Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines significant barbell cycling (115/75) with repeated burpee sets that prevent recovery. The complex Olympic lifts (snatch, jerk, clean) must be performed while fatigued, increasing technical demands. The burpees between each barbell movement create continuous metabolic stress, while the ascending complexity of lifts (thruster→snatch→jerk→clean→OHS) challenges technique as fatigue accumulates. Most athletes will require breaks and struggle with maintaining form.

Benchmark Times for Tommy Mac

• Elite: <8:00
• Advanced: 9:00-10:00
• Intermediate: 11:00-12:00
• Beginner: >18:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): 60 burpees plus 60 technical barbell reps challenges muscular endurance across entire body. Repeated burpee sets particularly test upper body stamina.
• Endurance (8/10): High volume burpees combined with complex barbell movements creates significant cardiovascular demand. Two rounds with no prescribed rest drives sustained elevated heart rate.
• Flexibility (7/10): Overhead squats and snatches demand significant mobility. Combined with thrusters and cleans, workout tests full-body range of motion under load.
• Strength (6/10): Moderate-heavy barbell loads (115/75) across multiple complex movements require significant strength, especially when fatigued. Not maximal loads but challenging weight.
• Speed (6/10): For time format rewards quick transitions and efficient movement cycling. Burpees must be cycled quickly while maintaining control on barbell.
• Power (5/10): Power snatches and jerks require explosiveness, but fatigue will limit power output. Burpees between sets further reduces power capacity.

Movements

• Thruster
• Power Snatch
• Overhead Squat
• Burpee
• Jerk
• Hang Squat Clean

Scaling Options

Reduce barbell weight to 95/65 or 75/55 to maintain movement quality. Sub step-back burpees if needed. For beginners, reduce to 8-10 reps per movement and/or single round. Weight should be ~65-70% of 1RM snatch. Alternative scaling: Keep burpees but reduce technical barbell movements to simpler variations (push press instead of jerk, power clean instead of hang squat clean).

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to perform 5+ unbroken reps of any barbell movement when fresh or if burpees take over 15 seconds for 6 reps. Athletes should maintain good positions and technique through fatigue - scale load or movement complexity if form deteriorates significantly. Target time is 15-25 minutes with consistent work rate. Priority is maintaining intended stimulus of moderate-high power output rather than specific movements or loads.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-length glycolytic workout (15-25 minutes) combining barbell cycling with high-volume burpees. Primary challenge is maintaining power output and barbell efficiency while managing accumulating fatigue. The workout tests both strength endurance and mental toughness through repeated exposure to burpees between technical lifts.

Coach Insight

Break up burpees early (6/6) to maintain consistent pace - they become the limiting factor. For barbell movements, aim for sets of 4-6 reps with quick rest. Keep transitions under 10 seconds. Maintain good setup position on each barbell movement rather than rushing. Most athletes break down in round 2 on push jerks and hang cleans. Consider alternating between quick singles and small sets on technical movements in round 2. Watch for deteriorating front rack position in thrusters and jerks.

Benchmark Notes

This workout is most similar to DT (5 rounds of barbell cycling) but with burpees added and slightly higher volume. Analysis: 1. Base movement times per round: - 12 Burpees: 12 × 3.5s = 42s - 12 Thrusters: 12 × 2.5s = 30s - 12 Power Snatches: 12 × 3s = 36s - 12 Push Jerks: 12 × 2.5s = 30s - 12 Hang Squat Cleans: 12 × 3s = 36s - 12 Overhead Squats: 12 × 3s = 36s Round 1 raw time: ~210s Round 2 with 20% fatigue: ~252s Transitions between movements: ~5s × 10 transitions = 50s DT anchor points (155/105): L10 360-420s, L5 540-660s, L1 840-960s This workout is ~25% longer due to: - Added burpees (60 total) - More complex transitions - Similar loading (115/75 vs 155/105) Projected targets: Men: L10: 480s (8:00) L5: 720s (12:00) L1: 1080s (18:00) Women: L10: 600s (10:00) L5: 840s (14:00) L1: 1200s (20:00)

Modality Profile

Of the 6 movements: Burpee is gymnastics (G); Thruster, Power Snatch, Jerk, Hang Squat Clean, and Overhead Squat are all weightlifting (W). This gives 1 gymnastics movement and 5 weightlifting movements, resulting in a 20/80 split between G and W, with no monostructural movements present.

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