Fitness, Fran, and Fractured Fran

As we move through Women's History Month, you might have noticed that each Monday, we're getting exposure to one of Crossfit’s Girl (benchmark). workouts.

By time you read this, you will have now just experienced “Fractured Fran.”

”Fractured Fran”:

5 Rounds For Time:

9 Thrusters (95/65)

9 Pull Ups

If you're not already familiar with the original workout 'Fran,' you'll never forget it once you've experienced it. It goes as follows:

For Time:

21 - 15 - 9

Thrusters (95/65)

Pull Ups

Why is this workout (or any variation of 'Fran') arguably one of the, if not the, hardest female benchmark workouts? Let's start with the movements.

"Coupled, the thruster and the pull up work all major muscle groups, are perfectly complementary in that each contains exactly what the other lacks, and constitute three superfunctional core movements-the squat, push press, and pull up."

So, if the goal is the best time possible - which variation do you think is going to be more challenging? Fractured Fran or Fran? Well, most of this will depend on the athlete's strength, stamina and metabolic conditioning.

Let’s break them down.

Fractured Fran is a 5x9 split vs. traditional Fran being a 21/15/9 split. Looking at the demand of these two workouts, the original Fran will require more strength and stamina, as there is simply more work per set. While Fractured Fran will allow the athlete to move from one movement to the next, allowing the athlete to go from one movement to the next, which will help prevent total breakdown (aka all over the place). As your fitness improves, the difference in time should begin to narrow.
If you've done both variations of Fran, what was your time? Did the 5x9 split make the workout feel easier?

Let me know your thoughts.

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