Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This workout combines moderate barbell cycling (60/40kg) with high-volume bodyweight movements in a fatiguing sequence. The clean-and-jerks aren't maximal, but performing them fresh each round after accumulated fatigue from 140 reps of bodyweight work creates significant challenge. The pull-ups particularly become limiting as grip/upper body fatigue compounds across rounds. Most athletes will take 20-25 minutes with forced breaks.

Benchmark Times for David (Watson)

• Elite: <14:00
• Advanced: 16:00-18:00
• Intermediate: 20:00-23:00
• Beginner: >40:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Multiple muscle groups face repeated loading across 725 total reps. Upper body particularly challenged through pull-ups and push-ups combinations.
• Endurance (8/10): High-volume workout with 145 reps per round demands significant cardiovascular capacity. The continuous nature and compound movements create sustained elevated heart rate.
• Speed (7/10): Quick transitions between movements and maintaining cycle speed on bodyweight exercises is crucial for good times.
• Flexibility (5/10): Clean and jerks require good mobility in hips, shoulders, and wrists. Air squats and pull-ups need basic range of motion.
• Strength (4/10): Clean and jerks at moderate loads test strength, but volume and fatigue make this more stamina-focused than pure strength.
• Power (4/10): Clean and jerks demand power, but fatigue from high rep scheme reduces explosive output as rounds progress.

Movements

• Clean and Jerk
• Pull-Up
• Push-Up
• Sit-Up
• Air Squat

Scaling Options

Clean-and-Jerk: Scale to 75% of prescribed (45/30kg) or power clean + push press. Pull-ups: Ring rows, banded pull-ups, or jumping pull-ups. Push-ups: Knee push-ups or box push-ups. Keep sit-up and air squat volume but allow brief rest periods. For significant scaling, reduce to 4 or 3 rounds and/or cut volume to 15 pull-ups, 20 push-ups, 30 sit-ups, 40 squats.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to perform 3+ unbroken clean-and-jerks at prescribed weight, 5+ strict pull-ups, or 10+ strict push-ups. Maintaining intensity is crucial - athletes should be able to keep moving with minimal extended breaks. Target time cap of 25 minutes. Form deterioration on push-ups or clean-and-jerks indicates need for scaling. Focus on quality movement patterns over Rx weights or movements.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-length glycolytic/oxidative workout targeting muscular endurance and mental toughness. Time domain: 15-25 minutes. Primary challenge is maintaining consistent output across large sets while managing fatigue. Heavy emphasis on pushing and pulling mechanics with significant lower body volume.

Coach Insight

Break up the work strategically from the start - don't go unbroken early. For Clean-and-Jerks, singles are fine but minimize rest between reps. Break pull-ups into 4-5 sets (6-5-5-4 or similar). Push-ups into 3-4 sets (10-10-10 or 8-8-7-7). Sit-ups and air squats can be larger sets but establish sustainable pace. Focus on quick transitions between movements. Common pitfalls: rushing first round, not breaking push-ups early enough, poor breathing patterns during squats.

Benchmark Notes

This workout is most similar to Angie (100 pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, air squats) but with clean and jerks added and the rep scheme divided into 5 rounds. Analysis: 1. Base movement times per round: - 5 C&J (60kg/40kg): 5 × 4s = 20s - 20 Pull-ups: 20 × 1.5s = 30s - 30 Push-ups: 30 × 1.2s = 36s - 40 Sit-ups: 40 × 1s = 40s - 50 Air squats: 50 × 1.2s = 60s Raw work time per round: ~186s Fatigue multipliers: - Rounds 1-2: 1.0x - Rounds 3-4: 1.2x - Round 5: 1.3x Transitions between movements: ~8s × 4 = 32s per round Set breaks: - Pull-ups: 2-3 sets (10-7-3) - Push-ups: 2-3 sets (15-10-5) Compared to Angie (L10: 15-18min), this should be slightly faster due to breaking up the volume, but with added complexity from the C&J. Elite athletes should complete in 14-16 minutes, intermediates 20-25 minutes. Final targets: Men: L10: 14:00 (840s) L5: 23:00 (1380s) L1: 40:00 (2400s) Women: L10: 16:00 (960s) L5: 25:00 (1500s) L1: 45:00 (2700s)

Modality Profile

Of the 5 movements: Pull-Up, Push-Up, Sit-Up, Air Squat are gymnastics (4 movements = 80%). Clean and Jerk is weightlifting (1 movement = 20%). No monostructural movements present.