Every single movement in Kelly is leg-dominant. Unlike Eva, where pull-ups gave your legs a break from the running, there’s no recovery built in here — your legs work for the entire workout.
Suggested time cap: 30 minutes · Competitive target: sub-18 minutes at Rx. Your score is the time it takes to complete all 5 rounds.
Running, box jumps, and wall balls all pull from the same muscle groups — there’s no movement in this workout that lets your legs recover while another body part works. That makes Kelly a straightforward leg endurance test, but it also means fatigue accumulates in one place across all 5 rounds instead of being spread out.
There’s an added safety dimension too: box jumps under significantly fatigued legs carry real fall risk. Managing that risk — including scaling the movement mid-workout if needed — matters as much as pacing does.
Kelly scales per movement. Choose the row below that matches a box height, ball weight, and run distance you can repeat consistently across all 5 rounds.
| Level | Box Jump | Wall Ball | Run |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rx | 24 in (M) / 20 in (W) | 20 lb to 10 ft (M) / 14 lb to 9 ft (W) | 400m |
| Scaled | 20 in (M) / 16 in (W), or step-ups | 14 lb to 9 ft (M) / 10 lb to 8 ft (W) | 400m or 200m |
| Beginner | Step-ups on a low box | Light dumbbell thruster | 200m |
Box jumps can be scaled to step-ups at any point — before the workout starts or mid-workout if your legs are too fatigued to jump safely. This is one of the few scaling decisions that’s reasonable to make in real time, not just in advance.
Pace the run the same way you would in Eva or Nancy — conservatively. There’s no movement later in the round that gives your legs a break, so an all-out run just makes the box jumps and wall balls harder for no benefit.
If your box jumps start feeling unstable or risky as fatigue builds, switch to step-ups for the rest of the round — even at Rx. This isn’t a beginner-only scale; it’s a legitimate in-workout decision that experienced athletes make too. A missed jump from fatigued legs is a real injury risk, and a step-up costs very little time compared to a fall.
Kelly is a running-and-impact workout by design, but all three movements survive straightforward substitutions.
| Equipment | Substitution | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| No plyo box | Sturdy bench or step, or squat jumps | 1:1 reps |
| No wall ball | Dumbbell thruster | 1:1 reps |
| No wall space | Lower to a reachable overhead mark | 1:1 reps |
| No running space | Row or bike erg for equivalent distance/time | — |
FITL scales this automatically based on the equipment and experience level in your profile.
Sub-18 minutes at Rx is a strong time for an experienced athlete. Most CrossFit athletes finish Rx Kelly in the 18–25 minute range. Scaled athletes should expect longer depending on box jump and running capacity.
As soon as your jumps start feeling unstable or your landing form breaks down — this is a safety-driven scale, not just a fitness-level one. It’s reasonable to jump in round 1 and step up in round 5 as fatigue builds.
Yes. Use a row or bike erg for an equivalent time or distance if you don’t have running space.
With scaling, yes. Use step-ups instead of box jumps, lighten the wall ball load and target height, and shorten the run distance — the leg endurance demand underneath the workout is accessible once each piece is scaled.
Get Kelly — and every benchmark WOD — automatically scaled to your equipment and experience level.