Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This workout creates significant fatigue accumulation through 8 rounds of high-intensity intervals. The 500m row primes the legs/lungs, pull-ups tax grip strength, then power cleans at 135/95 require technical precision under mounting fatigue. The 3-minute cap forces aggressive pacing with minimal rest (1.5 min between rounds). Grip failure from pull-ups directly impacts barbell cycling, while cardiovascular demands compound across 8 rounds over ~36 minutes total.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume pulling from rows and pull-ups combined with power cleans will heavily tax upper body muscular endurance over multiple rounds.
• Endurance (7/10): Eight 3-minute rounds with rowing and continuous movement creates significant cardiovascular demand, though rest periods provide some recovery between efforts.
• Power (7/10): Power cleans are explosive by nature, and the AMRAP format encourages fast, powerful execution to maximize reps within the time cap.
• Strength (6/10): Power cleans at 135/95 require moderate strength, while pull-ups and rowing demand good relative strength throughout the workout.
• Speed (6/10): Three-minute caps create urgency for quick transitions and fast cycling through movements, especially to maximize power clean reps at the end.
• Flexibility (4/10): Power cleans require full hip extension and front rack mobility, while pull-ups and rowing demand shoulder and thoracic spine mobility.

Movements

• Power Clean
• Row
• Pull-Up

Scaling Options

Reduce power clean weight to 115/85 or 95/65 lbs to maintain cycling ability. Scale pull-ups to banded pull-ups, ring rows, or jumping pull-ups. Consider reducing row distance to 400m if pacing becomes too aggressive. For beginners, reduce to 6 rounds or extend cap to 4 minutes per round. Advanced athletes can increase weight to 155/105 lbs.

Scaling Explanation

Scale weight if you cannot perform 8-10 unbroken touch-and-go power cleans when fresh, or if form breaks down significantly under fatigue. Scale pull-ups if you cannot complete at least 3 strict pull-ups. The goal is to maintain movement quality and complete each round within the time cap with 30+ seconds remaining for power cleans. Total workout should feel like repeated 85-90% efforts rather than all-out sprints.

Intended Stimulus

High-intensity glycolytic intervals with strength endurance focus. Each 3-minute round targets power output maintenance under fatigue with the row and pull-ups as metabolic primers before maximal power clean efforts. The 1.5-minute rest allows partial recovery to maintain quality across 8 rounds, testing both anaerobic capacity and the ability to express strength when pre-fatigued.

Coach Insight

Attack the 500m row at 85-90% effort to prime the posterior chain for power cleans without excessive fatigue. Complete pull-ups unbroken or in max 2 sets to preserve grip strength. Transition quickly to power cleans and focus on cycling rather than singles - aim for touch-and-go reps with perfect hip extension. Most athletes will see power clean reps drop 30-40% from round 1 to round 8. Prioritize movement quality over rep count on cleans.

Benchmark Notes

This workout is scored by total reps of Power Cleans completed across 8 rounds. Each round has a 3-minute cap to complete 500m Row + 5 Pull-Ups, then MAX Power Cleans at 135/95 lbs. Analysis: Round 1-2 (fresh): 500m row takes 90-110 sec, 5 pull-ups take 5-8 sec, transitions 3-5 sec, leaving 95-122 sec for power cleans. At 2.5-3 sec per rep fresh, that's 30-45 reps possible. Round 3-4: Fatigue increases row time to 100-120 sec, pull-ups to 6-10 sec due to rowing grip fatigue (+20%), power clean time increases to 3-3.5 sec per rep, leaving 80-94 sec = 23-31 reps. Round 5-6: Row 110-130 sec, pull-ups 7-12 sec, power cleans 3.5-4 sec per rep, leaving 68-83 sec = 17-24 reps. Round 7-8: Severe fatigue, row 120-140 sec, pull-ups 8-15 sec, power cleans 4-5 sec per rep, leaving 45-72 sec = 9-18 reps. Total rep ranges: Elite (L9-L10): 136-160 reps (maintaining 15-20 reps even in final rounds), Advanced (L7-L8): 104-136 reps, Intermediate (L5-L6): 72-104 reps, Novice (L2-L4): 24-72 reps, Beginner (L1): 12-24 reps (may not complete all rounds or use scaled weight).

Modality Profile

Three movements spanning all modalities: Row (monostructural cardio), Pull-Up (bodyweight gymnastics), and Power Clean (barbell weightlifting). Equal distribution across G/M/W.