The workout
How Chelsea works
Chelsea is an EMOM: at the top of every minute you start the prescribed work, and whatever's left of the minute is rest. Your score is how much you get done in total.
Chelsea is one of the Girls. The Girls are the best-known benchmark workouts in functional fitness and come from CrossFit® training. Short, with just a few movements, and built so you can repeat them every few months and read your progress straight off the clock.
What's a good Chelsea time?
The standards apply to Rx, meaning with the prescribed weights and no scaling. They're a rough reference, not statistics across all athletes. For women, times are set about 10% longer and rounds about 10% lower.
| Level | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Elite | from 30 reps | from 27 reps |
| Advanced | from 28 reps | from 25 reps |
| Intermediate | from 22 reps | from 20 reps |
| Beginner | from 14 reps | from 13 reps |
| Novice | under 14 reps | under 13 reps |
Tips for Chelsea
Pace yourself and focus on clean technique, especially when it gets heavy.
How to scale Chelsea
If part of it is still too hard, scale it so the workout keeps its pace and intended stimulus. Log it as "Scaled". Possible options:
- Pull-up: Banded pull-up; Jumping Pull-up from a box
- Push-up: Push-up with hands on a box; Push-up on your knees
- Air Squat: Squat to a box; Squat holding on to a rack