 3 of those 15 are as part of the Olympic Total

Competition	Year	Event Title	Event
CrossFit Games	2013	Clean & Jerk Ladder	1RM Clean and Jerk every 90 seconds 4 Starting weight options – 225, 255, 285, 315
Open	2015	Open 15.1A	1RM Clean and Jerk
CrossFit Games	2015	Clean and Jerk	1RM Clean and Jerk
Sanctionals: MACC	2019	Milo (Total)	Total Weight from 1RM Snatch and 1RM Clean and Jerk
Sanctionals: Down Under CrossFit Championship	2019	Clean and Jerk	3 x 1 min attempts for 1RM Clean and Jerk
Sanctionals: MACC	2019	Milo (Clean and Jerk)	Then,6 min to find 1RM Clean and Jerk
Sanctionals: Dubai CrossFit Championship	2019	Event 4	1RM Clean and Jerk
Sanctionals: The Rogue Invitational	2020	Event 4	Tiebreak:7 Clean and Jerks Rest 5:00Then, EMOM until Failure1RM Clean and Jerk
Madrid Challenger Series	2021	Eleiko	1RM Snatch1RM Clean and Jerk
Semifinals: Torian Pro	2021	Clean & Jerk Ladder	1RM Clean and Jerk
Dubai CrossFit Championship	2021	Event 2	1RM Clean and Jerk2 lifts per athlete, Athletes pick their weight
NorCal Classic	2022	Clean & Jerk Ladder	1RM Clean and Jerk
CrossFit Games	2023	Olympic Total	1RM Snatch1RM Clean and Jerk 2 x 20 second windows per lift
Wodapalooza	2023	We Have Lift Off (A)	1RM Clean and Jerk 1 min Transition to Part B
Madrid CrossFit Championship	2023	Lifting Test	3 Rounds (90s On, 90s Off)50 Jump Bar Double Unders1RM Clean and Jerk

Olympic Total Testing History

And finally the Olympic Lifting total, which is what is being programmed at the Dubai Fitness Championship this year has only shown up three times that we have record of in our database, beginning in 2019:

Competition	Year	Event Title	Event
Sanctionals: MACC	2019	Milo (Total)	Total Weight from 1RM Snatch and 1RM Clean and Jerk
Madrid Challenger Series	2021	Eleiko	1RM Snatch1RM Clean and Jerk
CrossFit Games	2023	Olympic Total	1RM Snatch1RM Clean and Jerk 2 x 20 second windows per lift

Breaking Down the Charts

Let’s take a simpler look at where these lifts have been programmed: 

	Games	Regionals/Semis	Sanctionals	Out of Season
Snatch	4	2/3	7	7
Clean and Jerk	2	0/1	5	4
Olympic Total	1	0/0	1	1

For those who have the feeling that it’s getting programmed too frequently, it’s probably because of the density within the last few years. Sanctionals and the years in which we had a variety of Semifinals doing their own programming account for 16 of 38, or just under half, of the times any of these three things have been programmed. 

Additionally, all 12 of the out of season competitions which have programmed these lifts started doing so with Dubai in 2018. 

What it seems is that since the Open-Regional-Games format of the season was shut down, many more competitions started being followed through the Sanctional model. Many of those competitions, and others, have seized opportunity in the new landscape of the sport to provide competitive opportunities for top athletes in their parts of the world. 

For the people who follow the sport the most closely, they will therefore see one-rep max testing of Olympic lifts showing up at a frequency which could be unsettling. 

However, considering that in this sport most of the athletes only compete a couple times per year, they aren’t each being tested individually on these lifts anywhere near the frequency at which they’re being programmed. 

From a data point of view, it’s great that they’ve been programmed this often within the last several years as it allows us to gather a wider range of athlete’s performance when it comes to the Olympic lifts. 

2023 CrossFit Games Athletes in Dubai

Considering all of that, the “Olympic Lifting Total” was just programmed at the CrossFit Games this past July. LaPerf and B.Friendly Stats recently put out an Instagram post offering some insight into some of the patterns observed in the two-lift format there. We don’t know the format for Dubai yet, but if they give them a third lift, it will be cool to do a side-by-side style comparison evaluating how two lifts, as compared to three, would potentially affect athlete performance. 

