CrossFit HQ has announced the first and second events from 2016 Regionals. 

We've already seen the bar set extremely high by Rich Froning, but what else can we expect from these events?

Event 1

For time:
10 squat snatches (185/135) by 2:00
8 squat snatches (205/145) by 4:00
6 squat snatches (225/155) by 6:00
4 squat snatches (245/165) by 8:00
2 squat snatches (265/175) by 11:00

Simply put, this is heavy and awesome. It will be exciting to see the athletes tested in a meaningful way at the same time. The women’s side is definitely heavier than we’ve seen in the past, which isn’t a bad thing. 16.2 was significantly easier for women than it was for men, so adjusting the weights is the right move.

The key to performing well here is moving at a controlled clip. Smashing the first two sets will only come back to hurt the athlete and this event will be won or lost by how little or how much rest the athlete needs between reps in the last three sets. There are only 30 reps in this workout, so each one is important. Even a single no-rep can derail an epic performance, especially near the end.

Event winners: Sam Dancer and Mat Fraser; Brooke Wells and Kara Webb

Event 2

10 rounds for time:
4 strict muscle-ups
7 strict-handstand push-ups
12 kettlebell snatches (70/53)

20-minute time cap

Strict movements on strict movements! This is going to be a difficult workout for people to complete, and for most of the field, it will become a 20-minute AMRAP. The toughest part will be the judging, so hats off to the volunteers who are putting themselves in the spotlight for that thankless job.

By now, strict-handstand push-ups should be in every Regional athlete's wheelhouse, but what about strict muscle-ups? It makes sense from a progression standpoint, and it follows the kipping-to-strict transition HQ has made with handstand push-ups and rope climbs. This workout is less of a conditioning event and more of a muscle-endurance event. The best performers probably won't be gassed by it—instead of riding the fine line of what their conditioning allows, they'll be limited by their ability to continue knocking out these difficult reps with limited rest.

I expect to see many athletes using personal timers or watches to stay on top of their rest and control their intervals, especially in the later weeks of Regionals.

Event winners: Brent Fikowski and Noah Ohlsen, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet and Kara Webb

Continue with the breakdown of events 3, 4, & 5 here.