A lot of people think about CrossFit WODs as being all about doing as many reps as possible in a (relatively) short period of time.
Others think about multiple repeated sets or even lifting max amounts of weights.
Well, today we’ve got something for those who appreciate the satisfaction of crossing items off of their daily “to-do list”.
Enter The Chipper WOD.
Although there are few hard and fast rules with Chipper WODs, they generally involve large swaths of different exercises, oftentimes coming in big groups and with “manageable” weights. They are almost always challenging, but never to the point that you feel like you have to quit.
So you just keep going…and going…and going…chippin’ your way to CrossFit glory!
Let’s take a look at the 20 contestants vying for the title of “Top Chipper WOD”.
Table of Contents
20 Competitors for the Top Chipper WOD
Capoot
Equipment: Air runner
Running and push-ups…man oh, man! Maybe not the most interesting Chipper workout to start off with, but I’m sure every U.S. Armed Forces serviceman and servicewoman can appreciate this one!
At the end of the day, you have 250 push-ups and about 1/2 miles more running than you do in a 5K.
Pace yourself…
2011 CrossFit Quarterfinals WOD 4
Equipment: Pull-up bar/rack, kettlebell, jump rope, barbell, bumper plates
Truth be told, we’re gonna cover a lot of CrossFit Quarterfinal and Regionals workouts.
Why? Because there are a lot of Chipper workouts to be found in these competitions!
From the early years of the CrossFit “play-offs” QF11.4 kinda has some “Angie on steroids” vibes to it, doesn’t it? Just about anyone who has been doing CrossFit for a bit can do all of these movements…
…but sets of 100? Even back in the day, CrossFitters were hard core!
Nutts
Equipment: Barbell, bumper plates, plyo box, pull-up bar/rack, wall ball, jump rope
Nutts is technically an onomatopoeia (the use or creation of a word that phonetically phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes). This is because roughly 5 minutes into the workout, you take a look at the movements to come and inadvertantly blurt out “Nutts!” as loudly as possible.
Adopting a wall ball strategy similar to what we’ve discussed in Karen will serve you well for the portion of the workout where you’ll really start to think about quitting.
And don’t worry if that plate-carrying “run” is more of a brisk walk!
2022 CrossFit Quarterfinals WOD 5
Equipment: Concept2 rower, plyo box, barbell, bumper plates
Another CrossFit Quarterfinals Chipper workout, QF22.5 was a bit more of a burner. For those looking to test their rowing sprint capacity and ability to rep out decently heavy snatches, this is the WOD for you.
If you doubt you can match the times on the leaderboard, don’t worry! It includes names such as Gui Malheiros, Pat Velner, Chandler Smith, and Brent Fikowsi!
Trevor
Equipment: Pull-up bar/rack
There is just something special about getting a group of friends together to tackle a long Chipper workout. Maybe it’s the relief that you’re gonna get to rest for a significant portion of the workout. Maybe it’s on-going joke that somebody is gonna screw the count up.
Regardless, with Trevor, you’re gonna want a whole lot of “Black Belt/Gymnast Guys” archetypes (from our article on CrossFit partner workouts) to max this one out!
343
Equipment: Barbell, bumper plates
I would say that you should round up 3 barbells for this one (a power bar and a couple of Olympic weightlifting bars, to be precise), but then again, using a single “CrossFit bar” will allow for some rest during the plate change periods. With 100 reps of each exercise, you’re really gonna want (and will appreciate!) those rest periods, I can assure you!
Tarentino
Equipment: Concept2 rower, barbell, bumper plates, wall ball
Another one of the partner Chipper workouts (a “Strong Guy” – “Fast Guy” or “Strong Guy” – “Versatile Guy” combo is best here!) that requires a bit more coordination than some of the other WODs on this list.
Even your rowing specialist is going to get tired at some point and who really wants to knock out 50 clean and jerks, 100 burpees, and Karen on their own?
Plan accordingly!
2017 CrossFit Quarterfinals WOD 6
Equipment: Assault Bike, plyo box, sandbag
Another one of the “CrossFit Play-off” sprint Chipper workouts! It doesn’t matter how efficiently you approach this one; the heavy sandbag cleans at the end are going to be the great equalizer. Don’t worry about the few seconds it might take you to throw on a belt for these; unless you’re facing off with one of the best in the sport, there is a going to be a bit of time between these reps!
Roberts Ridge
Equipment: Barbell, bumper plates, kettlebell, pull-up bar/rack, wall ball, Concept2 rower
A true, Chipper WOD’s WOD, the ascending rep scheme is something we’re definitely used to seeing in CrossFit!
Like the 2011 regional workout that we kicked things off with, Roberts Ridge is a bit deceptive in that none of the individual movements are particularly challenging. However, clocking in at 280 total reps, (to include that dizzying set of 50 bar-facing-burpees), you’ll definitely be reminded that you are literally “chipping away” at WODs like this one!
