Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

Seven rounds of barbell cycling (deadlifts + power cleans at 135/95) combined with high-rep gymnastics (19 push-ups + 19 pull-ups) under a 20/14 lb vest creates brutal cumulative fatigue. The vest destroys push-up and pull-up capacity while grip is hammered by both barbell and pull-up volume. Total reps: 49 barbell, 266 gymnastics. Most average athletes will need significant scaling — this rivals Murph-level demand.

Benchmark Times for Dixon

• Elite: <10:00
• Advanced: 13:30-17:00
• Intermediate: 21:00-26:00
• Beginner: >60:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): High total rep count — 49 deadlifts, 133 push-ups, 49 power cleans, and 133 pull-ups — with a weight vest creates extreme muscular endurance demands, especially for grip, posterior chain, and upper body pushing and pulling muscles.
• Endurance (7/10): Seven rounds of continuous barbell and bodyweight work with a weight vest creates sustained cardiovascular demand. The combination of pulling, pushing, and hinging movements keeps heart rate elevated throughout the workout.
• Speed (6/10): For-time format incentivizes fast transitions and efficient cycling of movements. Managing bar cycling speed on cleans and deadlifts while maintaining push-up and pull-up rhythm is critical to a competitive finish time.
• Power (5/10): Power cleans are inherently explosive movements requiring hip extension and bar speed. However, fatigue from high volume deadlifts, push-ups, and pull-ups will progressively reduce power output across rounds.
• Strength (4/10): Moderate barbell loads at 135/95 lb are not maximal but require meaningful strength output, especially as fatigue accumulates across 7 rounds. The weight vest adds additional loading to bodyweight movements.
• Flexibility (3/10): Deadlifts and power cleans require adequate hip hinge mobility and shoulder flexibility for the catch position. Pull-ups demand shoulder range of motion, but overall mobility demands remain moderate.

Movements

• Push-Up
• Power Clean
• Deadlift
• Pull-Up

Scaling Options

Weight: Reduce barbell to 95/65 lb or 75/55 lb if you cannot cycle 7 power cleans with solid mechanics when fresh. Remove the weight vest entirely or reduce to 10/8 lb for athletes newer to vest training. Push-ups: Sub to knee push-ups or elevate hands on a box to maintain full range of motion; reduce reps to 12-15 if needed. Pull-ups: Sub to banded pull-ups, ring rows, or jumping pull-ups with a slow lower; reduce reps to 10-12 per round. Volume: Reduce to 5 rounds for athletes who would exceed 50 minutes, or cut reps to 5 deadlifts, 14 push-ups, 5 power cleans, 14 pull-ups to preserve the movement pattern while reducing total volume.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if you cannot perform at least 10 unbroken push-ups without a vest, 5 strict pull-ups, or cycle 7 power cleans at the prescribed load with sound mechanics. The vest should only be worn if you are already comfortable with all four movements at Rx weight — adding external load to broken mechanics accelerates injury risk. Prioritize technique over intensity here: a sloppy power clean or rounded deadlift under a vest across 49 reps is a recipe for a back injury. The goal is to finish in 25-40 minutes while keeping movement quality intact throughout all 7 rounds. If you are consistently over 45 minutes or breaking down mechanically after round 3, scale the load, volume, or remove the vest next time.

Intended Stimulus

This is a moderate-to-long grind lasting roughly 25-45 minutes depending on fitness level. The weight vest adds constant load that taxes your posterior chain, chest, and grip cumulatively across all 7 rounds. Expect a hard sustained effort — this is not a sprint. The combination of barbell cycling, bodyweight pushing, and pulling under a vest creates a relentless conditioning stimulus that builds mental toughness, muscular endurance, and aerobic capacity. The primary challenge is managing fatigue across all four movements simultaneously, especially as the vest makes every rep heavier and pull-ups increasingly brutal in later rounds.

Coach Insight

Treat rounds 1-3 as controlled and conservative — if you feel great early, you are going too fast. The vest will punish you in rounds 5-7 if you redline early. For deadlifts, hinge hard and keep the bar close; the vest shifts your center of gravity slightly forward so brace extra hard. On power cleans, use your hips aggressively and avoid muscling the bar — fatigue will tempt you to arm-pull. Break push-ups early and often: sets of 10-9 or even 7-7-5 from round 1 is smarter than going unbroken and hitting a wall by round 4. Pull-ups are the biggest time sink — plan sets of 5-7 from the start and use short, consistent rest rather than chasing unbroken sets. Common mistakes: going unbroken on push-ups in early rounds, letting the deadlift lower back round under fatigue, and rushing transitions without catching your breath. Keep transitions tight but deliberate — 10-15 seconds between movements is fine.

Benchmark Notes

In a vest, seven rounds of 7 deadlifts and 7 power cleans at 135/95 lb, 19 push-ups and 19 pull-ups. The vested pull-ups and push-ups set the pace. L5 (26-32 min) is about 4 minutes a round with both in sets of 4-6. L10 (under 10 min) holds about 70 seconds a round.

Modality Profile

4 movements total: Push-Up and Pull-Up are Gymnastics (bodyweight), Deadlift and Power Clean are Weightlifting (barbell/external load). No monostructural movements. 2G and 2W = 50% each.

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