We don’t quite have the full list for athletes competing in Dubai yet, but from what we do know there are 8 women and 8 men from the 2023 CrossFit Games who are also competing in Dubai, though a few of them were CUT before the “Olympic Total” event at the Games: 

Athlete	Snatch	Clean & Jerk	Total
Karin Frey	206	240	446 lbs
Emma Tall	186	236	422 lbs
Alexia Williams	175	235	410 lbs
Seher Kaya	175	210	385 lbs
Emily Rolfe	165	200	365 lbs
Manon Angonese	CUT	CUT	CUT
Matilde Garnes	CUT	CUT	CUT
Shahad Budebs	CUT	CUT	CUT
Athlete	Snatch	Clean & Jerk	Total
Bronislaw Olenkowicz	315	365	680 lbs
Moritz Fiebig	285	357	642 lbs
Fabian Beneito	281	356	637 lbs
Chandler Smith	293	335	628 lbs
Roman Khrennikov	276	341	617 lbs
Lazar Dukic	277	330	607 lbs
David Shorunke	255	320	575 lbs
Ant Haynes	245	285	530 lbs

Who Has Done the Most 1RM Olympic Lifts in Their Career?

Here are a list of all athletes who have EVER done 5 or more of any Olympic lift in one of the competitions from our database: 

Men: Snatch

Athlete (17)	Snatch
Will Moorad	8
Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson	7
Samuel Kwant	7
Noah Ohlsen	6
Jonne Koski	6
Tim Paulson	6
Roman Khrennikov	6
Ben Smith	5
Rob Forte	5
Jason Smith	5
Scott Panchik	5
Travis Mayer	5
Brent Fikowski	5
Norman Woodring	5
Richard Paul Castillo	5
Justin Medeiros	5
Adrian Mundwiler	5

Men: Clean and Jerk

Athlete (5)	Clean and Jerk
Jonne Koski	6
Will Moorad	5
Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson	5
Patrick Vellner	5
Spencer Panchik	5

Women: Snatch

Athlete (14)	Snatch
Annie Thorisdottir	8
Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir	6
Thuridur Erla Helgadottir	6
Emma McQuaid	6
Emma Mcquaid	6
Samantha Briggs	5
Lauren Fisher	5
Sara Sigmundsdottir	5
Brooke Wells	5
Paige Henry	5
Arielle Loewen	5
Mikaela Norman	5
Bethany Flores	5
Elena Carratala Sanahuja	5

Women: Clean and Jerk

Athlete (6)	Snatch
Samantha Briggs	6
Sara Sigmundsdottir	6
Kara Saunders	5
Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir	5
Thuridur Erla Helgadottir	5
Jamie Simmonds	5

Seventeen men and fourteen women have seen a one rep max snatch occur five or more times in a competition throughout their career. Annie Thorisdottir and Will Moorad tally the most max snatch events with eight apiece. 

The numbers are considerably lower for the clean and jerk with only six women and five men having seen at least five competitions. Jonne Koski, Sam Briggs, and Sara Sigmundsdottir lead the way with six competitive one rep max clean and jerk events each. 

Total Number of Athletes Compared to The Elite

All told*, 1,460 men and 1186 women have seen a one-rep max snatch in competition; 80% of the men and 76% of the women on that list have only done it once. 

A total of 1257 men and 1217 women have had a one-rep max clean and jerk in competition; 88% of the men and 89% of the women have only had one chance to do it. 

*In the Open we only count the top 1000 (plus anyone from outside the top 1000 with a top-10 worldwide finish in any singular Open workout, when it applies), each year.

Conclusions

It doesn’t seem to be the frequency with which the lifts show up historically that’s the issue at all. In this case, the density of these lifts being tested between 2019 and the present is much higher than it was prior to that. However, the entire season structure began changing at that point in the sports career, which in turn has caused changes to the frequency of high level competitions occurring, and therefore increasing the number of opportunities for them to show up as well. 

As far as the athletes are concerned, many of them have faced these lifts at least once, far fewer have seen them twice or more, and only the elite athletes in the sport (which almost the entirety of those lists are) have seen them five times or more in competition. Most of the athletes who have seen them five or more times have been competing for a long time, in some cases a decade or more; seeing the Olympic Lifts come up once a year per athlete is probably okay, and much like it will be in Dubai, if it’s against a changed enough field and/or with a different format, there is likely a decent chance for a different result.