Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 225/155 squat clean is heavy for most athletes, requiring near-maximal effort each round. Combined with the sandbag carries creating grip and posterior fatigue, plus handstand push-ups demanding shoulder strength when already fatigued, this creates significant cumulative stress. The 40-second cap forces urgency while 80-second rest prevents full recovery. Six rounds amplifies the fatigue accumulation, making this challenging for average CrossFitters.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Strength (8/10): Heavy squat clean at 225/155 and handstand push-ups require significant absolute and relative strength for successful execution.
• Stamina (7/10): Rope pulls and sandbag carries will heavily tax grip and posterior chain stamina, while handstand push-ups challenge shoulder endurance.
• Power (7/10): Squat clean is highly explosive, rope pulls require powerful pulling, and handstand push-ups demand explosive pressing power.
• Flexibility (6/10): Squat clean demands ankle, hip, and thoracic mobility while handstand push-ups require shoulder and wrist flexibility for proper positioning.
• Speed (6/10): 40-second time cap creates urgency for quick transitions and efficient movement execution to maximize handstand push-up volume.
• Endurance (4/10): Six rounds with 80-second rest provides moderate cardiovascular demand, but rest periods allow for recovery between intense efforts.

Movements

• Squat Clean
• Sandbag Carry
• Sandbag Rope Pull
• Handstand Push-Up

Benchmark Notes

This is a 6-round workout with a 40-second work cap per round, focusing on handstand push-ups as the scored movement. Each round consists of: 30ft sandbag rope pull, 1 squat clean at 225/155, 30ft sandbag carry, then max handstand push-ups in remaining time, followed by 80 seconds rest. The sandbag movements and squat clean are 'buy-ins' that consume time before the scoring movement. Round-by-round breakdown: Sandbag rope pull takes 8-12 seconds, squat clean takes 3-5 seconds, sandbag carry takes 8-12 seconds, leaving 15-27 seconds for handstand push-ups per round. Elite athletes can perform HSPUs at 1 rep per 1.5-2 seconds when fresh, getting 8-12 reps per round. As fatigue accumulates, HSPU pace degrades significantly - rounds 1-2 at full pace, rounds 3-4 at 1.2x slower, rounds 5-6 at 1.4x slower. Total capacity: Elite (L10) ~40 total HSPUs across 6 rounds, intermediate (L5) ~24 HSPUs, novice (L1) ~8 HSPUs. The 80-second rest allows partial recovery but grip fatigue from sandbag work compounds throughout. No direct anchor matches this format, but using handstand push-up capacity from gymnastics benchmarks and applying round-based fatigue multipliers. Final targets: L10: 240 reps, L5: 144 reps, L1: 48 reps.

Modality Profile

4 movements total: Handstand Push-Up (G), Sandbag Rope Pull, Squat Clean, and Sandbag Carry (all W). 1 gymnastics movement (25%) and 3 weightlifting movements (75%).