Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Extremely Hard

Heavy barbell sets of 10, repeated multiple times, paired with moderate-volume gymnastics and monostructural work over 23 minutes yields a brutal strength-endurance demand. Most athletes will struggle to hit 6 exposures of 10 bench and front squat at the prescribed loads while keeping minute-by-minute pace. Grip, midline, and pressing endurance are major limiters, and failure in any station ends the EMOM.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): Repeated sets of 10 under load and a high total volume of pull-ups demand sustained muscular output. Success requires managing fatigue across six exposures for three stations and five exposures on the bike.
• Strength (7/10): Bench and front squat at 185/95 for repeated 10s require above-average absolute and relative strength. Athletes without the requisite baseline strength will be unable to hold minute pace regardless of strategy.
• Endurance (6/10): A 23-minute clock with repeat exposures and a bike station taxes aerobic capacity, but the heavy lifting limits pure cardio output. You’ll breathe hard yet still be constrained by local muscular fatigue, especially in pressing and squatting.
• Speed (5/10): You must move efficiently to finish each station within 20–40 seconds. However, the minute structure enforces built-in rest, making sustainable cadence more important than all-out sprint speed.
• Power (4/10): The work favors steady, strong repetitions over peak explosiveness. Quick barbell cycling and a strong bike start help, but pacing and stamina trump max-output efforts.
• Flexibility (2/10): Standard ranges of motion: full-depth front squats, proper bench press setup, and pull-up extension. Mobility matters for consistent positions but no extreme flexibility demands are present.

Scaling Options

Scale to: 10 Bench/Front Squat at 155/75 lb • 8 reps per station (keep 23-minute EMOM) • DB Bench (2x50/35) + Front Squat 115/65 + 8 Pull-Ups or Ring Rows + 8 cal Bike

Scaling Explanation

These options preserve the EMOM structure and stimulus by adjusting load and/or reps so athletes can consistently finish within the minute while maintaining movement quality and intended intensity.

Intended Stimulus

Heavy strength-endurance under the clock. Each station should be completed in 20–40 seconds, leaving enough rest to maintain quality across rounds. Barbell sets feel challenging but crisp, pull-ups smooth and efficient, and the bike aggressive yet controlled. The goal is consistency without redlining early, avoiding failure on the barbell minutes.

Coach Insight

Pace to finish each station with 20–30 seconds rest. Move deliberately on bench, breathe through front squats, then smooth kip on pull-ups. Bike hard enough to finish early, not to spike your heart rate. One tip: Break bench early (6-4 or 5-5) with short, planned rests. Keep front squats unbroken with braced breathing. Avoid starting too heavy, skipping spotter/safeties on bench, sloppy pull-up rhythm, or sprinting the bike and blowing up the next minute.

Benchmark Notes

Your score is the number of minutes where you fully completed the prescribed work. Hitting all 23 means you stayed on pace for the entire EMOM. Expect the barbell minutes to be the main choke points; maintain smooth unbroken front squats and controlled bench sets to keep accumulating minutes.

Modality Profile

Across 23 minutes, weightlifting minutes (bench and front squat) occur 12 times (~52%), pull-ups 6 times (~26%), and the bike 5 times (~22%). This makes it a weightlifting-dominant EMOM with meaningful gymnastics grip demand and a smaller, yet relevant, monostructural dose.

Similar Workouts to Ides of March

If you enjoy Ides of March, you might also like these similar CrossFit WODs:

• The Burner (91% similar) - AMRAP in 25 minutes 5 Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups 10 Clean and Split Jerks (135/95 lb) 15 Bench Presses (2...
• Assault Flex (91% similar) - 5 Rounds for Time 5 Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls (135/75 lb) 10 Power Curls (135/75 lb) 15 Ground Presse...
• Jaime L. Campbell (90% similar) - AMRAP in 25 minutes 7 Deadlifts (185/135 lb) 6 Kettlebell Swings (53/35 lb) 7 Barbell Hack Squats (1...
• Tumilson (90% similar) - 8 Rounds For Time 200 meter Run 11 Dumbbell Burpee Deadlifts (2x60/40 lb) ...
• Assault Reduction (90% similar) - For Time Round 1: 30 Cal Bike, 24 Lunges, 18 Push-Ups, 12 FS (185/135) Round 2: 25 Cal Bike, 20 Lung...
• Chief Jason Byrd (90% similar) - 4 Rounds for Time 3 Flights Stairs with Air Pack 10 Sandbag Squats (100/75 lb) 10 Sandbag Plank Pull...
• Rankel (90% similar) - AMRAP in 20 minutes: 6 Deadlifts (225/155 lb) 7 Burpee Pull-Ups 10 Kettlebell Swings (2/1.5 pood) 20...
• Dumbbell Demons (90% similar) - 5 Rounds for Time 5 Single Arm Dumbbell Snatches (75/40 lb) 10 Dumbbell Lunges (75/40 lb) 15 GHD Sit...

These WODs similar to Ides of March share comparable training demands, time domains, and movement patterns.