CrossFit Brings Back Handstand Push-Up Standard For 2020 AGOQ

The deficit handstand push-up standard that was used in the 2018 and this year’s 20.3 Open received plenty of criticism because it wasn’t realistic for all athletes. The movement itself involves doing a handstand push-up against a wall and athletes’ feet have to reach above the marked line for a complete rep.  Well, the standard apparently wasn’t/isn’t completely accurate for everyone due to body type differences between athletes, as a result of the measurement requirements determined beforehand.

Forearm length is taken into consideration in relation to the upper arm which may not be a fair method obviously. So there’s some controversy about this particular movement which is to be expected.

Well, on Thursday, CrossFit brought back an old handstand push-up standard for the 2020 CrossFit Games Age Group Online Qualifier (AGOQ), which was a 17.4 event from the same qualifier in 2017. 

It’ll involve a more equal measurement standard which hopefully allows athletes to perform the movement without having to modify body position to maximize performance. 

In 2018, CrossFit athlete Jacob Heppner wasn’t pleased with the standard used in 2018 and 2019 as he had to perform the movement on his knuckles for his feet to reach the line. His forearms are long compared to his upper limb and that’s where the issue lied for him. You can read his concerns below which he posted on Instagram… 

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Really not sure how to start this off. So I guess I’ll start by hooking you with the statement “I will not be qualifying to regionals.” Now read below for the explanation. . . My 18.4 score was 104 reps. Most of you know that I love HSPU, HS Walking, and pretty much anything inverted. If these movements existed in a Regionals or Games workout then I usually came out top 5. Unfortunately a problem arose from the new standard, height + 1/2 forearm length. Now for all you folks claiming “If an athlete doesn’t like the new standard then they need to fix their body positioning and get better upside down” this is where you realize that isn’t always true. . . Let’s admit we’ve all at least seen that one person who really struggled to hit the standard and it wasn’t because they had bad positioning, but instead was due to their anatomy. The issue lies in the forearm length measurement. Instead of taking the whole arm length, which I admit would be difficult, only the forearm was measured. This creates the possibility that certain athletes, like myself, could be a statistical outlier in our ration of forearm length comparative to bicep/total arm length. Meaning having really long forearms when compared to overall arm length. . . I’ve watched my video many times and believe me I couldn’t get any closer to the wall or get my hands any narrower. I just happened to be one of the few athletes that had to stretch and press as much a possible to bet barely over that dreaded line. . . I would be lying if I told you the thought didn’t cross my mind of shorting a few measurements, bending my knees when measuring my height, or cutting a few 1/8’s off my elbow measurement. But when it’s all said and done I just wouldn’t be able to live knowing I cheated someone else out, regardless if I agree with the new standard or not. . . Crossfit isn’t life and I’d rather be known as a man of integrity than a great athlete. . . God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied – Matthew 5:6 . #crossfit #crossfitgames #intheopen

A post shared by Jacob Heppner (@jheppner66) on Mar 20, 2018 at 6:43pm PDT

This new standard was first used in 2015 at the Open for workout 15.4.

• So this time, the athletes will stand facing the wall on top of the surface their hands will be on during the deficit handstand push-ups, and their feet can be no wider than the hips with the toes touching the wall.
• The athlete will then reach above their head with the elbows locked out, shoulders extended, and thumbs touching each other.
• The height of the athlete’s wrist is marked on the wall. Then from that mark on the wall, they’ll measure and mark three inches below that point. The last line is the mark that the athlete’s heels must clear for a complete rep.

So far, we don’t know if this will be the standard moving forward but hopefully, it all gets figured out to level so everyone has a fair chance.