CrossFit Open 26.3 — Full Workout Breakdown

The 2026 CrossFit Open closes with 26.3 — and it's a gut check. Six total rounds of lateral burpees over the bar, cleans, and thrusters, with the barbell getting heavier every two rounds. The time cap is 16 minutes. No gymnastics, no dumbbells, just you, a loaded barbell, and enough burpees to make your legs question every decision you've ever made. Here's the full breakdown.

The Workout

Weight Breakdown by Block

Each weight block covers two full rounds — that's 24 burpees, 12 cleans, and 12 thrusters before the load increases. You change your own weights between blocks, and no outside assistance is allowed at any point.

Weight changes may only happen after completing the second and fourth rounds of thrusters — not between cleans and thrusters, and not mid-round. Plan your plates in advance and practice your change strategy before the clock starts.

Movement Standards

Lateral Burpee Over the Bar

Start on one side of the barbell. Chest and thighs must touch the floor at the bottom of every rep. You don't need a strict lateral orientation — you can face the bar during the burpee itself — but you must jump over the bar to the other side, with both feet leaving the ground. A two-foot takeoff and landing are not required; what matters is that both feet leave the ground simultaneously during the jump. The rep is credited when you're standing on the opposite side. Scaled divisions may step over the bar.

Clean

Every rep starts with the barbell on the floor. Hang cleans are not permitted — the bar must be below the knee at the start of each rep (or clearly below the knee if using an empty bar or sub-standard plates). Any clean style is permitted — squat, power, or split. The rep is complete when the bar is on the shoulders with hips and knees fully extended, feet in line, and elbows in front of the bar when viewed from the side.

Thruster

Each set of thrusters also begins with the bar on the floor — a squat clean to start the set is allowed but not required. The bottom position must clearly pass below parallel (hip crease below the top of the knee). The rep is credited when hips, knees, and arms are fully extended and the bar is directly over or behind the midline of the body. A front squat followed by any style of jerk — meaning any rebend of the hips or legs after the drive — is not allowed.

Scaled & Foundations

Scaled Teenagers and Scaled Masters athletes using smaller plates must place the bar on risers — such as additional bumper plates — to achieve the minimum bar height of 8.5 inches for the burpees. Confirm your setup before you start.

Equipment Rules

A few rules that will trip people up if they haven't read the scorecard carefully:

• One barbell for the entire workout. No switching to a pre-loaded second bar between blocks.
• Standard bumper plates required — 18 inches (45 cm) in diameter. Non-standard plates require risers to hit the 8.5-inch minimum bar height.
• Collars must be placed on the outside of the plates at all times — including during weight changes.
• Men must use a 45-lb (20-kg) barbell. Women must use a 35-lb (15-kg) barbell.
• No outside assistance when changing weights. Coaches cannot touch the plates.

Tiebreak

A tiebreak time is taken after each set of thrusters — so after rounds 2, 4, and 6. The tiebreak that counts is the last completed set of thrusters. If you don't finish the workout, your score is total reps; athletes who tie on reps are separated by whoever had the faster tiebreak time at their last completed thruster set. Athletes who complete the workout under the cap do not receive a tiebreak score.

Strategy & Pacing

26.3 is deceptively structured. The first block feels manageable. The burpees keep your heart rate up, the 95/65 lb clean and thruster weights are light enough to go unbroken, and the two-round pattern lulls you into a rhythm. That's exactly where athletes blow their pacing. Block 2 and especially Block 3 are a completely different workout.

Burpees — Find a Pace and Hold It

There are 144 lateral burpees in this workout if you finish it. The temptation in round 1 is to fly through them — don't. Pick a controlled, sustainable pace in the first block that you can replicate in the fifth and sixth rounds. A 3-second burpee rhythm that holds for all six rounds beats a 2-second pace that degrades to 5 seconds by round four. Keep your chest and thighs hitting the floor every single rep — judges will be watching, and no-reps here are costly.

Cleans — Preserve the Legs

The cleans in the first block should be power cleans. They're fast, efficient, and don't tax the legs the way a squat clean does — and you need your legs for thrusters. As the weight climbs into Block 2 and 3, switch to squat cleans if you need to, but stay controlled. Touch-and-go is ideal in the early blocks; singles are fine once you're in the heavy rounds. Don't muscle cleans you should be catching lower.

Thrusters — Unbroken Early, Strategically Broken Late

12 thrusters at 65/95 lb should be unbroken for the vast majority of Open athletes. Treat it as a non-negotiable in Block 1 — the weight is light, your legs are fresh, and breaking here costs more than the rest saves. Block 2 at 75/115 lb is where it gets real: if you can go unbroken, do it, but a planned break after 6-8 reps is smarter than going to failure at rep 10 and sitting on the floor. Block 3 at 85/135 lb — do what you need to do. Sets of 3-5 are completely legitimate and still competitive.

Weight Changes — Rehearse Them

You have exactly one barbell and no help. Before you hit start, decide exactly what plates you're using and practice stripping and loading them. A sloppy 45-second plate change in a 16-minute workout is a devastating loss of time and momentum. Know your setup. Every second counts.

Common No-Reps to Avoid

Need a Judge? Find a CrossFit Gym Near You

To submit a verified Rx score for 26.3 you need a judge at a licensed CrossFit affiliate, or a video submitted to your competition dashboard. The score deadline is Monday, March 16 at 5:00 PM PT (8:00 PM ET). Find a CrossFit affiliate near you on WodFind's directory of over 5,700 gyms across all 50 states.

See our full 2026 CrossFit Open guide for all three workouts, and check our 26.1 and 26.2 breakdowns if you're still finalizing your scores for the earlier weeks.