Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

While 155/105lb power cleans and burpees are individually manageable, the combination creates significant challenge. The continuous nature of 10 rounds with no programmed rest means athletes must cycle moderately heavy barbell work while already fatigued from burpees. The bar-over burpees force a specific movement pattern that adds complexity and prevents efficient recovery between clean sets.

Benchmark Times for MLK

• Elite: <6:00
• Advanced: 7:00-8:00
• Intermediate: 9:00-10:00
• Beginner: >16:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Speed (8/10): Fast transitions between movements and quick cycling of both power cleans and burpees are crucial for optimal performance.
• Endurance (7/10): Ten rounds of combined power cleans and burpees creates significant cardiovascular demand, especially with the continuous nature of bar-facing burpees.
• Power (7/10): Power cleans are explosive movements, and quick bar-facing burpees reward powerful hip extension.
• Stamina (6/10): Moderate volume of power cleans taxes posterior chain stamina, while burpees challenge full-body muscular endurance across multiple rounds.
• Strength (5/10): 155/105lb power cleans represent moderate loads that require substantial strength, but not maximal effort.
• Flexibility (4/10): Power cleans demand decent hip and wrist mobility, while burpees require basic range of motion throughout the body.

Movements

• Power Clean

Scaling Options

Power Clean: Scale to 135/85 or 115/75 lb. Sub push press if mobility limits. Can reduce to 2 reps per round. Bar Over Burpees: Step-back burpees instead of jumping. Step over bar instead of jumping. Can reduce to 3-4 reps. Volume: Option to cap at 8 rounds or reduce to 8 rounds from start.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if power clean is above 75% 1RM or technique deteriorates after round 3. Unable to perform 5 touch-and-go power cleans at workout weight. Burpees take more than 3-4 seconds each. Target time is 12-18 minutes - scale to maintain intensity and proper movement patterns. Priority is maintaining explosive power on cleans while managing metabolic fatigue.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-length glycolytic workout (12-18 minutes) with an emphasis on power development and quick transitions. The couplet combines explosive power movements with full-body conditioning. Primary challenge is maintaining power output while managing fatigue across 10 rounds.

Coach Insight

Break up power cleans into quick singles with controlled touch-and-go. Keep burpees smooth but aggressive - jump back and forward as one fluid motion. Don't rush first 3 rounds; establish sustainable rhythm. Touch bar with both hands on burpee jump-over before next rep. Common failure point is rounds 6-7 when fatigue impacts clean technique. Consider 2-3 rounds fast, 4-6 steady, 7-10 push pace if possible.

Benchmark Notes

This workout is most similar to DT (5 rounds of barbell cycling) but with 10 rounds and burpees added. Using DT as anchor (L10: 360-420s, L5: 540-660s, L1: 840-960s). Breakdown per round: - Power Clean (155/105): 2.5s × 3 reps = 7.5s - Bar Over Burpees: 4.5s × 5 reps = 22.5s - Transition time: 3s Base round time: 33s Fatigue multipliers: - Rounds 1-2: 33s - Rounds 3-4: 37s (1.1x) - Rounds 5-6: 41s (1.25x) - Rounds 7-8: 46s (1.4x) - Rounds 9-10: 53s (1.6x) Total theoretical time: 410s Adding 15% for set breaks and fatigue = 472s Scaling from DT anchor: - Double the rounds (2x) - Lighter cleans but added burpees (~1.2x) Predicted elite times: 360-480s male, 480-600s female Final targets (M/F): L10: 6:00/8:00 L5: 10:00/12:00 L1: 16:00/18:00

Modality Profile

Power Clean is a weightlifting (W) movement using a barbell. Bar Over Burpee is a gymnastics (G) movement as it's primarily a bodyweight movement. With two movements split between two modalities, this results in a 50/50 split between G and W.

Similar Workouts to MLK

If you enjoy MLK, you might also like these similar CrossFit WODs:

• Regionals 9.3 (Canada East) (84% similar) - 21-15-9 Reps for Time Burpees Kettlebell Swings (1.5 pood) Time Cap: 7 minutes...
• The 540 (84% similar) - For Time 50 Plate Overhead Lunges (45/25 lb) 40 Pull-Ups 30 Thrusters (95/65 lb) 20 Burpees 10 Squat...
• Schwinger (83% similar) - 10 Rounds for Time 10 Kettlebell Swings (24/16 kg) 5 Burpees...
• Maddie (83% similar) - AMRAP in 16 minutes 4 Squat Cleans (135/95 lb) 11 Burpee Box Jump Overs (24/20 in) 20 Double-Unders...
• Ellen (83% similar) - 3 Rounds For Time 20 Burpees 21 Dumbbell Snatches (50/35 lb) 12 Dumbbell Thrusters (50/35 lb)...
• Open 13.4 (83% similar) - AMRAP in 7 minutes 3 Clean-and-Jerks (135/95 lb) 3 Toes-to-Bars 6 Clean-and-Jerks (135/95 lb) 6 Toes...
• Open 19.5 (83% similar) - For Time 33-27-21-15-9 reps of: Thrusters (95/65 lb) Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups Time Cap: 20 minutes...
• The Wirtz (83% similar) - 4 Rounds for Time 14 calorie Bike 16 Thrusters (95/65 lb) 10 Kettlebell Swings (53/35 lb) 14 calorie...

These WODs similar to MLK share comparable training demands, time domains, and movement patterns.