Bench & Toes-to-Bar Workout Rules

The Bench & Toes-to-Bar workout is a 3-rep max bench press followed by max reps consecutive toes-to-bar. The score is the sum of the ranking for each workout. The winner will have the lowest combined rank.

Workout Rules

To be considered for the podium and cash prizes, all competitors in the Bench & Toes-to-Bar 2026 Open event must adhere to the following rules:

The clock starts on the bench press liftoff. The athlete must begin their toes-to-bar prior to the 1:00 minute mark.

3RM Bench Press

  • All bench press repetitions must demonstrate a full range of motion in which the barbell must touch the athlete’s chest and a full extension and lockout at the elbow must occur at the top of the movement.
  • An athlete may not use a bounce from the barbell off their chest.
  • The athlete’s glutes must touch the bench for the entirety of the exercise sequence.
  • The athlete may have a spotter present while performing the bench press segment of the workout.
    • The spotter cannot assist with a liftoff, and the spotter’s hands must remain clear of the barbell while the competitor is performing the movement.
    • The only assistance the spotter can provide is lifting the bar if an athlete fails on their final repetition or racking the barbell after a lockout on the last complete repetition.
  • Score is the weight lifted for three consecutive reps.
  • Camera angle must be facing the athlete at a 45-degree angle from the front of the bench to show the entire body during the movement and visibly demonstrate the standards above.
  • Issues with form in any completed rep will disqualify the athlete’s workout.

Max Reps Consecutive Toes-to-Bar

  • Athlete must begin by hanging from the bar with arms fully extended and feet off the ground.
  • The athlete’s feet must come behind the vertical plane of the bar at the start of each rep.
  • The rep is counted when both feet touch the bar simultaneously, between the hands. Toes or top of the foot may touch the bar.
  • Athlete must then return to the starting position with arms fully extended and feet behind the bar. Kipping is allowed.
  • Athletes may pause between reps but must remain hanging from the bar.
  • Score is the total number of consecutive reps.
  • Athletes must complete at least 1 toes-to-bar rep to complete the workout.
  • Camera angle must be at a 90-degree angle and visibly demonstrate the standards above.

Score is the sum of rankings for each workout. The winner will have the lowest combined rank.

Tiebreaker goes to the higher bench press weight. Example: Athlete 1 gets 1st in the bench and 3rd in the toes-to-bar and Athlete 2 gets 2nd in both the bench and toes-to-bar, resulting in 4 points for each athlete. Athlete 1 will win.

Athletes are responsible for self-timing their workout, either with an app (e.g., WOD Tracker, SmartWOD Timer, WETime) or by having a gym clock or iPad with a timer clearly in view throughout the workout. Links to timing apps can be found on the Guidelines for Video Content page.

Competition Rules

Registered athletes agree to and will comply with the following rules related to the Donor Games Open competition format.

  1. Eligibility
    1. All athletes must be 18 years or older as of the close of registration for the competition.
    2. All athletes must agree to the Donor Games Consent Agreement and adhere to the Workout Rules and Competition Rules herein.
    3. Athletes must submit their full workout video at any time during the competition window: from January 22 to January 28, 2026, at 6:00 PM ET.
    4. Athletes may submit up to 3 workout videos in total throughout the competition.
      1. Competitors may submit no more than 1 video within any 24-hour period.
      2. If an additional workout video is disqualified, it does not impact the rank/eligibility of a previously approved workout video.
    5. Athletes must be willing to accept prize winnings via ACH. Failure to provide ACH payment information within 1 week of the official prize-winning notification will result in forfeiture of the cash prize. All prize winnings will be dispersed within 2 weeks of the official prize-winning notification from the Donor Games.
    6. General athletes who compete a modified workout are not eligible for cash prizes.
  2. Judging
    1. Failure to perform the exercises according to the guidelines will result in disqualification.
    2. Judges’ decisions are final.
    3. Judges may reject an athlete’s workout video due to improper form, failure to complete the workout, copyright infringements, or any other issues that arise in review of the workout.
    4. If a workout attempt is disqualified, the athlete maintains their eligibility to submit a new competition video as per 1d above.