Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 5RM back squat under time pressure creates significant leg fatigue, then immediately transitions into a 20-minute AMRAP with no recovery. The 40% loading on thrusters (roughly 60-80% of typical thruster weight) combined with continuous work for 20 minutes creates substantial fatigue accumulation. The combination of heavy squatting followed by sustained moderate-heavy thrusters with running will challenge most athletes' ability to maintain intensity throughout.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High-volume thrusters and sit-ups in continuous rounds will heavily tax muscular endurance, especially shoulders and core.
• Endurance (7/10): The 20-minute AMRAP with running creates significant cardiovascular demand, though the strength portion provides some recovery time.
• Strength (6/10): Finding a 5RM back squat is pure strength work, though the AMRAP uses only 40% load.
• Speed (6/10): AMRAP format demands efficient transitions and consistent cycling speed to maximize rounds completed.
• Power (5/10): Thrusters are inherently explosive, requiring power from legs through shoulders, though fatigue will diminish output.
• Flexibility (4/10): Back squats and thrusters require good ankle, hip, and shoulder mobility; sit-ups need spinal flexion.

Movements

• Thruster
• Back Squat
• Sit-Up
• Run

Benchmark Notes

This workout combines a 5RM back squat strength component followed by a 20-minute AMRAP with thrusters at 40% of that 5RM, sit-ups, and 400m runs. Since scoring is 'Rounds + Reps', I'm focusing on the AMRAP portion. Each round consists of 15 thrusters (at 40% 5RM), 15 sit-ups, and a 400m run. For movement analysis: 40% of 5RM thrusters will be relatively light (roughly 60-80 lbs for males), taking 1.5-2 sec per rep fresh = 22-30 sec for 15 reps. Sit-ups at 1 sec per rep = 15 sec. 400m run takes 75-120 sec depending on ability. Fresh round time: 112-165 sec (1:52-2:45). With transitions (10-15 sec between movements), each round takes roughly 2:15-3:15 for different ability levels. Over 20 minutes, this allows for 6-9 rounds depending on pacing and fatigue. Fatigue considerations: Thrusters will slow significantly after round 3-4 due to shoulder/leg fatigue. Runs will maintain pace better but legs will accumulate fatigue. Sit-ups remain relatively consistent. Round progression: Round 1-2 at base pace, Round 3-4 add 10-15%, Round 5-6 add 20-25%, Round 7+ add 30-40% to thruster times. This is most similar to a Helen-style workout (3 rounds of 400m run + strength movement + gymnastics), but extended to 20 minutes AMRAP format. Helen benchmarks show L10 at 7:30-8:30 for 3 rounds, L5 at 10:30-11:30, L1 at 15:00-18:00. Scaling to 20 minutes with lighter thrusters: Elite athletes (L10) should complete 8-9 rounds, intermediate (L5) around 6 rounds, beginners (L1) around 3-4 rounds. Final targets: L10: 8.4 rounds, L5: 6.0 rounds, L1: 3.5 rounds.

Modality Profile

4 movements total: Back Squat (W), Thruster (W), Sit-Up (G), Run (M). Two weightlifting movements (50%), one gymnastics movement (25%), one monostructural movement (25%).