Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Extremely Hard

Five high-skill, grip-intensive rounds with massive total volume (e.g., 50 muscle-ups, 100 rope climbs, 50 HSPU). No external loading, but the long duration, advanced gymnastics, and repetitive lower-body work create severe local muscular fatigue and aerobic/anaerobic demand. Expect multi-hour pacing for most, with elite athletes still grinding deep into the second hour.

Benchmark Times for Painstorm XVI

• Elite: <100:00
• Advanced: 125:00-150:00
• Intermediate: 175:00-200:00
• Beginner: >300:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (10/10): Hundreds of reps across lower and upper body require relentless muscular endurance, especially forearms, hip extensors, and shoulders, with repeated high-skill efforts under fatigue.
• Endurance (9/10): Sustained, multi-hour effort with minimal rest. Heart rate remains elevated across long sets and transitions, demanding robust aerobic base and steady breathing to avoid redlining early.
• Power (5/10): Explosive hip extension for box jumps and rope climbs matters, but the sheer volume shifts the emphasis from peak power to repeatable, efficient efforts.
• Flexibility (3/10): Standard ROM demands: overhead position, hip/knee depth, and shoulder mobility for MU/HSPU/K2E. Mobility helps efficiency but isn’t the limiting factor for most athletes.
• Speed (3/10): Transition speed helps, but sprinting is punished. The workout rewards steady cadence and sustainable sets over fast cycling that leads to early grip or shoulder failure.
• Strength (2/10): Primarily bodyweight; no heavy external loads. Strength shows up as relative strength for muscle-ups, rope climbs, and HSPU, but max lifting is not tested.

Movements

• Air Squat
• Walking Lunge
• Burpee
• Knee-to-Elbow
• Rope Climb
• Box Jump
• Handstand Push-Up
• Muscle-Up
• Double-Under

Scaling Options

Scale to: 3 rounds for time • Reduce skill/volume: 5 MU (or 10 Pull-Ups + 10 Dips), 8–10 Rope Climbs (10/9 ft), 5 HSPU • Accessible swaps: Chest-to-Bar/Chin-Over-Bar, Rope Pulls to standing/lying, Pike HSPU, Step-Ups, Singles x2

Scaling Explanation

These options preserve the workout’s long, gymnastic endurance stimulus while matching your current capacity, protecting grip/shoulders, and keeping you moving with appropriate skills and volume.

Intended Stimulus

A long, grinding test of skill under fatigue. Settle into steady, sustainable pacing where you can keep moving with short rests. Grip and shoulders will accumulate fatigue; break before failure and manage breathing. The goal is continuous forward progress, not sprint splits. Expect a mental battle more than a sprint finish.

Coach Insight

Open conservative and stay there. Break early and consistently on muscle-ups, rope climbs, and HSPU to protect grip and shoulders. The one tip: protect your grip—planned sets and chalk management will save your day. Common mistakes: redlining round one, death-gripping the rope, big unbroken sets early, and sloppy standards on K2E/air squats that lead to no-reps.

Benchmark Notes

Times are descending from slowest to fastest. L5 targets around 3 hours (12,000s), while elite (L9) can push near 1:40–2:00. If you exceed L1, cap and note partial completion. Use these levels to pace early rounds and choose appropriate scaling before failure sets in.

Modality Profile

Almost all movements are gymnastics (bodyweight): muscle-ups, rope climbs, burpees, K2E, HSPU, squats, lunges, and box jumps. Only double-unders fall under monostructural. No external loading appears, so weightlifting is 0%. Breakdown approximates movement count/time distribution.

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