Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This is a high-volume, bodyweight chipper with 400 total reps that finishes on the most demanding station—100 pull-ups. While loads are zero and skills are basic, the cumulative fatigue, grip demand, and upper-body muscular endurance make pacing crucial. Fit athletes finish in 12–20 minutes, but many will push toward the 20–30 minute range if pull-ups break down.

Benchmark Times for Upside-Down Angie

• Elite: <12:00
• Advanced: 13:30-15:00
• Intermediate: 17:30-20:00
• Beginner: >36:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Primary limiter is muscular endurance in pressing and pulling. High total reps require smart set management and short rest to prevent failure, especially late in push-ups and pull-ups.
• Endurance (6/10): Sustained effort with minimal external load; breathing matters, but the limiter is usually local muscle fatigue rather than pure cardio. Expect steady heart rate with brief spikes during push-up and pull-up sets.
• Speed (5/10): Transitions are minimal and movement cycling can be brisk early. However, accumulating fatigue will slow speed; success comes from consistent set sizes and short, controlled breaks.
• Flexibility (2/10): Basic ranges of motion: squat depth, overhead extension for pull-ups, and hip flexion in sit-ups. No extreme mobility positions required beyond sound standards.
• Power (2/10): Explosiveness is not emphasized. Some kip power in pull-ups may help cycle time, but most of the work is steady, submaximal contractions over many reps.
• Strength (1/10): No external loading and no maximal force demands. Strength contributes indirectly by allowing larger sets before fatigue, but it isn’t the focus of the test.

Scaling Options

Scale to: 75-75-75-75 reps • Push-Ups to hand-release or incline • Pull-Ups to banded, jumping, or strict ring rows

Scaling Explanation

These options keep total volume and movement order while matching the intended time domain and maintaining the upper-body pulling/pressing stimulus at an achievable difficulty.

Intended Stimulus

A steady grind that turns sharp in the back half. Squats and sit-ups should feel smooth and unbroken or in big sets, leaving you fresh enough to manage push-ups and finish strong on pull-ups. The finish should challenge your grip and upper-body endurance without devolving into long, stationary rests.

Coach Insight

Open fast-but-controlled on squats/sit-ups, then budget small, sustainable sets on push-ups and pull-ups with tight rest—5–10 seconds max. The one tip: Break before you fail. Stop 2–3 reps shy of failure from the first set on push-ups and pull-ups. Avoid death-marching singles too early, sloppy ROM, and long chalk parties. Set a rep plan and stick to it.

Benchmark Notes

Times represent typical completion ranges from beginner to elite. If you’re near 30 minutes, break sets early and keep moving. If you’re under 15, you should maintain bigger sets and short transitions. Use these to choose scaling that lets you finish close to the intended time domain.

Modality Profile

All four movements are classic bodyweight gymnastics. There is no monostructural cardio element and no external loading. The entire session stresses gymnastic capacity—pressing, pulling, trunk flexion, and squatting—done sequentially in a chipper format.

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