This study examined relationships between prior CF competition experiences and performance in the 2020 CFO among the top 1,000-ranked athletes. Previously, years of CF experience [4, 7] and past ranks at various stages of the Games™ competition [4] were found to be related, albeit variably, to CF performance. Our data support and expand upon those findings by documenting relationships between 2020 CFO performance and past competition experiences distinguished by appearances, competition stage, and division rank. Specifically, positive relationships were observed between all metrics of CFO rank (i.e., highest, lowest, average, and SD) and 2020 CFO rank (overall and for nearly all workouts). With only two exceptions, rank (overall and for each workout) was also negatively related to the number of appearances at each stage in previous years (i.e., more appearances at each stage were associated with higher ranks [lower numerical value]). Participation rate as an individual regional and Games™ competitor, was also negatively related to most workouts, and at the Games™, was more important than final placement. Few relationships were observed, however, when the athlete’s appearance at regional or Games™ competition was by way of team. Still, more associations were seen when the athlete was part of a team that competed at the Games™ compared to those that never advanced beyond the regional level. Although preliminary, these data may be useful for determining when more specific sample descriptions are needed in CF research. Further, this line of research may help athletes and coaches distinguish the importance of various experiences versus physiological characteristics to performance at different levels of CF competition.
With only two exceptions (i.e., lowest CFO rank and W3; SD of ranks and W4), a history of performing well in the CFO was most consistently linked with better 2020 performance. Performance (overall and in each workout) was extremely favored to be related to the highest rank achieved in previous CFO competitions, as well as to the number of times an athlete appeared as an individual, regional competitor. Indeed, when the competition included a regional stage, only top-ranked competitors within the 17 worldwide regions (i.e., 10th – 30th depending on the region or the top 0.01% worldwide) would progress beyond the CFO. The number of individual appearances at the Games™ was also related to ranking (overall and in each workout), but evidence was not as strong and likely the consequence of far fewer athletes in this study ever reaching this final stage. Regardless, our data supports evidence of past CFO ranking being a predictor (r2 = 0.28 – 0.59) of performance in future competitions [4]. In fact, there is only a single instance between previous work [4] and the present study where a significant relationship was not observed between the athlete’s personal best and current CFO performances. That instance occurred in 2018 when competitors had to perform a maximal power clean immediately after another workout; a task that was better predicted by muscle size, strength, power, and resistance training experience. However, CF workouts are not commonly scored by maximum weight lifted. It is more common for specific loads and repetition schemes to be assigned to some combination of exercises, which are then either scored as the number of repetitions completed within a time limit or by how quickly the athlete completes the assigned work [3, 22, 26]. While the present data does not support or refute the importance of the athlete’s physiological attributes, it does suggest that those who frequently perform well enough to advance and face better competition have a tactical advantage. Those with sufficient experience [18–21], particularly when it was gained against better competition [16], are more likely to recognize familiar elements in novel workouts and devise a better strategy to manage fatigue and optimize performance.
Interestingly, few relationships were seen between historical rank in later stages of the competition and 2020 CFO performance. Despite extreme evidence predominantly favoring relationships with appearances (at regions and Games™), evidence for ranking history at the regional stage was generally anecdotal-to-moderate and even less convincing for Games™ rankings. The reasons for this are currently unclear but a few potential explanations warrant further investigation. First, CFO competitors and those who advance may represent two different populations. Serafini et al. [6] found differences in measures of strength, power, and sport-specific skill among quintiles created from the top 1,500 athletes of the 2016 CFO. Although these differences predominantly favored the top-ranked quintile compared to all others, the accuracy and timing of the self-reported data (obtained from the athletes’ online profile) was unknown. Nevertheless, those findings were corroborated by Mangine and colleagues [27], who noted lower body fat percentage and greater bone and non-bone lean mass, muscle morphology characteristics, isometric strength, peak aerobic capacity, and 3-minute “all-out” cycling performance in an advanced group of athletes that possessed regional and Games™ experience compared to those who had never progressed beyond the CFO. Still, the advanced group was mainly comprised of team athletes, and differences between experienced team and individual athletes have yet to be examined. Another explanation could be that CFO workouts are not comparable to those that have appeared at regional events and the Games™. Even though any workout might appear at any stage of the competition, later-stage workouts often incorporate higher loads for a given repetition scheme, more repetitions at a given load, and/or components (e.g., running, obstacle courses, rope climbing, and peg board ascents) that require more skill, specific equipment, or are too difficult to standardize in the CFO [22, 26]. Additionally, the competition structure between the CFO and regional or Games™ events are vastly different. For instance, participants of the CFO may perform any given event as many times as they wish within the allotted timeframe. This may allow for attempting different pacing strategies, transitions, and general approaches to the workout to optimize their performance. With this, participants of the CFO are also given an entire week between competitive events, whereas, Regional and Games™ participants often perform multiple events in a given day for a number of consecutive days. Currently, however, there are no established methods for quantifying difficulty or making fair comparisons amongst all the potential design variations of CF workouts. Until such methods exist, any stated difficulty differences are speculative at best and highly subjective to personal bias. Finally, the lack of relationships may have simply been the consequence of reduced statistical power. Of the athletes who competed in the 2020 CFO, most had CFO experience (n = 216) but far fewer possessed at least one year of either individual or team regional (n = 104) or Games™ (n = 32) experience. Athletes who had never advanced beyond the CFO still received a score of zero for appearances (at regions and the Games™), but because no value could be assigned for rank, their cases were not considered when examining the relationships between ranks at each stage. Thus, for the time being, it appears that being good enough to advance beyond the CFO is more meaningful to future performance than one’s eventual rank in later competition stages.
Team regional and Games™ experience was less valuable than individual competition experience. Appearances as a regional team athlete was only related to W5 performance, whereas the number of times an athlete progressed to the Games™ as part of a team was only slightly more advantageous. Though many of the reasons previously cited for historical rank may also be relevant here, the most likely explanation is that CFO performance is not the sole consideration for team composition. There are several unique competition aspects that must be considered when forming a team. For instance, team composition rules have typically required an equal number of men and women, who are only eligible if they: 1) trained at the same location for more than half of the year, 2) stated this affiliation during the registration process, and 3) participated in at least one CFO workout [28]. Because of these stipulations, it is possible for a team to not be comprised of the highest-ranking individuals from a given location. Furthermore, team competition workouts emphasize the concept of “teamwork” by often incorporating elements that cannot be performed individually (e.g., synchronized movements, relays, the “worm”) [22, 26]. Drastic differences in individual body size, skill, and physiology may all negatively impact the team’s ability to function as a unit and perform these tasks efficiently. Consequently, team leadership may select athletes based on their shared similarities or how well they complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Finally, those who qualify for advancement as both an individual and team athlete may simply decide not to continue in both competitions. In any case, this appears to be the first study to distinguish between aspects relevant to individual and team CF performance. Further research is needed to better clarify the differences, if any exist, between these two types of athletes at various stages of the competition.