2021 CrossFit Quarterfinals WOD 3
Equipment: Wall ball, Concept2 rower
A lot of wall balls and a lot of rowing. For those of us who absolutely hated CrossFit Open WOD 19.1, this one looks pretty…sickening, doesn’t it?
The “good” news with this one? After the wall balls are all finished up, you can put everything into the row. Remember, though, that 120 calories on the rower looks a lot different than the more standard 50, 60, or even 80 calorie increments from other popular workouts.
2023 CrossFit Open WOD 3
Equipment: Pull-up bar/rack, jump rope, barbell, bumper plates
Some might argue that the constant double-under and thruster movements exclude this one from the classification of “Chipper WOD”.
I argue that the constantly changing (as in, getting much harder) thruster weights and gymnastics movements, all performed one after the other, make it perfect for this list?
Give it a try before you complain about my workout selection, please!
Murph
Equipment: Air runner, pull-up bar/rack, weighted vest (optional)
I promise that I don’t even plan for Murph to appear on these lists as often as he does. The workout is just…perfect in so many ways and fits into so many different categories.
Those yuge sets of bodyweight movements are what Chipper workouts are all about. It isn’t uncommon to see people adding up their reps in chalk on the sweat-stained ground next to them during this one.
(Don’t worry; I won’t tell if you slip an extra 0 onto your squat or push-up total).
Severin
Equipment: Pull-up bar/rack, air runner, weighted vest
Severin can be compared to the vested version of Murph…although the longer, more continuous run and strict pull-up requirement makes this one especially tricky. Ironically, those middle push-ups represent the “easy” portion of the workout (by. far.)
2018 CrossFit Quarterfinals WOD 5
Equipment: Pull-up bar/rack, Assault Bike, dumbbells
You just know it’s a tough Chipper WOD when the number 6 and 11 overall competition finishers got time-capped! If my memory holds true, the heavy dumbbell step-overs were really challenging for a lot of the competitors, making the other objectively hard movements look easy by comparison.
No shame if you have to scale every single movement with the one (I won’t fault you if you don’t even own a 70-pound dumbbell!)
Maltz
Equipment: Air runner, pull-up bar/rack, dumbbells, dip bar
A lot of (mostly) bodyweight movements book-ended by short-ish runs…kinda sounds like…you know who!
Unlike Murph, Maltz has much shorter runs and you’re never staring down a set of more than 100 reps. I would argue that it is an excellent scaled option, for those who would prefer it to the more “official” scaled Murph options.
2021 Age-Group Quarterfinals WOD 3
Equipment: Barbell, bumper plates, jump rope
Some people really blew through those cleans and double-unders fast. As deceptive as the relatively light clean weight looks, 75 reps add up pretty quickly.
…and your calves during those 300 double-unders…well…I just hope you’ve built up your double-under endurance.
Living Room Mash 29
Equipment: n/a
Another (kinda) Murph clone! Although you get a bit of a break on the push-ups and everyone probably appreciates the inclusion of sit-ups and burpees instead of pull-ups and running.
As the title implies, this is one that you can just as easily do in your living room (or hotel room!) as you do in your garage gym or even your CrossFit box. Although not quite as strenuous as Murph, Living Room Mash 29 leaves you no excuse not to give it a go!
2018 Crow Games Final WOD
Equipment: Jump rope, kettlebell, barbell, bumper plates, pull-up bar/rack
The last of the partner Chipper WODs, this one requires a degree of coordination that, unfortunately, my partner and I did not have when we tackled it.
(to be fair, we had just met, like, 3 hours before-hand and really didn’t have much rapport!)
Nothing too special or overly difficult, though…just make sure at least one of you saves your shoulders for the handstand push-ups…
Jordan
Equipment: Kettlebell
Another (sorta) Angie clone? These competitors for the top Chipper WOD really like their sets of 100, don’t they!
To be honest, I’d much rather knock out 100 kettlebell swings than 100 pull-ups so this one actually seems a little easier to Angie to me. As it is, I would challenge any and all of the “bodyweight ninjas” out there to really push themselves on this one: try to finish it with one break (or less) in each movement!
Chad
Equipment: Plyo box
The Chipper WOD of all Chipper WODs, Chad may not be the most exciting workout, but it definitely forces you to “chip away” at one thousand straight reps.
Plan to “get lost” in this one…to be slightly bored during this one…and to be pretty sore after this one!
…Get Chippin’!
Some people love Chipper WODs; some people hate Chipper WODs.
Personally, I appreciate knowing the exact number of reps I need to complete and the feeling of slowly, but surely…well…”chippin’ away” at the total.
Others don’t appreciate the prospect of getting stuck on a particular movement without a Time Cap to save them. Thankfully, only a few of the competitors for the top Chipper WOD present this dilemma. As such, you confidently chip and chop in peace.
Just make sure you bring your chalk or other writing utensil and practice your “CrossFit Calculus” in preparation!
Would you rather “pace” yourself through a workout with a definite end time? Check out our list of the top AMRAP workouts. We’ll still expect you to push yourself on these…hard!