Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This ascending ladder creates significant grip fatigue accumulation. Pull-ups start manageable but become increasingly difficult as grip weakens from the kettlebell deadlifts. By rounds 8-14, athletes face 8-14 pull-ups with compromised grip, followed immediately by heavy sumo deadlifts. The continuous format with no built-in rest, combined with 182 total reps of each movement, creates substantial fatigue that will force most athletes to break movements into smaller sets.

Benchmark Times for Pull Yourself Up (35:00 - 50:00)

• Elite: <10:00
• Advanced: 12:00-14:00
• Intermediate: 16:00-18:00
• Beginner: >30:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Extremely high volume of upper body pulling and posterior chain work will severely test muscular endurance capabilities.
• Endurance (8/10): The ascending ladder format with 105 total pull-ups and KB deadlifts creates significant cardiovascular demand with minimal rest opportunities.
• Speed (6/10): Fast transitions and efficient movement cycling become crucial as fatigue accumulates through the ascending ladder.
• Strength (4/10): Moderate kettlebell load and bodyweight pull-ups require decent strength but not maximal force production.
• Flexibility (3/10): Pull-ups require shoulder mobility and KB sumo deadlifts demand hip and ankle flexibility for proper positioning.
• Power (2/10): Minimal explosive demand; focus is on grinding through high volume rather than explosive movements.

Movements

• Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift
• Pull-Up

Benchmark Notes

This is a ladder workout with 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14 reps of Pull-Ups and KB Sumo Deadlifts (70/54), totaling 105 reps of each movement (210 total reps). I'll use Angie (100 pull-ups + 100 push-ups + 100 sit-ups + 100 air squats = 400 total reps) as the primary anchor, as it's the closest high-volume bodyweight/light weight workout. Angie benchmarks: L10: 900-1080 sec, L5: 1320-1500 sec, L1: 1980-2400 sec. Movement analysis: Pull-ups will be the limiting factor, requiring significant set breaking as volume increases. Early rounds (1-5 reps): 1-2 sec per rep unbroken. Middle rounds (6-10 reps): 1.5-2.5 sec per rep with minimal breaks. Later rounds (11-14 reps): 2-3 sec per rep with forced breaks every 5-8 reps, plus 5-10 sec rest between sets. KB Sumo Deadlifts at 70/54 are relatively light and can be done in larger sets: 1.5-2 sec per rep throughout, with minimal fatigue impact. Transition time between movements: 3-5 sec per round (18 total transitions). Total time calculation: Pull-ups average 2 sec/rep across all rounds = 210 sec, KB deadlifts average 1.7 sec/rep = 179 sec, transitions = 54 sec, set breaks for pull-ups = 60-120 sec depending on level. This gives a range of 503-563 sec base time. However, this workout has 210 total reps vs Angie's 400 reps, so it should be roughly 52% of Angie's time. Adjusting Angie anchors: L10: 468-562 sec, L5: 686-780 sec, L1: 1030-1248 sec. Adding fatigue multipliers for the ladder format and grip fatigue from pull-ups: L10 athletes can maintain efficiency longer, while recreational athletes will break down significantly in later rounds. Final benchmarks: L10: 600 sec (10:00), L5: 1080 sec (18:00), L1: 1800 sec (30:00).

Modality Profile

Two movements: Pull-Up (bodyweight/gymnastics) and Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift (external load/weightlifting). Equal 50/50 split between G and W modalities.