Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The combination of high-skill pistols with heavy bear complexes in continuous AMRAP format creates significant difficulty. Alternating pistols demand unilateral strength and balance, while bear complexes at bodyweight/.75BW require technical barbell cycling under fatigue. The 12-minute time domain prevents meaningful recovery between movements. Most athletes will struggle with pistol volume and barbell cycling as grip and legs accumulate fatigue, requiring scaling of both movements.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume potential with alternating pistols and bear complexes will heavily tax both upper and lower body muscular endurance.
• Flexibility (8/10): Pistols require exceptional ankle, hip, and thoracic mobility. Bear complex demands good shoulder and hip flexibility throughout the sequence.
• Endurance (7/10): A 12-minute AMRAP creates significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output while managing fatigue from complex movements.
• Strength (6/10): Bear complex at bodyweight/0.75BW requires moderate strength, while pistols demand significant unilateral leg strength and stability.
• Speed (6/10): AMRAP format rewards efficient transitions and consistent cycling, though complex movements limit pure speed potential.
• Power (4/10): Bear complex has explosive elements in the clean and jerk portions, but overall emphasis is more on strength endurance.

Movements

• Pistol Squat
• Bear Complex

Benchmark Notes

This 12-minute AMRAP combines 14 alternating pistols with 3 bear complexes at bodyweight/0.75 bodyweight per round. Movement analysis: Alternating pistols require 2-3 seconds per rep when fresh (14 reps = 28-42 seconds), but pistols are highly demanding on single-leg strength and balance. Bear complex (power clean + front squat + push press + back squat + push press) at bodyweight is extremely heavy - most athletes will need to break this into singles with significant rest between reps. Each bear complex rep takes 8-12 seconds when fresh, so 3 reps = 24-36 seconds minimum. Round 1 estimate: 28-42 sec (pistols) + 24-36 sec (bear complex) + 10 sec transitions = 62-88 seconds. However, the bear complex loading is brutal - bodyweight for males means 185-225lb complexes for most athletes, which is near-maximal territory. This will cause rapid fatigue and force longer rest periods. By round 3-4, athletes will need 15-20 seconds between bear complex singles, and pistol quality will degrade significantly. Round breakdown: Round 1: 70-90 sec, Round 2: 85-110 sec, Round 3: 100-130 sec, Round 4: 120-150 sec, Round 5: 140-180 sec, Round 6+: 160-200+ sec per round. The combination of high-skill unilateral movement with maximal-load complex creates a uniquely challenging workout. Elite athletes (L10) might complete 10-11 rounds, maintaining better form and efficiency. Average CrossFitters (L5) will likely complete 5-6 rounds as the bear complex becomes prohibitively heavy. Beginners (L1) may only complete 2-3 rounds, potentially needing to scale the bear complex weight significantly. This workout has no direct anchor match, but the bear complex loading makes it more strength-limiting than typical AMRAPs. Final targets: L10: 10-11 rounds, L5: 5-6 rounds, L1: 2-3 rounds.

Modality Profile

Pistol Squat is a bodyweight gymnastics movement, while Bear Complex involves barbell movements (clean, front squat, push press, back squat, push press). Two modalities present: 50% Gymnastics, 50% Weightlifting.