Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Medium

In a team of 3, each athlete handles roughly 10 squat cleans and 10 pull-ups per round before the shared 800m run. The load (95/75 lb) is moderate and the built-in rest while teammates work significantly reduces fatigue accumulation. The 800m run together acts as active recovery between barbell/gymnastics efforts. Volume per person is manageable across 30 minutes, landing this firmly in Medium territory.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High-rep squat cleans and pull-ups divided among three athletes still accumulate substantial muscular endurance volume over 30 minutes. Grip, posterior chain, and pulling muscles face repeated fatigue across many rounds.
• Endurance (7/10): The 800m run performed together as a team, repeated across a 30-minute AMRAP, creates significant cardiovascular demand. Continuous cycling between lifting and running sustains elevated heart rate throughout.
• Power (6/10): Squat cleans are inherently explosive movements requiring hip extension power and a fast pull under the bar. Repeated cycling of cleans across 30 minutes maintains a meaningful power demand throughout the workout.
• Flexibility (5/10): Squat cleans demand thoracic mobility, hip flexibility, and a solid front rack position. The full squat receiving position requires adequate ankle and hip mobility, making this a moderate flexibility challenge.
• Speed (5/10): Team pacing strategy and efficient bar cycling matter, but the 30-minute AMRAP format rewards steady sustainable output over sprinting. Transitions between movements and coordinating team rotations influence overall round count.
• Strength (4/10): Squat cleans at 95/75 lb require meaningful strength, especially under fatigue. However, the load is moderate and shared across a team, reducing maximal strength demands compared to heavier barbell work.

Movements

• Squat Clean
• Run
• Pull-Up

Scaling Options

Weight: Scale squat cleans to 75/55 lb or 65/45 lb for athletes who cannot perform 5+ unbroken squat cleans at Rx weight with good mechanics. Consider power cleans if the squat catch position is unsafe. Pull-ups: Sub jumping pull-ups, banded pull-ups, or ring rows (15-20 reps per round) for athletes who cannot string together 3+ kipping pull-ups. Volume: Reduce to 20 squat cleans and 20 pull-ups per round if the team is consistently taking more than 8-9 minutes per round. Run: Shorten to 400m if the 800m run is taking longer than 5 minutes and killing the workout's flow. Teams of 2 can adjust reps to 20 per movement per round.

Scaling Explanation

An athlete should scale if they cannot perform at least 5 unbroken squat cleans at Rx weight with a solid catch position, or if they have fewer than 3-5 kipping pull-ups. The goal is to complete 4-6+ full rounds in 30 minutes — if the team is grinding through fewer than 3 rounds, reduce load or volume. Prioritize technique on the squat clean above all else — a missed catch or rounded back under fatigue is a recipe for injury. Intensity is the goal, but not at the expense of movement quality. The run should feel like a recovery tool, not a punishment — if it's taking more than 5 minutes, shorten it so the team can maintain the intended work-to-rest rhythm across the full 30 minutes.

Intended Stimulus

This is a long-domain team effort designed to build aerobic capacity, muscular endurance, and the ability to sustain quality movement under fatigue over 30 minutes. The energy demand is a hard, sustained effort — think of it as a long engine workout where you're constantly moving but never fully redlining. The primary challenge is threefold: managing the squat clean load as fatigue accumulates, maintaining pull-up efficiency across multiple rounds, and keeping the team together on the run. The team format adds a layer of accountability and pacing strategy — you're only as fast as your coordination allows.

Coach Insight

Divide the 30 squat cleans and 30 pull-ups evenly among the three athletes — 10 reps each per movement per round is the cleanest split. Rotate through so one athlete works while others recover briefly, keeping the bar and rig constantly moving. On squat cleans, prioritize a strong catch in the bottom — don't muscle-clean these. Use the hip drive and ride the bar down into the squat. Singles or quick doubles are smart here, especially after round 2 when fatigue sets in. On pull-ups, kip efficiently and break early — sets of 3-5 are better than grinding to failure and needing a long rest. The 800m run is your mandatory reset — run it together as a team at a conversational pace that allows the slowest athlete to recover. Do NOT sprint the run; it's your active recovery between gymnastics and barbell work. Common mistakes: going too fast on round 1 and dying by round 3, letting the squat clean turn into a power clean with a front squat (inefficient), and splitting up on the run to 'save time' — this kills team cohesion and pacing.

Benchmark Notes

Team of three: each round is 30 squat cleans at 95/75 lb and 30 pull-ups shared, then an 800 m run together. The run sets the pace. L5 (3.6-4.1 rounds) runs about 4 minutes and takes about 3:30 for the shared reps. An elite team holds about 4:30 a round (6.5+ rounds in 30 minutes).

Modality Profile

Three unique movements: Pull-Up (Gymnastics), Run (Monostructural), Squat Clean (Weightlifting). Each modality gets roughly equal share at 33/33/34.

Similar Workouts to Honey Badger

If you enjoy Honey Badger, you might also like these similar CrossFit WODs:

• Dallas 5 (91% similar) - Five 5-minute AMRAPs in 29 minutes AMRAP from 0:00-5:00: Burpees AMRAP from 6:00-11:00: 7 Deadlifts...
• Beast Mode (90% similar) - AMRAP in 25 minutes 5 Bear Complexes (135/95 lb) 10 Bar-Over Burpees 15 Toes-to-Bars 20 Push-Ups 25 ...
• Tuder (MobTown) (90% similar) - For Time (with a Partner) 188 Single-Unders (each) 30 calorie Row (each) Then, 3 Alternating Rounds...
• 10×10 (90% similar) - 10 Rounds for Time 10 calorie Assault Air Bike 10 Squat Snatches (95/65 lb) 10 Push-Ups 10 Russian T...
• Barbell Blitz (89% similar) - AMRAP in 20 minutes 3 Overhead Squats (95/65 lb) 6 Overhead Lunges (95/65 lb) 9 Power Snatches (95/6...
• Baz (89% similar) - AMRAP in 30 minutes 30 Double-Unders 8 Squat Cleans (155/110 lb) 11 Hand Release Push-Ups...
• The 13 (88% similar) - 13 Rounds for Time 155 meter Row 2 Deadlifts (1.5 Bodyweight) 8 Push-Ups 20 Double-Unders 18 second ...
• Battleground 24 (88% similar) - AMRAP in 24 minutes 24 calorie Assault Air Bike 24 Thrusters (95/65 lb) 24 Bar-Facing Burpees 24 Kne...

These WODs similar to Honey Badger share comparable training demands, time domains, and movement patterns.