For CrossFitters in Fort Worth, March 3 was perfect for a grueling test of physical endurance.

Athletes at the CrossFit Seven gym in Fort Worth performed as many snatches as possible within 10 minutes. To complete a snatch, athletes lifted a 7-foot-long barbell from the ground and over their heads in one quick movement.

Snatches are a complicated lift, said Jacob McLaughlin, a junior communication studies major.

McLaughlin, a competitor in the 2012 CrossFit Open, completed the same workout over the weekend.

The official CrossFit Open consists of one official workout released every Wednesday starting Feb. 22 until March 21. According to Games.crossfit.com, an athlete must complete every exercise and place within the top 60 men, top 60 women or 30 teams to advance to regionals.

Athletes can either film and submit their workout or perform the workout at an official CrossFit gym, like CrossFit Seven.

Ryan Shupe, owner of CrossFit Seven, said those who worked out on Saturday pushed through fear and preconceived limitations.

Last year, the CrossFit Seven team made it to the regional competition only to finish 28 out of 30. This year, they hoped to go even further in the competition, said Summer Rogers, a CrossFitter since 2007.

There is a real sense of competition at CrossFit Seven, said Cody Zamaripa, a junior communication studies major.

But not everyone at CrossFit Seven is a “fire breather or a work horse,” Shupe said.

The rigor of CrossFit scares a lot of people away, Shupe said. But CrossFit can be scaled to any fitness level, he said.

Former professional athletes, college athletes and stay-at-home moms can enjoy CrossFit, Rogers said.

Generally speaking, CrossFit is a type of exercise that combines strength, endurance and competition, said Brent Thiemann who has been a CrossFitter for less than a year.

For McLaughlin, CrossFit was an appealing option because it was a break from the monotomy of working out at the TCU recreation center.

CrossFit workouts have comparable resultes, every CrossFit gym has different individual goals and ideologies, Zamaripa said.

There are more than 60 CrossFit gyms in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex.