Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

Continuous, for time with no built‑in rest. The opening 1K row elevates heart rate and pre-fatigues grip/hip flexors before a large set of dumbbell push presses; 50/35s require stabilization and drive significant shoulder/forearm fatigue. That directly interferes with 30 toes‑to‑bar, forcing multiple breaks. The closing 1K punishes already-tired midline and grip. Expect 16–22 minutes for the average athlete. Many will scale weight or volume.

Benchmark Times for WOD

• Elite: <10:45
• Advanced: 11:30-12:30
• Intermediate: 13:30-14:30
• Beginner: >21:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): Fifty dumbbell push presses and thirty toes-to-bar accumulate substantial shoulder, triceps, grip, and midline fatigue. Managing large sets under residual rowing fatigue emphasizes sustained muscular output and repeated contractions more than maximal strength or short efforts.
• Endurance (7/10): Two 1,000-meter rows bookend moderate-to-high rep gymnastics and pressing, creating sustained cardiovascular demand. Heart rate remains elevated throughout with limited opportunities to recover, but the total duration and structure favor hard pacing rather than true long-duration aerobic work.
• Speed (6/10): For time format rewards quick transitions and fast cycle rates, yet grip and shoulder fatigue make unbroken sets unlikely. Athletes must balance aggressive pacing on the row with manageable sets on push presses and toes-to-bar.
• Flexibility (4/10): Overhead lockout demands shoulder flexion and thoracic extension for safe pressing, while toes-to-bar require hamstring flexibility, hip flexion, and shoulder mobility through a kip swing. However, ranges are standard for CrossFit and not near end-range extremes.
• Strength (3/10): Loads are moderate rather than maximal; the dumbbell push press requires overhead strength and stability, but the primary limiter is volume under fatigue. Toes-to-bar and rowing do not significantly challenge absolute force production compared to heavy lifts.
• Power (3/10): The push press relies on a dip-drive for bar speed, and rowing can reward strong strokes, but sustained sets and pacing diminish peak power expression. The workout prioritizes efficiency and repeatability over explosive, single-effort outputs.

Movements

• Dumbbell Push Press
• Toes-to-Bar
• Row

Scaling Options

Weights: Choose DBs you can push press for 10–15 unbroken reps fresh and complete 50 reps in ≤5–6 sets. Suggested pairs: 35/25, 30/20, or 25/15 lb. As a percentage, ~55–65% of your 1-rep strict press per hand is a good ceiling for today. Movement substitutions: Push press—reduce to single DB push press (alt. arms) x 50 total reps; or barbell push press at 75/55 or 95/65 as needed. TTB—scale to knees-to-elbows (1:1), hanging knee raises (1:1), toes-to-ring (1:1), or V-ups/sit-ups (2:1 only if hanging variations aren’t possible). Row—reduce to 800–750 m if 1k will exceed ~4:45/5:15 (M/F) when fresh, or row for time (4:00/3:30 per piece). Volume modifications: Push press 35–40 reps; TTB 20–24 reps; Row 750–800 m. Time adjustments: Set an 18–20 minute cap; if you reach the cap on the second row, continue at easy effort to finish the distance but record time cap.

Scaling Explanation

Scale when load or skill would force very small sets from the start (≤5 reps on DB push press), if you cannot perform at least 5–8 unbroken TTB while fresh, if a 1k row exceeds ~5:00 under control, or if shoulder positioning degrades (ribs flaring, soft lockout, early press). Prioritize mechanics and intended intensity over Rx: crisp dip-drive, stable midline, and repeatable sets with short rests. Athletes should finish in 12–18 minutes; advanced may go sub-12, newer athletes should still aim to hold steady effort within a 20-minute cap. If in doubt, reduce load first, then volume, then modify the movement so you can keep moving and preserve the stimulus of sustained shoulder/core endurance under metabolic stress.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-duration conditioning piece with significant shoulder and midline fatigue. Target time: 12–18 minutes for Rx, cap at 20. Energy system: predominantly glycolytic with aerobic (oxidative) support. Primary challenge: metabolic conditioning and local muscular endurance of shoulders/core, with a mental component to manage large mid-workout sets.

Coach Insight

Pacing strategy: Treat this like a two-part time trial with a shoulder-core spike in the middle. Row 1: settle at ~85–90% of 2k pace; keep it controlled so you can attack the DBs. Aim to negative split the second row by 3–8 seconds/500m if you kept the first controlled. Transitions: move immediately—small, deliberate breaks beat long chalk sessions. Movement tips: Row—long legs-first drive, flat feet, vertical shins at catch, 24–28 spm, strong leg drive then swing then arms; relax the grip to save forearms. DB Push Press (two dumbbells)—heels down, vertical dip (2–3 inches), chest tall, drive with legs before pressing, keep ribs down and head neutral, finish with biceps by ears, re-rack to shoulders each rep; avoid turning it into a jerk. Toes-to-Bar—active shoulders, consistent kip (hollow-arch-hollow), push the bar away on the descent, keep heels together and legs long to reduce piking, break early to preserve grip. Common mistakes: Flying on the first 1k, pressing instead of driving with legs, over-dipping and collapsing the torso, soft lockouts, letting TTB devolve into wild swings, resting too long between small sets. Rep scheme suggestions: DB Push Press—plan 4–6 sets (e.g., 12-10-10-8-10 or 10-10-10-10-10). If borderline Rx, consider 8s or 6s with 10–15 sec rests. Toes-to-Bar—advanced: 3x10; most: 5x6 or 6x5; building capacity: 8x4 or EMOM-style mini-sets (e.g., 6 every 30–40 sec).

