A bog-standard staircase stands between me and my post-gym shower – this is my Everest. Normally the steps would pose no problems, but having just finished a workout challenge from two-time CrossFit Games champion Justin Medeiros, I find my quads are no longer cooperating.
The 26-year-old R.A.D athlete laid down the gauntlet during our recent interview, and it sounded fairly innocuous at first; complete 50 wall balls, 50 squat jumps and 50 unweighted squats as quickly as possible.
Knowing that elite CrossFit athletes can walk on their hands, toss heavy weights overhead and run faster than most, I thought this all sounded refreshingly accessible and promised to give it a go. Now, as I assumed a vice-like grip on the bannister and took my first shaky steps up the gym stairs, I couldn’t help but chuckle at my past-self’s hubris.
Below, you can find out how to try the workout for yourself, and learn how it left me struggling to climb the stairs.
How to do two-time CrossFit Games champion Justin Medeiros’ three-move workout
Complete the sequence below as quickly as possible:
Rest as needed and maintain good form throughout. Your score is the time it takes you to complete all 150 repetitions.
In CrossFit, the RX – or ‘as prescribed’ – standards for the wall balls involve throwing a 9kg ball to a 10ft target for men, and throwing a 6kg ball to a 9ft target for women. The jumping squats and bodyweight squats are performed unweighted.
Medeiros, however, performed what he describes as an “RX+ version of the workout”, using a 14kg wall ball and wearing a 10kg weighted vest throughout. This was also just a small portion of Medeiros’ daily training plans, although it’s worth remembering that this is his job and he is incredibly fit.
For the rest of us, he stresses, the most important thing is to find a version of this workout that provides you with an achievable-yet-challenging test of your fitness. This might mean using a lighter wall ball, or lowering the target number of repetitions for each exercise to suit your fitness level.
“The thing I love most about CrossFit is working out at an affiliate [how CrossFit folk refer to their gyms] then looking left and right and seeing a bunch of people working hard,” Medeiros says. “At the end of the day, that's all we want. It doesn't really matter how many reps you do or how heavy you're lifting, it's just about being in there and working hard with an awesome group of people.”
Read more: Can run clubs really replace pubs? I immersed myself in both communities to find out
What is CrossFit and what are the CrossFit Games?
CrossFit is a fitness methodology founded in 2000, with the MO of helping participants improve their fitness using “constantly varied movements performed at high intensity”. A typical one-hour CrossFit class tends to start with a strength or skill-developing section, then conclude with a WOD (workout of the day) to improve participants’ physical conditioning.
The CrossFit Games is CrossFit’s annual quest to find the “fittest man and woman on earth” via a multi-day competition. In recent years, this has been done via 10-or-more scored events which test the athletes’ strength, gymnastic skill, cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance and other physical attributes. Justin Medeiros has won the CrossFit Games twice, in 2021 and 2022.
Read more: Do this expert-approved four-move workout weekly to improve full-body strength, blood sugar and bone density
What happened when I tried training like a CrossFit Games champion
As a fitness writer, I’m in OK shape. Not CrossFit Games shape, granted, but good enough nick to think this workout might be fairly manageable. And it started off that way.
I hit “go” on my timer, squatted down to grab a medicine ball on the ground in front of me, then started cranking through the wall balls – a dastardly cocktail of squats and overhead throws which quickly sent my heart rate skywards while sapping all power from my legs and shoulders.
This exercise had the expected effect, putting my pre-workout banana to good use, but I gritted my teeth and held on to finish all 50 without taking a break. Retrospectively, this may have been a mistake.
On the last rep, I let the ball fall and smack the floor with a satisfying slap, then pivoted and sunk into my first squat jump. The point of this exercise is to generate enough power – force times velocity – to launch yourself off the ground at the top of each rep. The problem was, my legs had very little power left in them after the gruelling wall balls.
I started with a set of 10, then seven, then five; my thighs were on fire, and I was struggling to separate myself from the ground after each squat. Despite trying to keep my breaks to three deep breaths, I noticed the number on the clock stacking up, and by the time I finished this second exercise I was barely clinging to clusters of three repetitions.
Finally, I arrived at the squats. After the jump squats, the first two sets of 10 felt comparatively pleasant, but it didn’t take long for the burning in my quads to return. Still, I was able to stick with sets of five and finish the workout in 5min 17sec.
I sank to the floor and assumed the obligatory post-workout starfish pose. A couple of minutes later, I peeled myself off the ground to reveal a perfect sweat angel, then grabbed my phone to check Medeiros’ score. With a heavier wall ball, and wearing a 10kg weight vest throughout, he had beaten my time by almost a minute: 4min 22sec.
To usurp a popular quote, it would appear that those who can, do. And those who can’t? We just write about it.
