Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 175/115lb front squats with forced tempo (20 seconds per rep) create extreme time under tension and metabolic stress. The barbell must be cleaned from ground each round, adding fatigue. Following immediately with continuous AMRAPs prevents recovery, creating significant cumulative fatigue. The combination of heavy eccentric loading, extended time domains, and no rest between elements makes this substantially harder than individual components suggest.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High muscular endurance demand from tempo front squats, AMRAP air squats, and sustained upper body work across four rounds.
• Strength (7/10): Significant strength requirement from heavy front squats (175/115) with controlled tempo, plus weighted shoulder press challenging maximal force production.
• Flexibility (6/10): Front squat depth, overhead mobility for shoulder press, and full range push-ups require good mobility throughout multiple planes.
• Endurance (4/10): Moderate cardiovascular demand from continuous work across multiple rounds, but rest periods between movements limit pure aerobic stress.
• Speed (3/10): Limited speed component as tempo squats are controlled and AMRAPs favor steady pacing over rapid cycling between movements.
• Power (2/10): Minimal explosive demand due to controlled tempo front squats and sustained AMRAP format rather than explosive movements.

Movements

• Front Squat
• Air Squat
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press
• Push-Up

Benchmark Notes

This workout is scored by total reps across three 1-minute AMRAP segments (Air Squats, DB Shoulder Press, Push-Ups) over 4 rounds, totaling 12 minutes of work. The front squat complex (20 seconds per rep x 3 reps = 1 minute) serves as active recovery between AMRAP segments. Movement analysis: Air Squats - Elite athletes can maintain 35-40 reps/min when fresh, degrading to 30-35 in later rounds due to cumulative leg fatigue. DB Shoulder Press (50/35) - Expect 15-20 reps/min for elite, 10-15 for intermediate, with significant shoulder fatigue accumulation. Push-Ups - Elite can hit 25-30/min initially, but this drops significantly after shoulder press work, expect 20-25 in later rounds. Fatigue multipliers: Round 1 (1.0x), Round 2 (1.1x), Round 3 (1.2x), Round 4 (1.3x). Total rep calculation: Elite (L9-L10): ~420-450 total reps, Intermediate (L5): ~300 reps, Novice (L1-L2): ~180-210 reps. This follows similar patterns to high-volume bodyweight workouts like Angie, but with shorter duration and mixed modalities. The front squat complex provides brief recovery but also adds leg pre-fatigue. Final targets: L10: 450+ reps, L5: 300 reps, L1: 180 reps.

Modality Profile

4 movements total: Air Squat and Push-Up are bodyweight gymnastics movements (2), Front Squat and Dumbbell Shoulder Press are external load weightlifting movements (2). Split evenly between Gymnastics and Weightlifting with no monostructural cardio.