Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

The high volume of air squats (300) creates significant leg fatigue before transitioning to 150 American KB swings. The continuous nature without built-in rest periods, combined with American swings being more taxing than Russian, makes this a leg and posterior chain endurance challenge. Most athletes will need to break both movements into smaller sets, and the workout will likely take 15-20 minutes of sustained effort.

Benchmark Times for SAS

• Elite: <14:00
• Advanced: 16:00-18:00
• Intermediate: 20:00-23:00
• Beginner: >40:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Extremely high volume of lower body work with 450 total reps will test muscular endurance to its limits, particularly in quads and posterior chain.
• Endurance (8/10): High-rep scheme and continuous movement pattern creates significant cardiovascular demand, especially with the dynamic nature of kettlebell swings added to squats.
• Speed (6/10): Maintaining a quick but sustainable pace through high-volume movements is crucial, especially early before fatigue sets in.
• Power (5/10): American kettlebell swings demand power output, but high volume and fatigue will reduce explosive capacity over time.
• Flexibility (4/10): Full depth squats and American kettlebell swings require decent hip mobility and shoulder range of motion, but nothing extreme.
• Strength (3/10): Moderate kettlebell weight provides some strength stimulus, but the high volume shifts focus away from maximal strength development.

Movements

• Air Squat
• American Kettlebell Swing

Scaling Options

Air Squats: Reduce to 200 reps, or scale to box squats if mobility is limited. Break into 8 rounds of 25 reps. KB Swings: Drop to 100 reps, reduce weight to 16/12kg, or substitute Russian KB swings. Can also scale to 4 rounds of (50 squats + 25 KB swings) to provide more structure. Time cap at 35 minutes if needed.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if you cannot maintain parallel squat depth for sets of 25+ or if KB swings cause low back fatigue. Priority is maintaining proper hip hinge and squat mechanics throughout. Target completion time is 20-30 minutes - if projected over 35 minutes, reduce volume. Should feel like steady, sustained effort (7/10 intensity) rather than all-out sprint. Scale to preserve movement quality and consistent work rate.

Intended Stimulus

Long-duration oxidative workout (20-30 minutes) targeting lower body and posterior chain endurance. Primary challenge is maintaining consistent movement patterns under accumulated fatigue. Tests mental fortitude and ability to sustain steady work rate across high-volume, simple movements.

Coach Insight

Break air squats into sets of 25-50 early to preserve legs. Consider 6 rounds of 50 or 12 rounds of 25. For KB swings, aim for sets of 25-30 initially, dropping to 15-20 as fatigue sets in. Keep rest periods under 20 seconds. Common mistakes: rushing early squats, losing depth as fatigue builds, letting KB swing arc get shallow. Focus on full hip extension in both movements. Stand tall between sets to allow brief recovery.

Benchmark Notes

This workout is most similar to Karen (150 wall balls) but with double the reps and a mix of two movements. Using Karen's anchor points as a base: 300 Air Squats: - Fresh pace: 1-1.5s per rep - Breaking into sets of 50 with increasing fatigue - First 100: ~150s - Second 100: ~180s with fatigue - Final 100: ~210s with significant fatigue Total: ~540s for air squats 150 KB Swings: - Fresh pace: 1.5-2s per rep - Breaking into sets of 25-30 - First 50: ~90s - Middle 50: ~100s - Final 50: ~120s with accumulated fatigue Total: ~310s for swings Transitions and rest: - 2-3 major breaks: ~60s total - Movement transition: ~20s Total projected time: - Elite (L10): 14-16 minutes - Intermediate (L5): 23-25 minutes - Beginner (L1): 38-42 minutes Compared to Karen anchor (7-8 min elite, 10-12 min intermediate), this workout is roughly 2x the volume and complexity, so times are scaled up proportionally with additional fatigue consideration. Final targets: Male L10: 14:00 (840s) Male L5: 23:00 (1380s) Male L1: 40:00 (2400s) Female L10: 16:00 (960s) Female L5: 25:00 (1500s) Female L1: 45:00 (2700s)

Modality Profile

Air Squat is a gymnastics (bodyweight) movement, while American Kettlebell Swing is a weightlifting movement (external load). With two movements split across two modalities, this results in a 50/50 split between G and W.

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