Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 70% of 6RM back squats (roughly 85-90% 1RM) for max reps in 60 seconds creates significant neuromuscular fatigue. Following immediately with eccentric chest-to-bar pull-ups compounds this by demanding upper body strength while legs are compromised. The 4-round structure with minimal rest between stations accumulates serious fatigue. Most athletes will struggle with the heavy squat volume and controlled pull-up negatives under fatigue.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Strength (8/10): Back squats at 70% of 6RM represents significant loading, while eccentric pull-ups demand high strength to control the negative portion.
• Stamina (7/10): Back squats at 70% for max reps plus eccentric pull-ups will heavily tax muscular endurance in legs and upper body pulling muscles.
• Endurance (4/10): Four one-minute AMRAPs with rest between rounds creates moderate cardiovascular demand, but the short intervals limit pure aerobic stress.
• Flexibility (4/10): Back squats require good ankle, hip, and thoracic mobility, while chest-to-bar pull-ups demand shoulder and lat flexibility for full range.
• Speed (3/10): AMRAP format encourages steady pacing rather than sprint cycling, with built-in rest periods between the four one-minute intervals.
• Power (2/10): Heavy back squats are more grind than explosive, and controlled eccentric pull-ups are inherently slow and strength-focused rather than powerful.

Movements

• Back Squat
• Chest-to-Bar Pull-Up

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 4 rounds alternating between 1-minute AMRAP back squats at 70% of 6RM and 1-minute capped eccentric chest-to-bar pull-ups (4 reps max). Since it's scored as 'Reps', I'm calculating total repetitions across all movements. Back squat analysis: At 70% of 6RM, this is moderate loading allowing for continuous reps. Elite athletes can maintain 8-10 reps per minute across 4 rounds (32-40 total), intermediate athletes 6-8 reps per minute (24-32 total), and beginners 4-6 reps per minute (16-24 total). Eccentric chest-to-bar pull-ups are capped at 4 reps per round, contributing exactly 16 reps total for all athletes who can complete them. However, beginners may only achieve 2-3 eccentric reps per round due to strength limitations. Total calculation: Elite (40 squats + 16 pull-ups = 56 reps), Intermediate (32 squats + 16 pull-ups = 48 reps), Beginner (16 squats + 8 pull-ups = 24 reps). The workout doesn't match any iconic benchmarks directly, but the rep-based scoring with strength components suggests a distribution favoring athletes with good squat endurance and pull-up strength. Final targets: L10: 52+ reps, L5: 32 reps, L1: 16 reps.

Modality Profile

Back Squat is a weightlifting movement with external load (barbell), while Chest-to-Bar Pull-Up is a gymnastics bodyweight movement. With two modalities present, this creates a 50/50 split between Weightlifting and Gymnastics.