Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines extreme endurance volume (4.46 total miles of running) with high-intensity barbell cycling and wall balls in the middle section. The 2.23-mile run creates significant leg fatigue before entering 8 rounds of power cleans and wall balls with no programmed rest. The combination of aerobic demand, leg fatigue accumulation, and moderate loads under severe pre-fatigue makes this accessible only to experienced athletes with strong endurance base.

Benchmark Times for Ahmaud Arbery

• Elite: <30:00
• Advanced: 35:00-40:00
• Intermediate: 45:00-50:00
• Beginner: >70:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Endurance (9/10): A 2.23-mile run followed immediately by 8 rounds of work creates massive cardiovascular demand with no recovery between aerobic and anaerobic phases.
• Stamina (8/10): High volume of power cleans and wall balls after a long run tests muscular endurance under severe fatigue and oxygen debt.
• Power (6/10): Power cleans are explosive by nature, but fatigue from the run significantly compromises power output throughout the 8 rounds.
• Strength (4/10): Power cleans require moderate strength, but the primary focus shifts to strength endurance rather than maximal force production after the run.
• Flexibility (3/10): Power cleans demand hip and ankle mobility, wall balls require overhead and squat flexibility, plus running mechanics need basic range of motion.
• Speed (3/10): Pacing the run and managing transitions between movements matters, but this is more about sustained effort than quick cycling.

Movements

• Wall Ball
• Power Clean
• Run

Benchmark Notes

This is a memorial workout honoring Ahmaud Arbery with a 2.23-mile run followed by 8 rounds of 5 power cleans and 25 wall balls. Breaking down the components: The 2.23-mile run (approximately 3,570 meters) would take elite athletes 8:30-10:00, intermediate 12:00-14:00, and beginners 18:00-22:00. For the 8 rounds of barbell work, assuming moderate loads (power cleans at 135/95 and wall balls at 20/14), each round fresh would take about 90-120 seconds. However, significant fatigue accumulates: rounds 1-2 at baseline pace, rounds 3-4 with 10-20% slowdown, rounds 5-6 with 20-30% slowdown, and rounds 7-8 with 30-50% slowdown due to grip fatigue and metabolic stress. The power cleans will break into singles/doubles in later rounds, and wall balls will require frequent breaks. Total barbell portion: elite 12-15 minutes, intermediate 18-24 minutes, beginners 28-35 minutes. Adding transition time between run and barbell work (30-60 seconds), total workout times: L10 (elite) 20:30-22:00, L5 (intermediate) 30:00-32:00, L1 (beginner) 46:00-50:00. This workout combines the endurance demand of a medium-distance run with high-volume barbell work, creating significant neuromuscular fatigue. The memorial nature suggests athletes should pace appropriately to complete the full workout rather than sprint early rounds.

Modality Profile

Run is monostructural cardio (M), Power Clean and Wall Ball are both external load movements (W). With 1 M movement and 2 W movements, the breakdown is 33% M and 67% W.