Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines three high-skill movements requiring significant strength and coordination in a continuous 13-minute format. Alternating pistols demand unilateral leg strength and balance, HSPU require overhead pressing strength and stability, and bar muscle-ups need advanced pulling technique. The AMRAP format prevents meaningful recovery between challenging movements, creating cumulative fatigue across multiple skill domains. Most average CrossFitters will need to scale all three movements.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High-skill movements like pistols, HSPU, and muscle-ups will heavily tax muscular endurance, especially in the shoulders, core, and legs.
• Flexibility (8/10): Pistols demand exceptional ankle and hip mobility, HSPU require shoulder flexibility, and muscle-ups need thoracic spine and shoulder mobility.
• Endurance (7/10): A 13-minute AMRAP with challenging bodyweight movements creates significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output throughout the time domain.
• Strength (7/10): Pistols require significant unilateral leg strength, HSPU demand overhead pressing strength, and muscle-ups need pulling and transition strength.
• Power (6/10): Muscle-ups require explosive pulling power for the transition, while pistols and HSPU have moderate power demands for the concentric phases.
• Speed (4/10): Technical complexity of movements limits cycling speed; focus is more on maintaining consistent movement quality than rapid transitions.

Movements

• Pistol Squat
• Bar Muscle-Up
• Handstand Push-Up

Benchmark Notes

This is a 13-minute AMRAP with three high-skill gymnastics movements: 12 alternating pistols, 6 HSPU, and 3 bar muscle-ups. Each round totals 21 reps but involves complex movements requiring significant strength, balance, and coordination. Movement analysis per round: - 12 Alternating Pistols: 2-3 sec per rep fresh = 24-36 sec, but pistols require balance and unilateral strength, expect 3-4 sec per rep under fatigue = 36-48 sec - 6 HSPU: In complex WODs with multiple movements, HSPU take 8-12 sec each due to setup and recovery = 48-72 sec - 3 Bar Muscle-Ups: 3-5 sec per rep fresh, but in combination with other pulling/pressing = 4-6 sec = 12-18 sec - Transitions between movements: 5-10 sec each = 15-20 sec total Round time estimates: - Round 1 (fresh): 115-154 sec (1.9-2.6 min) - Round 2: 1.1x fatigue = 127-169 sec - Round 3: 1.2x fatigue = 138-185 sec - Round 4+: 1.3-1.5x fatigue = 150-230 sec per round The combination of pistols (unilateral leg strength + balance), HSPU (overhead pressing endurance), and bar muscle-ups (high-skill pulling) creates significant cumulative fatigue. Most athletes will experience substantial slowdown after round 2-3. Using Cindy (20-min AMRAP: 5 pull-up + 10 push-up + 15 air squat) as reference anchor: L10: 25-30 rounds, L5: 15-18 rounds, L1: 6-8 rounds. However, this workout is significantly more demanding due to advanced movements, so we scale down substantially. A round here is roughly equivalent to 2-3 Cindy rounds in difficulty. Final targets: L10: 10+ rounds (elite gymnasts), L5: 5.7 rounds (solid intermediate), L1: 2.5 rounds (beginners who can perform the movements)

Modality Profile

All three movements (Pistol Squat, Handstand Push-Up, Bar Muscle-Up) are bodyweight gymnastics movements requiring no external load.