Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines high-skill gymnastics movements (strict HSPU, toes-to-bar) with burpee pull-ups in an ascending ladder format over 12 minutes. The strict handstand push-ups will limit most athletes early, while the continuous nature prevents recovery. The combination of shoulder-intensive movements creates severe fatigue accumulation. Most athletes will need significant scaling on the HSPU, and the time pressure forces athletes to work through deteriorating form across multiple high-skill elements simultaneously.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Upper body pulling and pushing stamina heavily tested through handstand push-ups, burpee pull-ups, and toes-to-bar with increasing volume.
• Endurance (7/10): Twelve minutes of continuous work with ascending reps creates significant cardiovascular demand, though shorter than classic endurance tests.
• Flexibility (7/10): Handstand position, overhead mobility for toes-to-bar, and full range burpee pull-ups require above-average flexibility and mobility.
• Strength (6/10): Strict handstand push-ups require significant pressing strength, while burpee pull-ups and toes-to-bar demand considerable relative strength.
• Speed (6/10): Ascending ladder format rewards efficient transitions and movement cycling, especially as fatigue accumulates in later rounds.
• Power (4/10): Burpee pull-ups contain explosive elements, but strict HSPU and controlled toes-to-bar reduce overall power demands.

Movements

• Handstand Push-Up
• Burpee Pull-Up
• Toes-to-Bar

Benchmark Notes

This is a 12-minute ladder workout starting with 1 rep of each movement (Strict HSPU, Burpee Pull-Up, Toes-to-Bar) and adding 1 rep per round. Movement analysis: Strict HSPU takes 8-12 seconds per rep in complex workouts, Burpee Pull-Ups take 6-8 seconds each, and Toes-to-Bar take 2-3 seconds each. Round 1 (3 total reps): ~20 seconds. Round 2 (6 total reps): ~45 seconds. Round 3 (9 total reps): ~75 seconds. As rounds progress, fatigue significantly impacts the strict HSPUs and burpee pull-ups. By round 8-10, athletes will need substantial rest between reps for strict HSPUs. Elite athletes might complete rounds 1-12 (78 total reps) with efficient pacing and minimal rest. Advanced athletes complete rounds 1-15 (120 total reps) but with more set breaking. Intermediate athletes reach rounds 1-18 (171 total reps) with frequent breaks. The strict handstand push-up is the major limiting factor, requiring significant upper body strength and creating a bottleneck. This workout has similarities to gymnastics-heavy AMRAPs but the ladder format and strict HSPU requirement make it particularly challenging. L10: 222 reps (round 20 complete), L5: 150 reps (round 16 complete), L1: 78 reps (round 12 complete).

Modality Profile

All three movements (Handstand Push-Up, Burpee Pull-Up, Toes-to-Bar) are bodyweight gymnastics movements with no external load or cyclical cardio components.