Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 95/65lb weight is moderate, but the context creates significant difficulty. 80 alternating step-ups will heavily fatigue the legs, then the EMOM format forces continuous work with minimal rest. Behind-neck movements require mobility and create shoulder fatigue, while back squats on already-fatigued legs from step-ups becomes very challenging. The combination of leg pre-fatigue, continuous work pace, and moderate loading across 16+ minutes makes this substantially harder than individual elements suggest.

Benchmark Times for Its Sarahs Birthday! (35:00 - 50:00)

• Elite: <12:00
• Advanced: 14:00-16:00
• Intermediate: 18:00-20:00
• Beginner: >30:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): 80 alternating step-ups plus repeated barbell movements every minute will heavily tax leg and shoulder muscular endurance capacity.
• Endurance (7/10): High volume step-ups with EMOM interruptions create significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output throughout the workout.
• Strength (6/10): Moderate barbell loads (95/65) for overhead pressing and back squats require decent strength, especially under fatigue accumulation.
• Speed (6/10): EMOM format forces quick transitions and efficient movement cycling to complete required reps within each minute window.
• Flexibility (4/10): Behind neck shoulder position demands good shoulder mobility, while step-ups and squats require moderate hip and ankle range.
• Power (3/10): Some explosive demand from shoulder-to-overhead movements, but primarily strength-endurance focused rather than pure power output.

Movements

• Back Squat
• Barbell Step-Up

Benchmark Notes

This workout combines 80 alternating barbell step-ups with an EMOM component (5 behind neck shoulder-to-overhead + 3 back squats every minute). Since no scoring method was provided, this is scored for time to completion. Movement breakdown: - 80 Alt Barbell Step Ups (95/65 lb, 24/20 box): At moderate pace with barbell, approximately 3-4 seconds per rep including step up/down cycle. Fresh state: 240-320 seconds for 80 reps. - EMOM component (5 BTN S2OH + 3 Back Squats at 95/65): Each EMOM round takes approximately 25-35 seconds of work, leaving 25-35 seconds rest. The workout structure suggests the step-ups are performed while maintaining the EMOM, making this a complex time-domain challenge. The step-ups will likely take 12-16 minutes for most athletes (4 reps per minute average accounting for fatigue and the EMOM interruptions). The EMOM adds significant complexity as athletes must stop step-ups every minute to perform 8 total reps of overhead/squatting movements. Fatigue considerations: - Minutes 1-4: Manageable pace, EMOM work feels fresh - Minutes 5-8: Step-up pace slows, EMOM work becomes more challenging - Minutes 9-12: Significant fatigue, frequent rest between step-ups - Minutes 13-16: Survival mode for recreational athletes Transition time between step-ups and EMOM work: 3-8 seconds each minute. No direct anchor match exists, but this resembles a long chipper with strength intervals. Comparing to similar mixed-modal endurance workouts, elite athletes should complete this in 12-14 minutes, intermediate in 16-20 minutes, and beginners in 24-30 minutes. Final targets - Male: L10: 720 sec (12:00), L5: 1200 sec (20:00), L1: 1800 sec (30:00)

Modality Profile

All three movements (Barbell Step Up, Behind Neck Shoulder To Overhead, Back Squat) are weightlifting movements using external load with a barbell, resulting in 100% weightlifting modality.