Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This partner relay combines multiple challenging elements: 20 minutes of continuous work with no built-in rest, complex movement requiring bilateral balance and mobility (pistols), and the complexity of synchronized heavy Olympic lifting that escalates throughout. The pistol squats will fatigue legs before heavy squat cleans, while the partnership constraint forces both athletes to match weights, creating additional pressure. Most average athletes will struggle with either the pistol volume or maintaining heavy lifting coordination under accumulating fatigue.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume potential across pistols, cleans, and jerks creates significant muscular endurance demands, especially as weights increase and fatigue accumulates.
• Endurance (7/10): Twenty-minute AMRAP with partner relay maintains elevated heart rate throughout, testing cardiovascular capacity with cycling and continuous movement patterns.
• Flexibility (7/10): Pistols demand exceptional ankle and hip mobility, while split jerks require thoracic extension and shoulder flexibility for overhead positioning.
• Power (7/10): Clean and jerk complex emphasizes explosive hip extension and rapid force development, while pistols require power for single-leg standing.
• Strength (6/10): Squat cleans and split jerks with increasing loads test moderate to heavy strength, while pistols require significant single-leg strength.
• Speed (6/10): Partner relay format demands quick transitions between teammates and efficient movement cycling to maximize rounds within time domain.

Movements

• Air Bike
• Pistol
• Squat Clean
• Split Jerk

Benchmark Notes

This is a 20-minute partner relay AMRAP with weight scaling. Each round consists of: 16/12 cal bike (~45-60 sec), 6 alternating pistols (~12-18 sec), and 3 squat cleans + 1 split jerk (~20-35 sec depending on weight). Total round time fresh: ~90-120 seconds per person, so ~180-240 seconds per complete round for both partners. With fatigue over 20 minutes and weight increases, rounds slow significantly. Partner coordination adds ~10-15 seconds per transition. Early rounds (1-3): 3-3.5 minutes each. Mid rounds (4-6): 3.5-4 minutes each with heavier weights. Late rounds (7+): 4-5+ minutes each with maximal weights and fatigue. Most teams will complete 4-5 rounds, with elite teams pushing to 6-7 rounds by managing weight increases efficiently and maintaining higher bike/movement speeds under fatigue.

Modality Profile

4 movements total: Pistol (G), Bike (M), Squat Clean (W), Split Jerk (W). Weightlifting dominates with 2/4 movements (50%), while Gymnastics and Monostructural each contribute 1/4 movements (25% each).