Before you go into this article, make sure you evaluate your state of fitness well: do not attempt RX unless you're some kind of Khalipa/Froning mix or a similar breed of Crossfit beasts.

Here are the top 5 workouts we think deserve to be labelled as hard. Or brutal.

Why are hard MetCons so attractive?

Many athletes perceive strenuous exercise as threatening, but at the same time extremely exciting. Before workouts we usually enter the so called fight-or-flight mode, which is fuelled by adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) and other stress hormones. It’s similar to how we feel about other extreme, adrenaline sports: a pinch of doubt and a curiosity “Can I made it?”. Completing a hard workout is a goal, and achieving it – this is a form of reward seeking behaviour which generates the feelings of satisfaction, excitement, confidence and make us feel alive.

So if you’re an advanced athlete who needs some adrenaline rush, try of one of these:

1. The Iron Triathlon

Warning: Done by Jason Khalipa and Dan Bailey.

1-20 reps of Linda:

for time

Deadlift 1.5xBW

Bench Press 1xBW

Squat Clean 0.75xBW

2. Legless from CrossFit Games 2013

Warning: Everything needs to be legless – even descending from the rope!

For time:

27 Thrusters 43/30 kg

4 legless rope climbs

21 Thrusters 43/30 kg

3 legless rope climbs

15 Thrusters 43/30 kg

2 legless rope climbs

9 Thrusters 43/30 kg

1 legless rope climb

3. King Kong

3 rounds for time:

1x Deadlift 206/147 kg

2x Muscle-up

3x Squat clean 113/70 kg

4x Handstand push-up

Sam Briggs and Sam Dancer

4. Grace with 102 kg by Rich Froning

for time:

30x Clean & Jerk

5. The Don

For time:

66 Deadlifts, 50 kg

66 Box jump, 60 cm

66 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 pood (24 kg)

66 Knees to elbows

66 Sit-ups

66 Pull-ups

66 Thrusters, 30 kg

66 Wall ball shots, 9 kg

66 Burpees

66 Double-unders

Source: CrossFit, CrossFit Games