The fittest team in the country will be decided at a two-day mass CrossFit event this Labour Weekend, as more than 500 athletes push themselves to their physical limits.

Hosted by Mount CrossFit, the New Zealand Team Nationals puts 84 teams, consisting of three males and three females, to the ultimate fitness test at ASB Arena, Baypark, on October 24-25.

(Left to right) Michael Bryant, Rachel Edwards, Pamela Yates and Roan Doig. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

Co-organised by John Templeton, Janicke Harmens and Luke McGruer, the two-day brawny battle consists of 11 workouts of all different fitness elements.

Luke says there are five teams from Mount CrossFit and CrossFit Tauranga competing in the event, which includes weight lifting, gymnastics, rowing and a Sunday morning swim at Baywave.

'The teams only found out the workouts one week out from the competition, so they haven't had much time to specifically prepare,” says Luke.

'But they've been training for a broad range of activities to be ready for whatever we throw at them.”

He reckons the stronger teams will have a good chance of placing in the top spots of the competition, with the beginner teams aiming for the upper-half of the rankings.

'Mount's usually pretty high up,” he admits. 'We have individuals and teams that have represented NZ for the last five years at the regionals, which is Australia, NZ and Asia competing together.

'But for this competition, we focus on trying to bring beginner athletes to have a go. Whether they're beginners at the hard level or beginners at the easy level, we try to use this more as an experience to learn and train from as opposed to trying to stack a team to win.”

CrossFit is an exercise regime that combines endurance, weight lifting, gymnastics and more into a high-intensity workout.

NZ's first mass CrossFit event started in 2012, when 70 teams battled it out to become the country's first CrossFit champions.

This year, Luke is expecting about 2000 spectators to file in to ASB Arena during the two-day event.

'The atmosphere's awesome, our goal is it's like a smaller version of the [Rugby] Sevens. So the teams dress up.

'The supporters dress up as well usually, either in their gym colours or they dress the same as their team. We had about 50 Where's Wallys once.”

Luke says the competition is a good insight into CrossFit. 'The atmosphere is good and the workouts are quite diverse, so you get a good look into what CrossFit is.”

The New Zealand Team Nationals take place at ASB Arena, Baypark, on October 24-25 from 8am each day. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for children aged 6-15, and $20 for a family of four.