30 clean and jerks for time at 135/95 lb. One movement, 30 reps, as fast as possible. Deceptively simple, technically demanding, and one of the best pure strength-endurance tests in CrossFit. The complete guide to doing it right.
One movement. One barbell. Your score is the time it takes to complete all 30 reps.
Grace was first programmed on CrossFit.com on June 24, 2004 — making it one of the oldest Girl WODs, older than Fran by several months and predating Annie by over a year. It was designed around a simple premise: take one of the most technically complex movements in weightlifting, do it 30 times, and go as fast as you can. What looks straightforward on paper becomes a genuine test of barbell cycling efficiency, strength endurance, and the ability to maintain technique under fatigue.
At the Rx weight of 135/95 lb, Grace is intentionally moderate — the load should feel manageable in singles but challenging to cycle for large sets. The weight is not the obstacle. The 30 reps are. Elite athletes finish Grace in under 2 minutes. Most experienced athletes finish in 4–7 minutes. The variation comes almost entirely from barbell cycling efficiency and the ability to sustain the clean-to-jerk transition without pause.
Grace is also unique in the CrossFit community for its annual connection to the Barbells for Boobs fundraiser — held each October, athletes worldwide complete Grace to raise money for breast cancer support. It’s one of the few benchmark workouts with a recurring charitable event tied to it, which means it gets programmed at boxes far more often in October than any other month.
Grace is unusual among benchmarks because the entire character of the workout changes based on your weight selection. Too heavy and it becomes a grinding singles workout that takes 15+ minutes and loses all cardiovascular stimulus. Too light and it’s over before you’ve broken a sweat. The right weight is the one that forces you to move fast, allows sets of at least 5, and gets hard by rep 20.
The weight test: before the workout, do 10 clean and jerks unbroken at your intended weight. If you can’t do 10 unbroken when fresh, the weight is too heavy for Grace. The workout is designed around cycling, not grinding.
The beginner principle: if you’re new to the clean and jerk, Grace is not the place to learn the movement. Use a very light load — empty bar or 55/35 lb — and treat it as a technique session with a clock. Rushing a complex Olympic lift under fatigue without established mechanics is the fastest path to injury in CrossFit. Master the movement first, then race it.
In a standard clean and jerk, most athletes pause briefly in the front rack between the clean and the jerk — a small reset before the drive. In Grace, that pause is where time evaporates. The most efficient Grace athletes treat the clean catch as the beginning of the jerk, not as a separate position. The moment the bar settles in the front rack, the jerk dip begins.
Touch-and-go vs. reset reps: touch-and-go is faster but fatigues your grip and lower back significantly more. Most athletes benefit from a hybrid approach — touch-and-go for the first 10–15 reps, then controlled resets as grip fades. Pure touch-and-go for 30 reps requires exceptional technique and conditioning. Reset every rep from the start if you’re newer to barbell cycling.
Grace scales almost exclusively through load reduction. The clean and jerk is the right movement — the only question is how heavy. Target: you should be able to complete Grace in under 10 minutes with proper technique. If you’re approaching 15 minutes, the weight is too heavy.
Grace is a barbell workout by design — the cycling mechanics and load are built around a barbell. But dumbbell substitutions preserve the push-pull stimulus and make the workout accessible for home athletes.
| Equipment | Substitution | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Two dumbbells | Dumbbell clean and jerks (both simultaneously) | Full overhead lockout required. Harder to cycle than barbell — go lighter than equivalent barbell weight. |
| One dumbbell | Single-arm dumbbell clean and jerk, alternating | 15 reps each arm = 30 total. Switch arms at any point during the set. |
| Kettlebell | Kettlebell clean and jerk (single arm) | 15 each arm. KB clean and jerk is a legitimate movement standard — same stimulus as barbell version at appropriate weight. |
| Sandbag | Sandbag clean and press | Clean to shoulder, press overhead. Less cycling efficiency but full-body stimulus preserved. |
| No equipment | 30 burpees for time | Loses the barbell stimulus entirely but preserves the sprint character of the workout. Not a direct substitute — use only when nothing else is available. |
Grace is one of the few CrossFit workouts where the strategy genuinely varies by athlete level. The approaches below are not interchangeable — pick the one that matches where you actually are.
The jerk variation question: Grace allows any jerk style — push jerk, split jerk, or even push press. Push jerk is fastest for most athletes. Split jerk is stronger but slower to set up. Push press works when the jerk timing breaks down under fatigue. Know which one you’re using before you start and don’t switch mid-workout.
Grace is one of the more polarising benchmarks for time comparisons because the Rx weight feels very different depending on your strength base. A 135 lb clean and jerk is a significant percentage of a 1RM for many intermediate athletes — and a warm-up weight for advanced lifters. Track your weight alongside your time to make comparisons meaningful.
| Level | Men (Rx: 135 lb) | Women (Rx: 95 lb) | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite / Games-level | < 2:00 | < 2:00 | Unbroken or one break. Continuous movement. The world record is under 1:00. |
| Advanced | 2:00–4:00 | 2:00–4:00 | Large sets, minimal rest. Smooth clean-to-jerk transition throughout. |
| Experienced | 4:00–7:00 | 4:00–7:00 | Sets of 5–8, controlled resets. Sub-5 is a meaningful milestone. |
| Intermediate | 7:00–10:00 | 7:00–10:00 | Smaller sets or singles. Consistent pace throughout. |
| Beginner (scaled) | 8:00–14:00 | 8:00–14:00 | Light load, singles, push press sub. Finishing under 12 minutes with solid technique is a strong goal. |
Grace retests well every 8–12 weeks. Because it’s a single barbell movement, improvement is directly tied to clean and jerk strength and cycling efficiency — both of which develop steadily with consistent practice. Always record your working weight alongside your time.
Grace and Isabel are CrossFit’s fastest benchmark pair — both 30 reps for time, both at the same weight, both introduced within months of each other in 2004. The only difference is the movement.
FITL knows your experience level and your equipment. When Grace is programmed, it gives you the right weight, the right substitution if you don’t have a barbell, and a coaching note explaining why. Your workout, built for your setup.