Coach Mike here, owner and head coach at Black Iron Athletics. We’ve been in this industry for over fifteen years, and this past weekend we got to watch something new happen right in our backyard: the first-ever XENOM competition, held at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
I’ve seen a lot of events come and go in the functional fitness space. This one is different. XENOM might be the most exciting thing to come out of CrossFit and functional fitness in a long time, and being there in person, it did not disappoint. Here’s my full breakdown of what it was, how it went, and where I think it’s headed.
What Is XENOM?
If you haven’t heard of it yet, XENOM is being called the Decathlon of Fitness. It’s a two-day CrossFit competition made up of ten events, five on day one and five on day two, that test everything: maximal strength, gymnastics, and aerobic capacity. Athletes come out to compete for prize money and podium spots, but the real hook is the score they walk away with.
Every athlete finishes with an EPI, or Elite Performance Index. It’s their combined total across all ten events, scored against a fixed elite benchmark rather than against whoever else showed up that weekend. That’s the part I find genuinely new. Your EPI follows you from city to city and season to season, so you can see exactly where you improved and where you left points on the table. It’s a scoring approach we really haven’t seen in this space, and it changes how an athlete can train with intention.
The Frisco event was the inaugural one, the very first XENOM ever. The second is headed to London, so from day one they’re building for global reach. We even had a couple of athletes from Australia drop in and compete in the Elite division. Seeing people fly across the world for the first-ever event tells you something about the appetite for this.
The Production Was Games-Level
Let me be clear about the experience itself: XENOM built a beautiful competition. Rogue Fitness supplied the equipment, and the floor, the rig, and every station were organized and designed at a level that stood shoulder to shoulder with the CrossFit Games. This was a true stadium experience, but with the accessibility of regular athletes being able to compete on it.
They also nailed the spectator experience. There was a pit right on the floor where you could stand five feet from the action and watch the clean ladder or your favorite athletes go to work. That mattered a lot to us, because we were there for one athlete in particular.
Watching Coach Lawrence Compete
Our own Coach Lawrence Ford competed in the Elite division and finished with an EPI of 4,375.
Getting to stand a few feet away and watch him move heavy cleans under real competition pressure was one of the highlights of the weekend. When you coach someone, program for them, and then watch them test all of it on a stage like this, that’s a different kind of proud. Our whole team got to witness it up close, and that’s an experience you don’t forget.
We also saw some big names on the floor. Dan Bailey came out of retirement to compete, and while he had to withdraw after the first few events, it was still awesome to watch him step back onto the floor. Kenny Santucci, a well-known coach and figure in the space, competed as well. A couple of the bigger names had to bow out early, which happens, but their presence added to the weight of the event.
The Honest Critique: Where XENOM Has Room to Grow
I want to be fair here, because a review that’s all praise isn’t worth much. XENOM is excellent, and it’s also brand new, and it shows in a few places.
The divisions could go one deeper. There are three: Compete, RX, and Elite. It’s more accessible than the Games, but the skill floor is still high. Even the Compete division had tough weights and standards, plus movements like pull-ups and bar muscle-ups that put it out of reach for a lot of everyday athletes. I’d love to see one more truly accessible division, and maybe some separation for Masters and Open athletes. I’m not sure whether XENOM’s goal is to open the doors to the average person or keep leaning toward established athletes, but I think one more entry point would bring a lot more people in.
Day-one logistics were a little rough. Athlete check-in was disorganized to start. Completely expected for a first-ever event where everyone is figuring it out in real time, but worth naming.
Spectator turnout was lighter than expected. I think the PR ramp was the culprit here. The event was announced and launched fairly quickly, so a lot of people simply didn’t know what it was yet. Now that the first one is in the books, athletes have done it, and people are talking about it, I expect that to change fast heading into London.
None of this dampens what they built. These are the growing pains of something new, not cracks in the foundation.
Why This Matters for the Sport
Here’s the bigger picture. HYROX already proved there’s massive demand for a competition that’s more exciting than a road race but accessible to regular athletes. That was the proof of concept the space needed. XENOM is stepping into that gap with something CrossFit athletes specifically have been missing: a known, knowable, standardized test.
The standards don’t change every year. The ten events stay fixed. For a lot of athletes, that consistency is a huge draw, because you can actually train toward it with a plan instead of guessing what’s coming. The open question is whether that same consistency eventually gets stale. Will the ten events feel old in a few years, or will the variety they built in, plus curveballs like the new Air Rhino event from Rogue that nobody knows how to pace yet, keep people hungry? Time will tell. My bet is that the mix keeps it interesting.
Either way, XENOM is getting in early, and I think it can carve out a serious stake. I’d personally love to see an online or Open-style version someday where athletes could earn an EPI from their home gym. That would make this thing truly global.
Where Black Iron Fits In
So where do we sit in all of this? Simple. We’re going to keep doing what we do best right here in Frisco: strength and conditioning that builds complete, durable athletes.
Everything we program supports the kind of athlete XENOM tests. From hitting a one-rep-max snatch to building the metabolic engine that carries you through ten events across two days, that’s our wheelhouse. You don’t fake your way through a competition like this. You build it, week after week, and that building is exactly what happens on our floor.
We’re proud that the first-ever XENOM happened in our city. We’d love to see Frisco host it again next year, and I’m hopeful the standard we set as the inaugural host keeps it coming back. After a full year of exposure, I think we’ll really get to see what this can become. The sky’s the limit.
Come Be Part of It
If XENOM lit a fire in you and you want to train for something real, we should talk. Whether you’re a local athlete ready to build toward your first competition or you just want a gym that takes your fitness as seriously as you do, take our 30-second Fit Quiz and let’s see if you’re a fit. It takes half a minute, and on the other side we’ll map out where you’re headed.
And if you were in town for the event and Frisco left an impression, swing by and check us out. Our door is open, the coffee’s on, and we’d love to show you what we’re building here.
Reach out through our contact form, give us a call, or just come by the gym. We’ll see you out there.
Coach Mike Manning
Owner & Head Coach, Black Iron Athletics
EST. 2013 | Frisco, Texas
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