Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines two high-skill, high-intensity movements in a continuous 12-minute format with no built-in rest. The 50/35lb dumbbell squat clean and jerks require significant power and coordination, while ring muscle-ups demand advanced upper body strength and technique. The 5-rep scheme forces athletes to work in larger sets, creating rapid fatigue accumulation. Most average CrossFitters will need to scale the muscle-ups significantly, and the continuous nature prevents meaningful recovery between rounds.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High muscular endurance demands from repeated squat clean and jerks plus ring muscle ups, with grip and upper body stamina being primary limiters.
• Power (8/10): Both movements are highly explosive - squat clean and jerk requires triple extension power, ring muscle ups demand explosive pulling and transition power.
• Endurance (7/10): A 12-minute AMRAP with complex movements creates significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output throughout the time domain.
• Flexibility (7/10): Squat clean requires ankle and hip mobility, overhead position demands shoulder flexibility, and ring muscle ups need shoulder and thoracic extension.
• Strength (6/10): Moderate load dumbbell squat clean and jerks combined with bodyweight ring muscle ups require significant strength across multiple movement patterns.
• Speed (6/10): AMRAP format rewards efficient movement cycling and quick transitions, though technical complexity limits maximum speed potential for most athletes.

Movements

• Ring Muscle-Up

Benchmark Notes

This 12-minute AMRAP combines dumbbell squat clean and jerks (50/35) with ring muscle-ups in a 5+5 couplet format. I'll analyze this by breaking down each movement and applying fatigue over the 12-minute duration. Movement Analysis: - DB Squat Clean & Jerk (50/35): This is a complex movement requiring coordination. Fresh state: ~4-5 seconds per rep for elite, 6-7 seconds for intermediate, 8-10 seconds for novice - Ring Muscle-Up: Highly technical gymnastics movement. Fresh state: ~8-10 seconds per rep for elite, 12-15 seconds for intermediate, 20+ seconds for novice (many will need scaling) Round Breakdown (5 DB SCJ + 5 RMU per round): Round 1 (fresh): Elite ~45-50 sec, Intermediate ~75-85 sec, Novice ~120+ sec Transition time: 3-5 seconds between movements Fatigue Considerations: - Ring muscle-ups become exponentially harder with fatigue, especially grip and coordination - DB movements maintain better consistency but shoulder fatigue accumulates - By rounds 4-5, muscle-up efficiency drops 30-50% - Elite athletes might maintain 60-70 second rounds through round 8-10 - Intermediate athletes will see round times increase to 90-120 seconds by round 5-6 - Novice athletes may only complete 2-4 rounds due to muscle-up limitations Cross-reference with Amanda (9-7-5 ring muscle-up + squat snatch 135/95): Amanda has 21 total muscle-ups vs this workout's potential 50+ muscle-ups in 12 minutes. Amanda L10 times are 420-480 seconds, but this is an AMRAP format with lighter loading and more total volume. The muscle-up density here is much higher. 12-Minute AMRAP Projections: - L10 (Elite): 11+ rounds - exceptional muscle-up capacity and efficiency - L5 (Average): 6-7 rounds - can perform muscle-ups but with significant fatigue - L1 (Novice): 3-4 rounds - limited by muscle-up ability, may need banded assistance Final targets: L10: 11.0 rounds, L5: 6.7 rounds, L1: 3.5 rounds

Modality Profile

Two movements: Dumbbell Squat Clean And Jerk (weightlifting with external load) and Ring Muscle-Up (gymnastics bodyweight movement). Equal split between weightlifting and gymnastics modalities.