Diane
A 21-15-9 couplet pairing heavy deadlifts with handstand push-ups — two very different skill demands, raw posterior-chain strength and inverted pressing, under the same descending rep scheme as Fran.
- Deadlifts(225lb)
- Handstand Push Ups
Movements in this workout
Scaling
Scaled
155/105 lb deadlifts; pike push-ups on a box or dumbbell strict presses in place of handstand push-ups. Abmat-and-band HSPU only for athletes with an established inversion base.
Beginner
95/65 lb deadlifts with a coach's eye on the set-up, seated dumbbell presses, 15-12-9 or 12-9-6. The hinge pattern is the priority; upside-down can wait.
The story
Deadlifts at 225/155 paired with handstand push-ups in the classic 21-15-9. The pairing is the point: a heavy hinge that pools blood in the posterior chain, followed immediately by going upside down. Sub-3 elite times depend almost entirely on unbroken handstand push-ups. Part of CrossFit's original 'Girls' benchmark series — named workouts introduced by founder Greg Glassman starting in 2003, on the logic that anything that leaves you flat on your back deserves a name like a storm. They serve as repeatable fitness tests: revisit one every few months and the clock tells you whether you're fitter. First posted to CrossFit.com on 2003-09-19.
First posted 2003-09-19
More The Girls
Structured data from the WodWiz Open WOD Database (CC BY 4.0).