Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines extreme volume rowing (9.5k total) with continuous pull-up AMRAPs under severe time pressure. Each round forces athletes to row at unsustainable paces to maximize pull-up time, creating massive grip and cardiovascular fatigue that compounds across six rounds. The decreasing time caps with proportionally challenging row distances means no recovery, making this a brutal endurance and grip strength test that will break most athletes.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Endurance (9/10): Six descending intervals with rowing creates massive cardiovascular demand, testing aerobic capacity across multiple time domains from 4-14 minutes.
• Stamina (8/10): High-volume pull-ups after rowing intervals will severely test upper body muscular endurance, especially as grip and lats fatigue progressively.
• Speed (6/10): Transition speed between rowing and pull-ups is crucial, plus maintaining rowing pace under fatigue across six intervals.
• Strength (3/10): Pull-ups require relative strength but focus is on volume after metabolic stress rather than maximal strength expression.
• Flexibility (3/10): Rowing requires hip hinge mobility and pull-ups need shoulder/lat flexibility, but not extreme ranges of motion.
• Power (2/10): Rowing has some power component but the focus is sustained output rather than explosive efforts across intervals.

Movements

• Row
• Pull-Up

Benchmark Notes

This workout is a descending ladder of rowing distances paired with pull-up AMRAPs across 6 different time domains. Since it's scored as 'Reps', I'm calculating total pull-ups completed across all 6 segments. Breaking down each segment: 14min/3k row + pull-ups: Elite rowers complete 3k in ~600-630 sec, leaving 210-240 sec for pull-ups. At 1.5-2 sec/rep with fatigue, that's 105-160 pull-ups. 12min/2.5k: ~510-540 sec rowing, 180-210 sec remaining = 90-140 pull-ups. 10min/2k: ~390-420 sec rowing, 180-240 sec remaining = 90-160 pull-ups. 8min/1.5k: ~300-330 sec rowing, 150-180 sec remaining = 75-120 pull-ups. 6min/1k: ~195-210 sec rowing, 150-165 sec remaining = 75-110 pull-ups. 4min/500m: ~85-95 sec rowing, 145-155 sec remaining = 72-103 pull-ups. However, significant cumulative fatigue affects later segments. By segments 4-6, pull-up efficiency drops 30-50% due to grip fatigue and metabolic stress. Adjusting for this progressive breakdown: Elite total ~430-500 reps, Advanced ~300-350 reps, Intermediate ~200-250 reps, Novice ~100-150 reps. This aligns with Fight Gone Bad anchor (430-500 elite, 300-340 advanced, 180-220 novice) which has similar multi-domain fatigue patterns. Final targets: L10: 430+ reps, L5: 300 reps, L1: 150 reps.

Modality Profile

Two movements: Row (monostructural cardio) and Pull-Up (bodyweight gymnastics). Equal 50/50 split between M and G modalities.