Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 100/70lb sandbag creates significant loading across all movements with no built-in rest between exercises. Bear hug squats tax the core and legs, plank pull-throughs maintain core fatigue while adding grip demands, and 48 jump rope singles (while basic) become challenging under accumulated fatigue. Five continuous rounds with heavy awkward loading and movement interference between core-dominant exercises creates substantial difficulty for the average athlete.

Benchmark Times for The Burden We Carry

• Elite: <12:00
• Advanced: 14:00-16:00
• Intermediate: 18:00-20:00
• Beginner: >30:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High rep counts across all movements, especially 240 total jump rope reps, heavily taxes muscular endurance throughout the workout.
• Endurance (7/10): Five rounds of continuous work with heavy sandbag and high-volume jump rope creates significant cardiovascular demand and aerobic stress.
• Strength (6/10): 100/70lb sandbag for bear hug squats and plank pull-throughs requires moderate to heavy loading for most athletes.
• Speed (5/10): Moderate pacing required to maintain consistent output across five rounds while managing fatigue from heavy sandbag work.
• Flexibility (4/10): Bear hug position demands thoracic extension, plank requires core stability, and jump rope needs ankle mobility for efficient movement.
• Power (3/10): Jump rope requires some explosive calf and ankle power, but sandbag movements are more strength-endurance focused than explosive.

Movements

• Sandbag Bear Hug Squat
• High Knee Jump Rope

Benchmark Notes

This is a 5-round workout with sandbag squats, plank pull-throughs, and jump rope. Breaking down movement by movement: Bear Hug Sandbag Squats (100/70) - These are challenging due to the awkward hold position. Fresh state: ~3-4 sec per rep. 12 reps = 36-48 sec per round. Plank with Sandbag Pull Through (100/70) - Complex movement requiring plank hold while moving sandbag. Fresh state: ~4-5 sec per rep. 12 reps = 48-60 sec per round. High Knee Jump Rope (48 reps) - More demanding than regular jump rope due to high knee requirement. Fresh state: ~1 sec per rep. 48 reps = 48-60 sec per round. Round 1 (fresh): 36+48+48 = 132 sec + 10 sec transitions = 142 sec. Round 2: 1.1x fatigue = 156 sec. Round 3: 1.2x fatigue = 170 sec. Round 4: 1.3x fatigue = 185 sec. Round 5: 1.5x fatigue = 213 sec. Total elite time: 866 sec (~14:30). However, the sandbag movements are particularly grip and core intensive, and the high knee jump rope adds significant metabolic demand. This creates substantial fatigue accumulation. Adjusting for this high fatigue factor and comparing to similar high-volume workouts like Kelly (5 rounds with mixed modalities), I estimate elite times around 12-13 minutes (720-780 sec), with recreational athletes taking 25-30 minutes (1500-1800 sec). The workout has similar structure to Kelly but with more technical movements, justifying slightly longer times. Final targets - L10: 720 sec (12:00), L5: 1200 sec (20:00), L1: 1800 sec (30:00).

Modality Profile

Bear Hug Sandbag Squat is weighted (W), Plank With Sandbag Pull Through is bodyweight gymnastics (G), High Knee Jump Rope is bodyweight coordination skill (G). However, since we have one clear W movement and two movements that could be considered G, but the plank variation involves external load manipulation, this creates a mixed profile across all three modalities with slight emphasis on weightlifting.