Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

Ring muscle-ups are a high-skill movement that most average CrossFitters cannot perform consistently, especially under fatigue. The descending ladder creates continuous work with no built-in rest, and the thrusters (115/75) between muscle-up sets will significantly compromise grip strength and shoulder stability. The combination of advanced gymnastics skill with moderate-heavy loading in a time-pressured format makes this accessible only to experienced athletes with solid muscle-up proficiency.

Benchmark Times for JON SNOW

• Elite: <7:00
• Advanced: 8:00-10:00
• Intermediate: 12:00-14:00
• Beginner: >23:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): Ring muscle ups and thrusters both demand high muscular endurance. Grip stamina becomes the limiting factor as fatigue compounds across movements.
• Endurance (7/10): The 21-15-9 format with challenging movements creates significant cardiovascular demand, especially as grip fatigue accumulates and breathing becomes labored.
• Flexibility (7/10): Ring muscle ups require exceptional shoulder mobility and thoracic extension. Thrusters demand good ankle, hip, and shoulder flexibility for proper positioning.
• Strength (6/10): 115/75lb thrusters require moderate strength, while ring muscle ups demand significant upper body and core strength for the transition movement.
• Speed (6/10): For time format encourages fast transitions and quick cycling, though technical movements limit maximum speed potential due to skill requirements.
• Power (5/10): Ring muscle ups require explosive hip drive and transition power. Thrusters demand power from the legs to drive the weight overhead.

Movements

• Ring Muscle-Up
• Thruster

Benchmark Notes

This workout follows a 9-6-3 ring muscle-up pattern with 21-15-9 thrusters at 115/75 lbs, creating a high-skill, high-intensity combination. I'll use Amanda (9-7-5 ring muscle-up + squat snatch 135/95) as the primary anchor, with adjustments for the different rep scheme and movement pattern. Movement Analysis: - Ring Muscle-Ups (18 total): 8-10 sec per rep when fresh, but significant fatigue accumulation. Round 1 (9 reps): 72-90 sec, Round 2 (6 reps): 60-72 sec with 1.2x fatigue = 72-86 sec, Round 3 (3 reps): 24-30 sec with 1.3x fatigue = 31-39 sec. Total: 175-215 sec for elite. - Thrusters 115/75 (45 total): Heavier than Fran's 95/65. Round 1 (21 reps): 63-84 sec, Round 2 (15 reps): 45-60 sec with 1.2x fatigue = 54-72 sec, Round 3 (9 reps): 27-36 sec with 1.3x fatigue = 35-47 sec. Total: 152-203 sec for elite. - Transitions: 3 transitions between movements, 5-10 sec each = 15-30 sec total. Amanda anchor shows L10: 420-480 sec / 540-600 sec, L5: 720-840 sec, L1: 1080-1380 sec. However, this workout has fewer total ring muscle-ups (18 vs 21 in Amanda) but heavier thrusters (115/75 vs bodyweight squat snatch). The 9-6-3 descending pattern also allows for better pacing than Amanda's 9-7-5. Adjustments from Amanda: - Fewer ring muscle-ups (-15%) but in a more manageable descending pattern - Heavier thrusters but simpler movement pattern than squat snatch - Net effect: approximately 10-15% faster than Amanda Calculated times: Elite (L10): 360-420 sec, Advanced (L5): 720-840 sec, Novice (L1): 1200-1380 sec. Final benchmarks - L10: 420 sec (7:00), L5: 840 sec (14:00), L1: 1380 sec (23:00).

Modality Profile

Ring Muscle-Up is a bodyweight gymnastics movement, while Thruster is a weighted barbell movement. With two movements from different modalities, this creates a 50/50 split between Gymnastics and Weightlifting.