Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 21-15-9 rep scheme with five movements creates significant fatigue accumulation with no built-in rest. While individual elements are moderate (95lb thrusters, standard wallballs), their combination is demanding - especially with pull-ups interfering with grip for subsequent thrusters. The average athlete will struggle to maintain unbroken sets, particularly in the round of 21, with leg fatigue compounding across all movements.

Benchmark Times for Opening Day

• Elite: <4:30
• Advanced: 5:00-5:40
• Intermediate: 6:20-7:00
• Beginner: >12:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Multiple movements target similar muscle groups, especially legs and shoulders. The volume and movement interference creates substantial local muscular fatigue.
• Endurance (8/10): High-rep couplets with compound movements create significant cardiovascular demand. The descending rep scheme maintains intensity throughout without allowing full recovery.
• Power (8/10): Explosive hip extension in wallballs, box jumps, kettlebell swings, and thrusters makes this a power-dominant workout.
• Flexibility (7/10): Front rack position for thrusters, overhead mobility for wallballs, and hip/ankle flexibility for box jumps require good range of motion.
• Speed (7/10): Quick transitions and cyclic movements are crucial. The descending rep scheme allows for faster cycling as fatigue builds.
• Strength (5/10): Moderate loads in thrusters and wallballs combined with bodyweight movements create a balanced strength demand without maximal loading.

Movements

• Wall Ball
• Thruster
• Kettlebell Swing
• Box Jump
• Pull-Up

Scaling Options

Wall balls: Reduce weight to 14/10lb or lower target height. Pull-ups: Ring rows, jumping pull-ups, or banded. Scale to 3-4 sets vs failure sets. Thrusters: Drop to 65/45lb or use dumbbell option. Box jumps: Lower height to 20/16" or step-ups. KB swings: Scale to 35/26lb, maintain hip hinge. For significant scaling needs, consider 15-12-9 rep scheme or cap time at 15 minutes.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to perform 10+ unbroken wall balls, 5+ strict pull-ups, or 7+ thrusters at prescribed weight. Priority is maintaining consistent movement through all rounds - rest periods shouldn't exceed work periods. Athletes should finish between 8-12 minutes while keeping heart rate below redline. Form deterioration on thrusters or kipping pull-ups indicates need for load/movement scaling. Better to scale early and maintain intensity than struggle through Rx with breaks.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-length glycolytic workout targeting 8-12 minutes. Combines light-moderate loads with bodyweight movements in descending rep scheme. Primary challenge is maintaining power output across multiple movement patterns while managing grip fatigue. Tests both strength-endurance and cardiorespiratory capacity.

Coach Insight

Break up wall balls and thrusters early to avoid redlining - consider sets of 7-8 in first round. Pull-ups will be grip-limiting, so plan quick sets of 3-5 reps with minimal rest. Box jumps and KB swings are recovery opportunities if cycled smoothly. Transitions should be crisp but controlled. Common failure point is going too large on initial sets, leading to extended rest periods in round of 15. Aim for consistent 2-3 minute rounds.

Benchmark Notes

This workout is structurally similar to Fran (21-15-9 rep scheme) but with 5 movements instead of 2. Using Fran as our anchor (2:00-2:20 elite male, 2:20-2:50 elite female), we need to scale up significantly. Breakdown per round (male elite): Round 1 (21 reps each): - Wallballs: 21 × 2.5s = 52.5s - Pull-ups: 21 × 1.5s = 31.5s - Thrusters: 21 × 2.5s = 52.5s - Box Jumps: 21 × 1.5s = 31.5s - KB Swings: 21 × 1.5s = 31.5s Transitions: 4 × 4s = 16s Round 1 Total: ~216s Round 2 (15 reps each, 1.2x fatigue): - Similar calculation × 15 reps × 1.2 fatigue = ~185s Round 3 (9 reps each, 1.3x fatigue): - Similar calculation × 9 reps × 1.3 fatigue = ~120s Total elite time: ~270-300s (4:30-5:00) This is roughly 2.5x longer than Fran due to the additional movements and complexity. We've scaled the anchor points proportionally: Male: L10: 4:30-5:00 L5: 7:00-7:30 L1: 12:00-13:00 Female: L10: 5:30-6:00 L5: 8:30-9:00 L1: 14:00-15:00

Modality Profile

Of the 5 movements: Box Jump and Pull-Up are Gymnastics (2/5). Wall Ball, Thruster, and Kettlebell Swing are Weightlifting (3/5). No Monostructural movements. Rounded to nearest 10% gives G:40%, W:60%

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