Benchmark Notes

Workout parsed as a chipper for time (scoring not provided → default to time). Segments: 1000m Row → 50 DB Push Press (50/35) → 30 Toes-to-Bar → 1000m Row. Assumptions and standards used: - Row 1000m (fresh): 195-270 sec guideline. Second 1000m gets +10% pacing degradation (Special Considerations: Long Rows/Rows +5-10%). - DB Push Press (pair, 50s/35s): cycle 2.0-3.2 sec/rep depending on level; set breaks per Set Breaking Considerations; overhead movement but no specific preceding overhead so no overhead-after-overhead penalty here. - Toes-to-Bar: 1.5-2.5 sec/rep fresh. Apply grip-intensive after grip work penalty (+25-40%) because forearms/shoulders are taxed from DB work. Use 1-3 short breaks depending on level. - Transitions: different equipment and likely different areas. Elite 5-10 sec, Intermediate 10-15 sec, Recreational 15-20 sec. - Chipper back half: apply +10% mental/pacing degradation to second row (covered above). Segment-by-segment modeling examples: 1) L10 (Elite anchor ~ top 5%) - Row 1: 205 s (conservative hard pace within 195-270) - Transition R1→DB: 5 s - 50 DB Push Press: 50 reps × 2.0 s = 100 s; sets 20/15/15 with two short breaks 2×5 s = 10 s → 110 s - Transition DB→TTB: 8 s - 30 TTB: base 1.8 s/rep, apply +25% grip penalty = 2.25 s/rep → 30×2.25 = 67.5 s; single break (20/10) +5 s → 73 s - Transition TTB→Row: 8 s - Row 2: 205 s × 1.10 = 226 s - Total ≈ 205+5+110+8+73+8+226 = 635 s (~10:35) - L9/L10 threshold rounded to 10:45 (645 s). 2) L9 (Advanced example) - Row 1: 215 s - T: 6 s - DB PP: 50×2.2 = 110 s; two breaks 2×6 s = 12 s → 122 s - T: 10 s - TTB: base 2.0 s/rep ×1.30 = 2.6 s/rep → 78 s; one break +6 s → 84 s - T: 10 s - Row 2: 215×1.10 = 236.5 s - Total ≈ 684 s (~11:24) → sits just above L9/L10 boundary. 3) L5 (Median CrossFitter example) - Row 1: 245 s - T: 12 s - DB PP: 50×2.9 = 145 s; four breaks 4×12 s = 48 s → 193 s - T: 15 s - TTB: base 2.7 s/rep ×1.40 = 3.78 s/rep → 113 s; three breaks 3×12 s = 36 s → 149 s - T: 15 s - Row 2: 245×1.10 ≈ 270 s - Total ≈ 899 s (~14:59). Median clustered between the L6 and L5 thresholds; thresholds smoothed to preserve 10–20% spread for a medium-length WOD. 4) L2–L3 (Beginner/Recreational example) - Row 1: 270 s - T: 15 s - DB PP: 50×3.2 = 160 s; five breaks 5×15 s = 75 s → 235 s - T: 18 s - TTB: heavy interference and frequent breaks; effective 4.0 s/rep → 120 s; four breaks 4×15 s = 60 s → 180 s - T: 20 s - Row 2: 270×1.10 ≈ 297 s - Total ≈ 1035 s (~17:15), aligning near L3–L4. How thresholds were set: - L10 anchored to modeled elite total (~10:35). L9/L10 boundary rounded to 10:45 (645 s) to reflect execution variability. - Remaining boundaries distributed with ~10–18% step-downs appropriate to a 10–15 minute chipper, while aligning with modeled examples above. Levels represent maximum allowed times to achieve each tier (lower is better), so the nine values descend from the L1↔L2 boundary (slowest acceptable RX) to the L9↔L10 boundary (elite). - Final thresholds (sec): L1↔L2 1260 (21:00), L2↔L3 1125 (18:45), L3↔L4 1020 (17:00), L4↔L5 945 (15:45), L5↔L6 870 (14:30), L6↔L7 810 (13:30), L7↔L8 750 (12:30), L8↔L9 690 (11:30), L9↔L10 645 (10:45).

Modality Profile

Three unique movements: Toes-to-Bar (G), Row (M), Dumbbell Push Press (W). With one per modality, use an even split; assign the rounding bump to Weightlifting.