Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 50/35lb dumbbell thrusters are moderately heavy for most athletes, but the continuous format with 500m rows creates significant fatigue accumulation. The rowing pre-fatigues legs and lungs before hitting the thrusters, while the thrusters tax shoulders and legs before the next row. With minimal rest between rounds, this creates a grinding pace that will force most athletes to break up the thrusters significantly, elevating it beyond medium difficulty.

Benchmark Times for 25:01 - 50:00

• Elite: <6:00
• Advanced: 7:00-8:00
• Intermediate: 9:00-10:00
• Beginner: >18:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): Fifteen thrusters per round with moderate weight will heavily tax shoulder and leg muscular endurance, especially as rounds progress.
• Endurance (7/10): Three rounds of 500m rowing creates significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output with minimal rest between efforts.
• Flexibility (6/10): Thrusters demand good overhead mobility, ankle flexibility, and hip mobility for full range of motion in the squat position.
• Speed (6/10): Fast transitions between rowing and thrusters are crucial, plus maintaining quick cycling on both movements to minimize time.
• Power (5/10): Thrusters require explosive hip drive and overhead press, while rowing demands powerful leg drive and coordinated pulling motion.
• Strength (4/10): 50/35lb dumbbells require moderate strength for thrusters but not maximal loading; more about strength endurance than pure strength.

Movements

• Thruster
• Row

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 3 rounds of 500m row + 15 DB thrusters (50/35). I'll analyze this by comparing to similar benchmark workouts and calculating movement-by-movement times. Closest anchor reference: Jackie (1000m row, 50 thruster 45/35, 30 pull-ups) with L10: 310-340 sec, L5: 420-480 sec, L1: 600-720 sec. However, this workout has different structure and loading. Movement breakdown per round (fresh state): - 500m Row: 85-120 sec depending on ability level - 15 DB Thrusters (50/35): At 2-3 sec per rep = 30-45 sec fresh - Transition time: 3-8 sec Round-by-round analysis with fatigue: Round 1 (fresh): Row 85-120 sec + Thrusters 30-45 sec + transition 5 sec = 120-170 sec Round 2 (1.1-1.2x fatigue): Row 94-144 sec + Thrusters 33-54 sec + transition 5 sec = 132-203 sec Round 3 (1.2-1.3x fatigue): Row 102-156 sec + Thrusters 36-59 sec + transition 5 sec = 143-220 sec Total time estimates: - Elite (L10): 120+132+143 = 395 sec, but rowing specialists could be faster ~360 sec - Advanced (L5): 145+165+180 = 490 sec, scaling to ~540 sec with set breaks - Recreational (L1): 170+203+220 = 593 sec, scaling to ~720+ sec with longer breaks The DB thruster load (50/35) is heavier than Jackie's barbell thrusters (45/35), and the rowing volume is significant (1500m total vs Jackie's 1000m). This justifies times being similar to or slightly slower than Jackie despite fewer total reps. Final targets: L10: 360 sec (6:00), L5: 540 sec (9:00), L1: 1080 sec (18:00)

Modality Profile

Row is monostructural cardio (M) and Thruster is a weighted barbell movement (W). With two modalities present, this creates a 50/50 split between M and W.