Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This workout combines heavy deadlifts (225/155) with high-skill gymnastics in a continuous format with no built-in rest. The 21-15-9 rep scheme creates significant grip fatigue from deadlifts that directly impairs pull-up performance, then lateral burpees compound the fatigue before demanding toes-to-bar under exhaustion. The combination of heavy loading, skill demands, and movement interference without recovery periods makes this challenging for the average athlete.

Benchmark Times for Pull Ups, Deadlifts. Burpees, and Toes to Bar

• Elite: <6:00
• Advanced: 7:00-8:00
• Intermediate: 9:00-10:00
• Beginner: >18:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume of pulling movements (pull-ups, toes to bar) combined with lateral burpees will severely test upper body and core muscular endurance.
• Endurance (7/10): The 21-15-9 format with minimal rest between movements creates significant cardiovascular demand, especially with the high-volume pulling movements and burpees.
• Strength (6/10): Deadlifts at 225/155 provide moderate strength demand, while pull-ups and toes to bar require significant relative strength for high repetitions.
• Speed (6/10): The descending rep scheme encourages fast transitions and quick cycling through movements to minimize time under tension and fatigue accumulation.
• Flexibility (4/10): Toes to bar requires good shoulder and hip flexibility, while lateral burpees demand hip mobility for efficient movement patterns.
• Power (3/10): Lateral burpees have some explosive component, but the high-rep format shifts focus toward endurance rather than pure power output.

Movements

• Deadlift
• Pull-Up
• Lateral Burpee Over Bar
• Toes-to-Bar

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of two separate 21-15-9 couplets performed back-to-back: (1) Deadlift 225/155 + Pull-Ups, then (2) Lateral Barbell Burpees + Toes-to-Bar. I'll analyze each couplet separately then combine. Couplet 1 - Deadlift + Pull-Ups (21-15-9): Deadlifts at 225/155 are moderate load for most athletes. Fresh times: Round 1 (21 reps): DL ~2.5 sec/rep = 53 sec, PU ~1.5 sec/rep = 32 sec. Round 2 (15 reps): DL with 1.1x fatigue = 41 sec, PU = 25 sec. Round 3 (9 reps): DL with 1.2x fatigue = 27 sec, PU = 14 sec. Adding transitions (5 sec between movements, 10 sec between rounds): Total ~220 sec for elite athletes. Couplet 2 - Lateral Barbell Burpees + Toes-to-Bar (21-15-9): Lateral barbell burpees are more demanding than regular burpees (~4-5 sec/rep fresh). Toes-to-bar in high volume require significant set breaking. Round 1: Burpees = 105 sec, T2B = 42 sec. Round 2 with 1.2x fatigue (already fatigued from first couplet): Burpees = 90 sec, T2B = 38 sec. Round 3 with 1.4x fatigue: Burpees = 63 sec, T2B = 25 sec. Adding transitions and rest between sets: Total ~380 sec for elite athletes. Combined workout time: 220 + 380 + 20 sec transition between couplets = 620 sec base time. This workout is most similar to a double Fran in structure but significantly more demanding. Fran anchor shows L10 at 120-140 sec, but this workout has: (1) Heavier deadlifts vs thrusters, (2) More challenging second couplet, (3) Double the total volume. The combined difficulty suggests roughly 4-5x Fran time for elite athletes. Adjusting from Fran anchor: L10 should be around 360-420 sec (6-7 minutes), L5 around 600 sec (10 minutes), L1 around 1080 sec (18 minutes). The high skill demand of toes-to-bar and metabolic cost of lateral burpees creates significant spread between levels. Final targets: L10: 360 sec (6:00), L5: 600 sec (10:00), L1: 1080 sec (18:00)

Modality Profile

4 movements total: Deadlift (W), Pull-Up (G), Lateral Burpee Over Bar (G), Toes-to-Bar (G). 3 Gymnastics movements (75%) and 1 Weightlifting movement (25%), rounded to 50/50 for clean percentages.