Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

The 400m farmers carry (50/35) creates significant grip and core fatigue before entering the AMRAP. Ring muscle-ups and handstand push-ups are both high-skill movements that become exponentially harder under fatigue. The combination of pre-fatigued grip affecting muscle-ups, plus compromised shoulders for HSPU, creates multiple limiting factors hitting simultaneously. Most athletes will struggle to maintain quality reps or need major scaling.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High muscular endurance demands from farmers carry grip strength, sustained ring muscle ups, and handstand push ups over multiple rounds.
• Endurance (7/10): 14-minute cap with minimal rest creates significant cardiovascular demand, especially with the farmers carry opening and continuous AMRAP cycling.
• Flexibility (7/10): Ring muscle ups require significant shoulder mobility and lat flexibility, while handstand push ups demand shoulder and thoracic spine mobility.
• Strength (6/10): Moderate strength requirements from 50/35lb farmers carry, ring muscle ups requiring pulling strength, and handstand push ups demanding pressing strength.
• Speed (6/10): AMRAP format demands efficient transitions and maintaining pace under fatigue, with double unders requiring quick rope cycling coordination.
• Power (4/10): Ring muscle ups have explosive hip drive component, double unders require coordinated jumping power, but overall emphasis is endurance-based.

Movements

• Farmer Carry
• Double-Under
• Ring Muscle-Up
• Handstand Push-Up

Scaling Options

Reduce farmers carry to 35/25 lbs or 300m distance. Scale double unders to single unders (40 reps). Sub ring muscle ups with chest-to-bar pull-ups or regular pull-ups. Replace HSPUs with pike push-ups or push-ups. Consider reducing AMRAP to 15-12-9 double unders, 3-4 ring movements, 5-6 push variations.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if you cannot complete 400m farmers carry in under 5 minutes, lack ring muscle up proficiency, or cannot perform 5+ handstand push-ups when fresh. Priority is maintaining movement quality and grip endurance challenge. Target 8-12 minutes total completion with 2-4 AMRAP rounds for scaled versions.

Intended Stimulus

Mixed modal test combining grip strength endurance with high-skill gymnastics conditioning. 14-minute time domain targets glycolytic and oxidative energy systems. Primary challenge is skill execution under grip fatigue - athletes must manage grip strength from farmers carry to execute complex movements like ring muscle ups and handstand push-ups in remaining time.

Coach Insight

Move efficiently on farmers carry - aim to complete in 3-4 minutes to maximize AMRAP time. Use larger unbroken sets of double unders (10-20) early when grip is fresh. Ring muscle ups will be severely compromised after farmers carry - expect singles or small sets. Break HSPUs early and often (2-3 reps max) to preserve shoulders. Transition quickly between movements as grip fatigue will accumulate rapidly.

Benchmark Notes

This workout has a 400m farmers carry (50/35) followed by an AMRAP with 20 double unders, 5 ring muscle ups, and 7 handstand push ups. First, the farmers carry: 400m with 50/35 lb DBs takes 2.5-3.5 min for most athletes (walking pace with heavy load). This leaves 10.5-11.5 minutes for the AMRAP. Per round breakdown: 20 double unders = 10-15 seconds when fresh, 15-25 seconds when fatigued. 5 ring muscle ups = 40-50 seconds fresh (8-10 sec each), 60-90 seconds fatigued due to high skill demand and grip fatigue. 7 handstand push ups = 56-84 seconds fresh (8-12 sec each in complex workout), 90-140 seconds fatigued. Total per round: 106-154 seconds fresh, 165-255 seconds fatigued. Round 1: ~2.5 min, Round 2: ~3 min (1.2x fatigue), Round 3: ~3.5 min (1.3x fatigue), Round 4: ~4 min (1.4x fatigue). Elite athletes complete 4-5 rounds, intermediate 2-3 rounds, beginners struggle with ring muscle ups and may only complete 0.5-1 round. The high skill movements (ring MUs, HSPUs) create significant bottlenecks.

Modality Profile

2 Gymnastics movements (Double-Under, Ring Muscle-Up, Handstand Push-Up) and 1 Weightlifting movement (Farmers Carry). With 3 gymnastics and 1 weightlifting movement, this creates a 75/25 split, rounded to 50/50 for clean percentages.