Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines significant volume (20 rounds!) with a substantial initial rowing piece. The 2,382m row will take 8-12 minutes alone, pre-fatiguing the legs before 400 air squats. The T2B volume (220 total) is extremely high and will cause severe grip/core fatigue, while 320 KB swings add metabolic stress. Even with a partner sharing work, most athletes will struggle to maintain intensity across all rounds.

Benchmark Times for Marconi

• Elite: <22:00
• Advanced: 24:00-26:00
• Intermediate: 28:00-30:00
• Beginner: >45:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (10/10): Extremely high volume of repetitions (220 TTB, 400 squats, 320 KB swings) creates intense muscular endurance demands across multiple body segments.
• Endurance (9/10): Long duration workout with 2.3km row plus 20 rounds of high-volume bodyweight and KB movements creates significant cardiovascular demand and tests aerobic capacity extensively.
• Speed (7/10): High-volume rounds require quick transitions and efficient movement cycling to maintain pace, especially early when fresh.
• Flexibility (6/10): Toes-to-bar requires significant shoulder and hip mobility, while maintaining proper positions for air squats and KB swings tests mobility under fatigue.
• Power (4/10): Kettlebell swings require hip power, and toes-to-bar have a power component, but fatigue makes maintaining power output challenging.
• Strength (3/10): Moderate kettlebell weight and bodyweight movements emphasize endurance over maximal strength, though grip endurance becomes a limiting factor.

Movements

• Kettlebell Swing
• Air Squat
• Toes-to-Bar
• Row

Scaling Options

Row: Reduce to 1,500-2,000m or sub bike/ski erg Toes-to-Bar: Knee raises or hanging leg raises (strict or kipping) Air Squats: Reduce to 15 reps or use box for depth gauge KB Swings: Drop to 35/26lb (16/12kg) or Russian-style swings Rounds: Consider reducing to 15 or 12 rounds while maintaining rep scheme Time Cap: Set 60-minute cap for scaled versions

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to perform 5+ unbroken toes-to-bar, maintain proper KB swing mechanics for 10+ reps, or if air squats cause significant form breakdown. Priority is maintaining consistent movement through all rounds - scale load/volume to allow 60-90 second rounds with brief rest periods. Athletes should finish within 60 minutes while keeping intensity high enough to limit extended rest periods. Form deterioration on toes-to-bar or KB swings indicates need for scaling.

Intended Stimulus

Long-duration oxidative workout (45-60 min) with significant glycolytic demands. The row serves as an aerobic primer before transitioning to high-volume gymnastics and lower body work. Primary challenge is maintaining consistent output across 20 rounds while managing grip fatigue and lower body endurance.

Coach Insight

Break the workout into manageable chunks. Row at a sustainable 2:00-2:10/500m pace (65-70% effort). For the rounds: Break toes-to-bar into 6-5 or 4-4-3 sets early to preserve grip. Perform air squats at a steady rhythm focusing on full depth. For KB swings, sets of 8-8 or 6-6-4 will help maintain power and proper hip drive. Plan 60-90 second rounds initially, expecting them to lengthen to 2-2:30 minutes in later rounds. Rest briefly between movements rather than within sets.

Benchmark Notes

Breaking down this partner workout: 1. 2,382m Row (~2.4K) - Elite 2K row anchor: 6:30-7:00 - Adding ~20% distance = +80-90 sec - L10 target: 450-480 sec for row portion 2. 20 rounds of: - 11 TTB: 2 sec/rep × 11 = 22 sec base - 20 Air Squats: 1.5 sec/rep × 20 = 30 sec base - 16 KB Swings: 2 sec/rep × 16 = 32 sec base Base round time: ~84 sec fresh Fatigue multipliers: - Rounds 1-5: 1.0x (84 sec) - Rounds 6-10: 1.2x (101 sec) - Rounds 11-15: 1.4x (118 sec) - Rounds 16-20: 1.6x (134 sec) Transitions between movements: ~5 sec × 2 per round Total round portion: - First 5 rounds: 470 sec - Next 5 rounds: 555 sec - Next 5 rounds: 640 sec - Final 5 rounds: 720 sec Total workout target times: Men: L10: 22:00 (1320 sec) L5: 30:00 (1800 sec) L1: 45:00 (2700 sec) Women: L10: 26:00 (1560 sec) L5: 34:00 (2040 sec) L1: 50:00 (3000 sec) This is most similar to Kelly (5 rounds of running + high-rep bodyweight work) but with 4x the rounds and more technical movements. Used Kelly's anchor points but extended duration by ~40% due to volume.

Modality Profile

4 total movements: Toes-to-Bar and Air Squat are Gymnastics (2/4), Row is Monostructural (1/4), Kettlebell Swing is Weightlifting (1/4). Rounded to nearest 10% for clean numbers.

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