Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 100/70-75lb sandbags are moderately heavy for power movements, but the 21-15-9 rep scheme creates significant fatigue accumulation without built-in rest. Sandbag instability makes these movements more challenging than barbell equivalents. The combination of moderate-heavy loading with continuous high-rep power movements will force most athletes to break up sets significantly, especially in the round of 21, making this solidly Hard for the average CrossFitter.

Benchmark Times for 30:01 - 50:00

• Elite: <4:00
• Advanced: 4:40-5:20
• Intermediate: 6:00-7:00
• Beginner: >12:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Power (9/10): Both power cleans and jerks are explosive Olympic lifting derivatives requiring maximum power output for successful completion of each repetition.
• Stamina (8/10): High volume of sandbag cleans and jerks will heavily tax grip strength, posterior chain, and shoulder stamina throughout the descending ladder.
• Endurance (7/10): The 21-15-9 format with heavy sandbag movements creates significant cardiovascular demand as athletes push through declining rep schemes with minimal rest.
• Strength (7/10): Heavy sandbag loads (100/70-75 lbs) require substantial strength for power cleans and jerks, testing maximal force production capabilities.
• Flexibility (6/10): Power cleans demand hip and ankle mobility for receiving position, while jerks require overhead shoulder flexibility and thoracic extension.
• Speed (6/10): Fast transitions between movements and quick cycling of reps within the time domain will separate competitive performances in this couplet.

Movements

• Push Jerk
• Sandbag Power Clean

Benchmark Notes

This is a 21-15-9 format with sandbag power cleans and power jerks, totaling 45 reps per movement (90 total reps). I'll use Elizabeth (21-15-9 squat clean 135/95 + ring dip) as the primary anchor since it shares the exact rep scheme and involves similar power movements. Elizabeth benchmarks: L10: 160-200 sec / 200-240 sec, L5: 360-420 sec, L1: 540-720 sec. Movement analysis: Sandbag power cleans (100/70) are slightly easier than squat cleans due to no squat component but similar loading. Power jerks are comparable to ring dips in difficulty - both require overhead strength and coordination. Round breakdown: Round 1 (21 reps each): Clean 2.5 sec/rep, jerk 2.5 sec/rep = 105 sec base. Round 2 (15 reps each): 1.1x fatigue = 82.5 sec. Round 3 (9 reps each): 1.2x fatigue = 54 sec. Total movement time ~240 sec for elite. Add transitions (3 per round, 3-5 sec each) = 30-45 sec. Set breaks: Cleans in sets of 10-7-4, 8-4-3, 5-4. Jerks similar pattern. Rest between sets adds 60-90 sec total. Elite total: 240 + 35 + 75 = 350 sec, scaling to 280 sec for L9 peak performance. The sandbag loading (100/70 vs Elizabeth's 135/95) is moderately lighter, justifying slightly faster times than Elizabeth by about 15-20%. Final benchmarks align with Elizabeth but adjusted 15% faster due to lighter loading and no squat component in cleans. L10: 240-280 sec, L5: 360-420 sec, L1: 540-720 sec.

Modality Profile

Both Sandbag Power Clean and Sandbag Power Jerk are external load weightlifting movements using a sandbag, making this 100% Weightlifting with no Gymnastics or Monostructural components.