How to Test Your Benchmarks (and How Often)
Updated: 23 hours ago
Ask most athletes how much fitter they are than six months ago and you will get a feeling, not an answer. "I think my engine is better." "My pull-ups feel stronger." Maybe. Feelings are shaped by sleep, mood and whatever workout you did yesterday.
Benchmarks replace that guesswork with evidence, but only if you run them like an experiment. A well-run test tells you whether your training is working, where your gaps are, and what to prioritize next. A sloppy one gives you a number that means very little.
So treat what follows as a protocol. It is the same one I use with the athletes I coach, from choosing the tests to reading the results.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Step one: decide what the test is for, then what to test
Testing has three jobs. It confirms progress: a faster 2,000 m row or two more strict pull-ups after a training block shows the work is paying off, which keeps you consistent. It finds gaps, because testing across domains shows where you are relatively strong and where you are behind. And it guides the next block, since a result is the starting point for setting loads, paces and priorities for the next cycle.
What testing is not is a weekly ego check. Test too often and you spend your training time proving fitness instead of building it.
With that in mind, pick a small, balanced battery. Six to ten tests is plenty, covering strength, gymnastics, engine and mixed modal work. Choose tests that relate to your goals; if gymnastics is your priority, weight the list that way. Then keep the same list from cycle to cycle so you can compare. The table below is an example battery with suggested retest intervals. Treat the intervals as guidelines, not rules.
Domain | Example benchmark | Suggested retest |
|---|---|---|
Strength | Back squat, deadlift and a press (strict or bench): 1-rep max, or a 3- or 5-rep max if you are newer to heavy lifting | Every 2–3 months |
Strength | Clean and jerk or snatch, only if technique is solid | Every 2–3 months |
Gymnastics | Max strict pull-ups; max unbroken toes-to-bar or kipping pull-ups; max unbroken bar muscle-ups, if you have them | Every 8–12 weeks, or a little more often within a focused cycle |
Gymnastics | Max unbroken double-unders | Every 8–12 weeks, or a little more often within a focused cycle |
Engine | 2,000 m row (or 500 m for a shorter effort); a bike or run time trial | Every 8–12 weeks, or a little more often within a focused cycle |
Mixed modal | One or two classic benchmarks, such as Fran, Helen, Grace or Cindy | A few times a year |
As a general guideline, the whole battery belongs every 8–12 weeks, or at the end of a training cycle. That leaves enough time for real adaptation to show up. Max lifts in particular should not be tested often: frequent max testing adds fatigue and injury risk without building much strength.
Step two: standardize the conditions
A test only means something if you can repeat it the same way. Before you test, write down your conditions, then keep them identical next time.
Start with movement standards: chin over the bar, full depth, feet touching the bar, full hip extension. Decide the standard, then hold yourself to it every time. Match the equipment: same bar height, same rower drag factor, same rope, grips or no grips. Test at roughly the same time of day and after a similar meal. Manage fatigue by never testing the day after a brutal session; arrive reasonably rested. And record the score precisely: exact time, load or reps, plus any scaling. A result with an asterisk you do not remember is useless six months later.
If you can, film your gymnastics tests. It keeps you honest on standards and gives you something to review afterward.
Step three: run the day-of routine
Your warm-up is part of the test conditions, so it should be the same every time:
5–10 minutes of easy general work: row, bike or jog.
Dynamic mobility for the joints involved.
A movement-specific build-up. For a heavy lift, climb through progressively heavier low-rep sets, for example five, three, two and one reps at increasing loads. For a max-rep gymnastics set, a few easy submaximal sets. For an engine test, a short build to your target pace.
Rest a few minutes, then test.
For lifts, plan your attempts before you touch the bar. Many athletes take three: an opener they are confident in, a second near their previous best, and a third for a new best if the second moved well. Deciding in advance takes emotion out of the platform.
Coach's cue: Test the way you trained, not the way you feel that morning.
Step four: spread it across a testing week
Do not try to test everything in one day. Spread the battery across a week, pair tests that do not interfere with each other, and leave the most fatiguing ones with some space around them. A sample layout:
Day 1: back squat test, then max strict pull-ups.
Day 2: 2,000 m row.
Day 3: easy recovery session or rest.
Day 4: deadlift test, then max unbroken double-unders.
Day 5: press test, then max unbroken toes-to-bar.
Day 6: a benchmark workout, such as Fran or Helen.
If you attend classes, fit tests into lighter class days, or treat the test as your session for the day.
Step five: build retesting into the cycle
The fairest comparisons come from identical tests inside a planned cycle. Our Bar Muscle-Up Cycle is a good example. It is built for intermediate athletes who already have at least one bar muscle-up, and it uses an identical benchmark test in Week 3 and Week 6. Because the test is the same both times, the comparison is fair: you can see exactly what the second half of the cycle added.
You can borrow that logic for anything. Gymnastics and engine tests can be repeated a little more often within a focused cycle, as long as the conditions match. Max lifts and benchmark workouts wait for the end of the block.
Step six: read the result, not just the number
A new personal record is great, but the number is only part of the story. When I review tests with athletes, I start with quality: did movement standards hold to the end of the set? A lift that moved cleanly at the same load can be progress in itself. Then pacing and fatigue: in an engine test, were your splits even, or did you start too fast? In gymnastics, where did the set fall apart, and why?
Next comes context. Stress, sleep, illness or a few missed weeks all affect results. A flat result after a hard month at work is not a failed training block. Finally, look at balance across tests. If your lifts climbed but your engine stayed flat, you have found next cycle's priority.
Write a short note next to every result: how it felt, what broke down, what you would change. Log everything in the app, where your lifts, PRs and benchmarks are tracked over time, so you see trends instead of isolated numbers.
Close the loop
A protocol is only as useful as what happens after it. Testing earns its place when it feeds the next block of training.
Sphere Programming gives class-goers structured engine and gymnastics work between tests, so there is something real to measure. If you want your benchmarks reviewed and your next cycle built around the results, individual coaching is the better fit: Sphere Individual includes a monthly progress review with me, and Sphere Performance adds weekly check-ins.
Your turn. Tried this? Tell me how it went in the comments below. I read every one, and your questions help shape what I write next. If it helped, tap the heart so it reaches more athletes.
Keep reading
Further reading: National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
Coach Fritz Bautista · Head Coach, ATHLETESPHERE
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2) ✓ · CrossFit Programming Certificate · MBA · Digital Marketing Certified · Coaching athletes from all walks of life online
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