Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 21-15-9 rep scheme creates sustained work periods with the push press weight (135/95) being moderate-heavy for most athletes. The toes-to-bar require core strength and grip, which becomes significantly more challenging when fatigued from the push presses. The combination of shoulder-intensive barbell work with a gymnastics movement that taxes the same muscle groups creates compounding fatigue with minimal built-in rest opportunities.

Benchmark Times for James Pappageorge

• Elite: <4:00
• Advanced: 4:30-5:00
• Intermediate: 5:30-6:00
• Beginner: >11:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Power (8/10): Push press is an explosive movement, and toes-to-bar requires dynamic hip power to reach full extension.
• Stamina (7/10): High rep push presses and toes-to-bar create significant local muscular fatigue in shoulders, core, and grip across 45 total reps each.
• Flexibility (7/10): Toes-to-bar demands significant shoulder mobility and hip flexion, while push press requires good overhead position.
• Strength (6/10): 135/95lb push press requires substantial shoulder and upper body strength, especially when fatigued in later rounds.
• Speed (6/10): For time format encourages quick transitions and cycling of movements, but weight and skill requirements limit max speed.
• Endurance (5/10): Moderate cardiovascular demand from the descending rep scheme and compound movements, but total volume and duration allow for some recovery between efforts.

Movements

• Push Press
• Toes-to-Bar

Scaling Options

Push Press: Scale to 95/65 lbs or 75/55 lbs based on capacity. Should be able to do sets of 7+ when fresh. Toes-to-Bar substitutions: Knee raises (strict or kipping), V-ups, or hanging leg raises. For significant scaling, reduce to 15-12-9 rep scheme. Consider alternating push press with dumbbell weight (50/35 lbs) if barbell overhead is limiting.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to perform 10+ unbroken push presses at prescribed weight or 5+ unbroken toes-to-bar when fresh. Prioritize maintaining power output in push press - weight should allow quick, explosive reps. For toes-to-bar, technique efficiency is crucial - scale to maintain intensity rather than struggling with singles. Target time domain is 5-8 minutes; scale load/movements if estimated time exceeds 10 minutes. Focus on quality overhead lockout position and midline control over Rx weight or full range of motion.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-intensity glycolytic workout targeting 5-8 minutes. Primary focus is upper body pushing power combined with midline stability and gymnastics skill. Tests ability to maintain shoulder strength while managing grip fatigue. Energy system is primarily glycolytic with some phosphagen system demands during explosive push press sets.

Coach Insight

Break push presses into manageable sets early (11-10, 8-7, 5-4) to avoid shoulder burnout. Quick reset between reps but maintain solid rack position. For toes-to-bar, minimize swinging and emphasize tight kips. Consider alternating movements each round to allow partial recovery. Watch for technique breakdown in push press as fatigue sets in - maintain active shoulders and full hip extension. Most athletes hit the wall in round of 15.

Benchmark Notes

This workout follows the 21-15-9 rep scheme similar to Fran, but with Push Press (135/95) and Toes-to-Bar instead of Thrusters and Pull-ups. Using Fran as our anchor: 1. Movement Analysis: - Push Press (135/95): ~2.5 sec/rep when fresh, increasing with fatigue - Toes-to-Bar: ~2 sec/rep when fresh, significant grip fatigue - Transitions: 3-5 sec between movements 2. Round Breakdown (Elite Male): Round 1 (21 reps each) - Push Press: 21 × 2.5s = 53s - T2B: 21 × 2s = 42s - Transition: 4s Round 2 (15 reps each) - Push Press: 15 × 2.8s = 42s - T2B: 15 × 2.3s = 35s - Transition: 4s Round 3 (9 reps each) - Push Press: 9 × 3s = 27s - T2B: 9 × 2.5s = 23s Total theoretical: ~230s for elite Compared to Fran anchor (120-140s male), this should be ~1.8x longer due to: - Heavier load on Push Press vs Thruster - More setup time for T2B vs Pull-ups - Greater grip fatigue impact Final Targets (M/F): L10: 4:00/5:00 L5: 6:00/7:00 L1: 11:00/13:00

Modality Profile

Toes-to-Bar is a gymnastics movement (G), Push Press is a weightlifting movement (W). With two movements split across two modalities, this results in a 50/50 split between G and W, with no monostructural component.