Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

While neither the Assault Bike calories nor burpees are individually challenging, this combination creates a brutal metabolic effect with no built-in rest. The bike immediately taxes the legs and lungs, then burpees continue that assault while adding upper body demands. Five rounds means sustained redline intensity for 8-12 minutes. The continuous nature and movement interference make this deceptively challenging.

Benchmark Times for Death Race

• Elite: <5:00
• Advanced: 6:00-7:00
• Intermediate: 8:00-9:00
• Beginner: >15:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Endurance (8/10): High-intensity cardio on the assault bike combined with burpees over 5 rounds creates significant cardiovascular demand with limited recovery between efforts.
• Stamina (7/10): Repeated rounds of full-body movements test muscular endurance, particularly in the legs and shoulders through sustained output on bike and burpees.
• Speed (7/10): Quick transitions and fast cycling on both movements are crucial for optimal time, especially maintaining pace on assault bike.
• Power (4/10): Burpees involve some explosive elements in the stand-up portion, while assault bike rewards power output for calories.
• Flexibility (3/10): Burpees require basic hip and shoulder mobility, but movements don't demand exceptional range of motion.
• Strength (2/10): Primarily bodyweight movements with some resistance from assault bike, but no significant strength demands beyond basic movement capacity.

Movements

• Air Bike
• Burpee

Scaling Options

Assault Bike: Reduce to 12/8 calories or substitute with 200m row Burpees: Step-out burpees instead of jumping, reduce to 8 reps Rounds: Reduce to 4 or 3 rounds for beginners Time Cap: Consider 15-minute cap for scaled versions Alternative: Sub rowing machine at 15/12 calories if assault bike unavailable

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to maintain sub-60 second assault bike intervals or if burpees take more than 20 seconds per set. Priority is maintaining consistent movement with good form throughout all rounds. Target completion time is 8-12 minutes - if projected time is over 15 minutes, reduce volume. Athletes should be able to maintain proper burpee form (full extension at top, chest to ground) throughout. Scale to preserve intended stimulus of moderate-intensity sustained effort rather than slow grind.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-intensity glycolytic workout targeting 8-12 minutes total. Primary focus is on aerobic capacity with short bursts of anaerobic work. The assault bike intervals create metabolic stress while burpees test full-body coordination under fatigue. Mental challenge comes from maintaining consistent effort across all 5 rounds.

Coach Insight

Start aggressive but controlled on the assault bike - aim for 45-60 seconds per interval. Break burpees into 5-5 or 6-4 sets from the start, even if you feel fresh. Quick transitions between movements are crucial. On assault bike, focus on powerful pushes and pulls with arms while maintaining strong leg drive. For burpees, prioritize efficient up-down transitions over speed. Common mistake is going too hard in rounds 1-2, leading to significant slowdown in rounds 4-5.

Benchmark Notes

Breaking down 5 rounds of 15/10 cal AB + 10 burpees: Assault Bike: - Fresh state: 15 cal = ~20-25s (male), 10 cal = ~15-20s (female) - Fatigue multipliers per round: 1.0, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 Burpees: - Fresh state: 10 reps @ 3-4s = 30-40s - Fatigue multipliers per round: 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 Transitions: 3-5s between movements Round breakdown (male elite): R1: 22s + 32s + 4s = 58s R2: 23s + 35s + 4s = 62s R3: 25s + 38s + 4s = 67s R4: 27s + 42s + 4s = 73s R5: 29s + 45s + 4s = 78s Total elite time: ~340s (5:40) This workout is most similar to DT in volume and time domain. Using DT's L10 (360-420s male) as anchor, adjusted slightly faster due to less technical movements. Final targets: Male: L10 = 5:00-5:40, L5 = 9:00-10:00, L1 = 15:00-16:00 Female: L10 = 6:00-6:40, L5 = 10:00-11:00, L1 = 16:00-17:00

Modality Profile

Workout has 2 movements: Burpee (Gymnastics) and Bike (Monostructural). With 2 movements split across 2 modalities, each gets 50%.

Similar Workouts to Death Race

If you enjoy Death Race, you might also like these similar CrossFit WODs:

• 30four30 (85% similar) - AMRAP in 30 minutes 30 calorie Assault Bike 30 Burpees 30 calorie Row 30 AbMat Sit-Ups...
• Fortitude (85% similar) - Alternating Minutes for 15 Rounds in 30 minutes Even Minutes: 15/12 Calorie Row Odd Minutes: 15 Burp...
• Rowing in the Deep (85% similar) - For Time 15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of: Calorie Row Burpees...
• Sisson (84% similar) - AMRAP in 20 minutes 1 Rope Climb (15 ft) 5 Burpees 200 meter Run Wear a weight vest (20/14 lb)...
• Row Cindy Row (84% similar) - AMRAP in 20 minutes: 5 Pull-Ups 10 Push-Ups 15 Air Squats 20 Calorie Row...
• Surfer on Acid (84% similar) - “Surfer on Acid” 3 Rounds: 400 Meter Run 21 Burpees...
• AGQ 22.3 (84% similar) - AMRAP in 10 minutes: 1 Rope Climb (15 ft) 2x50 foot Shuttle Runs Then 2 Rope Climbs (15 ft) 4x50 foo...
• Icarus (84% similar) - For time: 100 Double-Unders 30 Toes-to-Bars 100 Double-Unders 40 Pull-Ups 100 Double-Unders 50 Burpe...

These WODs similar to Death Race share comparable training demands, time domains, and movement patterns.