Performance Sex Differences in CrossFit®

Abstract

CrossFit® has a unique standard for workout of the day for women and men. Scaling is used to set difficulty levels for women in CrossFit® gyms and competitions. This type of scaling is applied for weightlifting (60–82% of men’s load); however, there are usually no differences in difficulty settings for gymnastics and monostructural metabolic conditioning. Performance analysis is essential for every sports discipline, and statistical data comparing men’s and women’s results from athletics, running, swimming, weightlifting, etc., are available. However, CrossFit® lacks these statistics. The aim of our study was to analyze how the performances of men and women differed at the 2021 CrossFit Games®. Our sample comprised 40 female (age 27.8 ± 5.1) and 40 male participants (age 27.2 ± 3.7) competing in the Rx division. Data obtained from all events were analyzed using effect size and percentage. In 14 out of 15 events, men achieved better results than women. Even with the implementation of scaling, women’s results differed by 0.1–33.1% (effect size from small to large). Scaling for women is designed according to general strength and power differences; however, primarily because of anatomic and physiological differences, men attain better results. However, CrossFit Games® events are always unique, and the events rarely repeat; therefore, our study does not provide firm conclusions. As our study is the first to compare CrossFit Games® performance between the sexes, further research is needed.