Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 95/65lb thrusters are moderate weight but become challenging in the 21-15-9 format with no built-in rest. Chest-to-bar pull-ups require more skill and strength than regular pull-ups. The combination creates significant shoulder and grip fatigue accumulation, with thrusters compromising pull-up performance. Most average athletes will need to break up the larger sets considerably, and many may scale the chest-to-bar requirement.

Benchmark Times for WOD

• Elite: <3:45
• Advanced: 4:15-4:45
• Intermediate: 5:30-6:30
• Beginner: >12:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume of thrusters and chest-to-bar pull-ups will severely test upper body muscular endurance and grip stamina across decreasing rep schemes.
• Endurance (7/10): The 21-15-9 format with calorie bike and high-skill movements creates significant cardiovascular demand, especially as fatigue accumulates through rounds.
• Strength (6/10): 95/65lb thrusters require moderate strength, while chest-to-bar pull-ups demand significant relative strength, especially when fatigued from bike and thrusters.
• Speed (6/10): Fast transitions between bike, thrusters, and pull-ups are crucial, with the descending rep scheme encouraging aggressive pacing in early rounds.
• Power (5/10): Calorie bike requires explosive leg drive, thrusters have power component in the drive phase, though sustained output reduces pure power expression.
• Flexibility (4/10): Thrusters require good overhead and ankle mobility, while chest-to-bar pull-ups demand shoulder flexibility and thoracic extension for proper positioning.

Movements

• Air Bike
• Thruster
• Chest-to-Bar Pull-Up

Benchmark Notes

This workout is extremely similar to the iconic Fran benchmark (21-15-9 Thruster 95/65 + Pull-Up), with two key differences: calories on the bike instead of thrusters, and chest-to-bar pull-ups instead of regular pull-ups. I'll use Fran as my primary anchor and adjust for these differences. Fran anchor times: L10: 120-140 sec (2:00-2:20) / 140-170 sec (2:20-2:50), L5: 320-360 sec (5:20-6:00) / 360-420 sec (6:00-7:00), L1: 540-660 sec (9:00-11:00) / 600-720 sec (10:00-12:00). Movement-by-movement breakdown: Calorie Bike vs Thrusters (95/65): The bike calories will be significantly faster than thrusters. Fresh state: 21 calories takes ~25-35 sec (elite) vs 21 thrusters at 42-63 sec. 15 calories: ~18-25 sec vs 15 thrusters at 30-45 sec. 9 calories: ~11-15 sec vs 9 thrusters at 18-27 sec. Total bike time: ~54-75 sec vs thruster time of ~90-135 sec. This represents a 35-40% time reduction. Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups vs Regular Pull-Ups: C2B requires higher pull and more control. Time per rep increases from 1-2 sec to 1.5-2.5 sec, representing a 25-30% increase in pull-up portion time. Net effect calculation: The bike speed advantage (~35-40% faster) significantly outweighs the C2B penalty (~25-30% slower on pull-ups). Since thrusters typically represent 60-70% of Fran time and pull-ups 30-40%, the net effect is approximately 20-25% faster than Fran. Fatigue and pacing: Round 1 (21-21): Bike fresh ~25-35 sec, C2B in 2-3 sets ~32-42 sec. Round 2 (15-15): Bike with slight fatigue ~20-28 sec, C2B more broken ~25-35 sec. Round 3 (9-9): Bike ~12-16 sec, C2B singles ~18-25 sec. Transitions: ~15-25 sec total. Total time estimate: Elite ~130-160 sec, Intermediate ~260-320 sec, Novice ~480-600 sec. This is approximately 20-25% faster than Fran across all levels. Applying 22% reduction to Fran anchors: L10: 94-109 sec → ~105 sec, L5: 250-280 sec → ~265 sec, L1: 420-515 sec → ~470 sec. However, given the complexity of the bike-to-C2B transition and the demanding nature of C2B when fatigued, I'll be slightly more conservative. Final targets: L10: ~135 sec (2:15), L5: ~285 sec (4:45), L1: ~600 sec (10:00). These represent a 15-20% improvement over Fran, accounting for transition complexity and C2B difficulty under fatigue.

Modality Profile

Three movements across all modalities: Bike (monostructural cardio), Thruster (weighted barbell movement), and Chest To Bar Pull Up (bodyweight gymnastics). Equal distribution with slight weighting to weightlifting.