Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Medium

While the piked DB shoulder press is a challenging movement requiring shoulder stability and strength, the 1-minute AMRAP format with 3 minutes of rest between rounds provides substantial recovery. The 50/35 weight is moderate for most CrossFitters, and the built-in rest prevents significant fatigue accumulation. Most athletes can maintain quality reps across all 4 rounds, though shoulder endurance will be tested by the final round.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): Sustained overhead pressing for one-minute intervals will heavily tax shoulder and tricep muscular endurance across multiple rounds.
• Endurance (7/10): Four minutes of continuous work with minimal rest challenges cardiovascular system and aerobic capacity throughout the workout duration.
• Flexibility (7/10): Piked position demands substantial hamstring flexibility and shoulder mobility to maintain proper positioning throughout the movement.
• Strength (6/10): Moderate dumbbell load requires significant strength, especially in compromised piked position which increases difficulty compared to standing press.
• Speed (6/10): AMRAP format encourages quick cycling of reps within each minute interval to maximize total volume completed.
• Power (3/10): Some explosive component in pressing movement, but primarily focused on sustained output rather than maximum power generation.

Movements

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Benchmark Notes

This workout is 4 rounds of 1-minute AMRAP piked dumbbell shoulder press at 50/35 lbs, scored by total reps across all 4 minutes. Breaking this down movement by movement: Piked DB shoulder press is a challenging overhead movement requiring core stability and shoulder strength. In fresh state, elite athletes can perform these at roughly 1.5-2 seconds per rep with the prescribed load. However, this is a 4-minute continuous effort with significant fatigue accumulation. Round 1 (0-1 min): Fresh state, expect 20-25 reps for elite (1 rep every 2.4-3 sec), 15-18 for intermediate, 10-12 for beginners. Round 2 (1-2 min): 10% fatigue penalty, shoulders and core starting to burn. Elite: 18-22 reps, intermediate: 13-16 reps, beginner: 8-10 reps. Round 3 (2-3 min): 20% fatigue penalty, significant shoulder fatigue. Elite: 16-20 reps, intermediate: 11-14 reps, beginner: 6-8 reps. Round 4 (3-4 min): 30% fatigue penalty, maximal effort with heavy fatigue. Elite: 14-18 reps, intermediate: 9-12 reps, beginner: 4-6 reps. Total projections: Elite (L9-L10): 68-85 reps, Intermediate (L5): 48-60 reps, Beginner (L1-L2): 28-36 reps. No direct anchor matches this format, but using Fight Gone Bad as reference (3 rounds, multiple stations, rep-based scoring), elite scores are 430-500 total reps across 5 movements over 15 minutes. Scaling for single movement over 4 minutes suggests elite range of 240-280 reps would be too high for this load and movement complexity. Adjusting based on the technical demand and load: L10: 240 reps (60 reps/min average), L5: 160 reps (40 reps/min average), L1: 80 reps (20 reps/min average). Final targets: L10: 240 reps, L5: 160 reps, L1: 80 reps.

Modality Profile

Dumbbell Shoulder Press is a single weightlifting movement using external load (dumbbells), making it 100% Weightlifting modality.