Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Medium

This workout combines moderate volume bodyweight movements with steady-state cardio across 4 rounds. The 500m rows provide natural recovery between movement sets, preventing significant fatigue accumulation. Air squats to med ball and sit-ups are fundamental movements most athletes can perform continuously. Total time around 16-20 minutes creates manageable aerobic demand without extreme intensity spikes that would elevate difficulty.

Benchmark Times for WOD

• Elite: <7:00
• Advanced: 8:00-9:00
• Intermediate: 10:00-11:00
• Beginner: >18:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume of air squats and sit-ups across four rounds will heavily tax leg and core muscular endurance capabilities.
• Endurance (7/10): Four rounds of 500m rowing creates significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output with minimal rest between movements.
• Speed (6/10): Success depends on maintaining consistent pace across all movements and minimizing transition time between rowing and floor work.
• Flexibility (4/10): Air squats to medicine ball require good hip and ankle mobility, while sit-ups demand adequate hip flexor range.
• Strength (3/10): Medicine ball air squats add moderate load, but primarily tests bodyweight strength endurance rather than maximal force production.
• Power (2/10): Rowing has some power component, but overall workout emphasizes sustained effort over explosive movement patterns.

Movements

• Air Squat
• Sit-Up
• Row

Scaling Options

Reduce row to 400m or 350m. Use bodyweight air squats without medicine ball, or reduce to 20 reps. Substitute anchored sit-ups, abmat sit-ups, or dead bugs for 20 reps. Consider reducing to 3 rounds if conditioning is limited.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if you cannot maintain proper squat depth or if rowing pace drops significantly after round 1. Priority is maintaining movement quality and consistent round times. Target is completing each round in 4-5 minutes. Scale volume before intensity to preserve the intended moderate-pace stimulus.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-intensity glycolytic workout lasting 15-20 minutes. Targets muscular endurance and aerobic capacity with mixed modal movements. Primary challenge is maintaining consistent pace across all four rounds while managing leg fatigue from rowing and squatting.

Coach Insight

Pace the row at 80-85% effort to preserve legs for squats. Break air squats into 2-3 sets (15-15 or 10-10-10) before hitting failure. Use medicine ball as depth target, not support. Keep sit-ups unbroken if possible - anchor feet for efficiency. Transition quickly between movements but don't rush setup. Expect rounds 2-3 to be slowest as fatigue accumulates.

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 4 rounds of 500m row, 30 air squats to medicine ball, and 30 sit-ups. I'll break this down movement by movement with fatigue considerations. Movement Analysis: - 500m Row: Fresh state 85-120 sec for elite to recreational - 30 Air Squats: Fresh state 30-45 sec (1-1.5 sec per rep) - 30 Sit-ups: Fresh state 30-45 sec (1-1.5 sec per rep) Round-by-Round Breakdown (Elite Level): Round 1 (Fresh): Row 85s + Squats 30s + Sit-ups 30s + transitions 10s = 155s Round 2 (1.1x fatigue): Row 94s + Squats 33s + Sit-ups 33s + transitions 12s = 172s Round 3 (1.2x fatigue): Row 102s + Squats 36s + Sit-ups 36s + transitions 14s = 188s Round 4 (1.3x fatigue): Row 111s + Squats 39s + Sit-ups 39s + transitions 16s = 205s Total Elite Time: ~420 seconds (7:00) This workout is most similar to Helen (3 rounds: 400m run, 21 KB swing, 12 pull-ups) which has L10 at 450-510 seconds. However, this workout has 4 rounds instead of 3, and includes more total volume (120 air squats + 120 sit-ups vs 63 KB swings + 36 pull-ups). The rowing component is similar in cardiovascular demand to the 400m runs in Helen. Given the extra round and higher total rep count, I'm scaling up from Helen's anchor by approximately 15-20%. Helen L10: 450-510s becomes 420-480s for this workout. Helen L5: 630-690s becomes 600-660s. Helen L1: 900-1080s remains similar at 960-1080s due to the longer rest periods recreational athletes take. Final targets: L10: 420s (7:00), L5: 660s (11:00), L1: 1080s (18:00)

Modality Profile

Row (M), Air Squat (G), Sit-Up (G). Two gymnastics movements and one monostructural movement, so 67% Gymnastics and 33% Monostructural.