Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This 18-minute continuous AMRAP creates significant cumulative fatigue with no built-in rest. The 500m row (2+ minutes) followed immediately by 20 wall balls creates a brutal cycle where athletes never fully recover. The rowing taxes the posterior chain and cardiovascular system, then wall balls demand fresh legs and shoulders. Over 18 minutes, this becomes a grinding suffer-fest that will force most athletes to break movements and slow considerably as rounds progress.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Endurance (8/10): An 18-minute AMRAP with continuous rowing and wall balls creates significant cardiovascular demand, testing aerobic capacity throughout the extended time domain.
• Stamina (7/10): High-volume wall balls combined with repeated 500m rows will challenge muscular endurance in legs, shoulders, and core over multiple rounds.
• Speed (6/10): Success depends on maintaining consistent pace on the rower and efficient wall ball cycling to maximize rounds completed.
• Power (5/10): Wall balls are explosive hip extension movements, and rowing requires powerful leg drive, though sustained over long duration.
• Strength (4/10): Wall balls require moderate leg and shoulder strength, while rowing demands posterior chain strength, but neither at maximal loads.
• Flexibility (3/10): Wall balls require overhead mobility and deep squat position, while rowing needs hip hinge flexibility and thoracic extension.

Movements

• Wall Ball
• Row

Benchmark Notes

This 18-minute AMRAP combines 500m rowing with 20 wall balls (20/14 lb). I'll analyze this by breaking down each movement and applying fatigue over the time domain. Movement Analysis: - 500m Row: Fresh state 85-120 seconds for recreational to elite athletes - 20 Wall Balls (20 lb): Fresh state 40-60 seconds (2-3 sec per rep) - Total round time fresh: 125-180 seconds Fatigue and Pacing Strategy: Round 1-2: Athletes start strong, minimal rest between movements - Elite: 500m row ~90 sec, 20 wall balls ~42 sec, transition ~8 sec = ~140 sec/round - Recreational: 500m row ~115 sec, 20 wall balls ~55 sec, transition ~15 sec = ~185 sec/round Round 3-4: Fatigue begins, especially in legs from rowing to wall balls - Fatigue multiplier: 1.1-1.2x - Elite: ~150-155 sec/round - Recreational: ~200-210 sec/round Round 5-6: Significant fatigue, wall balls become more challenging after repeated rowing - Fatigue multiplier: 1.2-1.3x - Elite: ~165-175 sec/round - Recreational: ~225-240 sec/round Round 7+: Heavy fatigue, athletes may need to break wall balls into smaller sets - Fatigue multiplier: 1.4-1.6x - Elite: ~185-200 sec/round - Recreational: ~260-280 sec/round Time Domain Analysis (18 minutes = 1080 seconds): Elite athletes (L9-L10): Complete 7-8+ full rounds Advanced (L7-L8): Complete 6-7 full rounds Intermediate (L5-L6): Complete 5-6 full rounds Novice (L2-L4): Complete 4-5 full rounds Beginner (L1): Complete 3-4 full rounds Cross-reference with similar benchmarks: This workout is most similar to endurance-based AMRAPs like Cindy, but with higher skill/strength demands from wall balls and rowing technique. The combination of cardio + strength endurance suggests slightly lower round counts than pure bodyweight AMRAPs. Final Benchmark Targets: L10 (Elite): 8.5+ rounds L5 (Average): 6.0 rounds L1 (Beginner): 3.5 rounds

Modality Profile

Row is monostructural cardio (M) and Wall Ball uses external load making it weightlifting (W). Two modalities split evenly.