Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines moderate-heavy barbell cycling (135/95) with forced-pace burpees every minute, creating a brutal combination. The 6 burpees EMOM prevents any recovery between the 104 total barbell reps, while the continuous barbell work taxes grip, shoulders, and legs simultaneously. The 26-minute time pressure with no rest creates extreme fatigue accumulation - most athletes will struggle to maintain the prescribed weight and burpee pace throughout.

Benchmark Times for Breonna Taylor Memorial WOD

• Elite: <10:00
• Advanced: 12:00-14:00
• Intermediate: 16:00-18:00
• Beginner: >26:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): High volume barbell work (104 total reps) plus 156+ burpees tests muscular endurance across multiple muscle groups with accumulating fatigue.
• Endurance (8/10): The EMOM burpees combined with continuous barbell cycling creates significant cardiovascular demand over 26+ minutes with minimal rest opportunities.
• Speed (7/10): Fast barbell cycling between movements and efficient burpee execution are crucial for beating the 26-minute cap with minimal transition time.
• Flexibility (6/10): Complex movements like hang power cleans, front squats, and overhead positions demand good shoulder, hip, and ankle mobility throughout.
• Power (5/10): Hang power cleans require explosive hip extension, but fatigue from volume and burpees will diminish power output significantly.
• Strength (4/10): Moderate loading at 135/95 lbs challenges strength endurance but isn't maximal effort; more about maintaining output under fatigue.

Movements

• Deadlift
• Hang Power Clean
• Front Squat
• Shoulder-to-Overhead
• Burpee

Benchmark Notes

This is a complex barbell chipper with EMOM burpees, creating a unique hybrid format. I'll analyze this by breaking down the barbell work and burpee interruptions separately. Barbell Complex Analysis (26 reps each at 135/95 lb): - 26 Deadlifts: 2.5 sec/rep fresh = 65 sec - 26 Hang Power Cleans: 3 sec/rep = 78 sec - 26 Front Squats: 2.5 sec/rep = 65 sec - 26 Shoulder-to-Overheads: 3 sec/rep = 78 sec - Transitions between movements: 4 × 10 sec = 40 sec Total barbell work: ~326 sec fresh Burpee Interruption Pattern: Every minute, athletes must stop and perform 6 burpees (4 sec/rep = 24 sec), then return to barbell work. This creates forced rest but also significant metabolic stress. Fatigue and Pacing Strategy: The EMOM burpees create a unique pacing constraint. Athletes can't go all-out on the barbell work because they need to reserve energy for burpees. However, the minute breaks also provide some recovery. Applying fatigue multipliers: - Minutes 1-5: Manageable pace, 1.0-1.1x base times - Minutes 6-15: Accumulating fatigue, 1.2-1.4x base times - Minutes 16-26: Significant fatigue, 1.5-2.0x base times The 26-minute cap suggests this is designed to challenge even elite athletes. Most will finish between 12-20 minutes. Closest anchor comparison: This resembles DT (5 rounds: 12 deadlift, 9 hang clean, 6 push jerk at 155/105) but with higher volume, slightly lighter load, and burpee interruptions. DT benchmarks are L10: 360-420 sec, L5: 540-660 sec, L1: 840-960 sec. Given the higher volume (104 total barbell reps vs 135 in DT) and burpee interference, I'm scaling up proportionally by ~40-60%. Final targets: L10: 600 sec (10:00), L5: 1080 sec (18:00), L1: 1560 sec (26:00 cap)

Modality Profile

5 movements total: 4 weightlifting (Deadlift, Hang Power Clean, Front Squat, Shoulder-to-Overhead) and 1 gymnastics (Burpee). This gives 80% weightlifting and 20% gymnastics with no monostructural movements.