Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

While individual elements are moderate (bodyweight movements, single-unders), the COMBINATION creates significant challenge. The 90-second single-under intervals maintain elevated heart rate throughout, then athletes face descending rep schemes of three movements targeting different muscle groups. The continuous nature with no built-in rest, plus accumulated fatigue from previous rounds, makes this a deceptively challenging workout lasting 20-25 minutes for average athletes.

Benchmark Times for Ivan the Terrible

• Elite: <14:00
• Advanced: 15:00-16:00
• Intermediate: 18:00-20:00
• Beginner: >30:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): High volume of repetitive movements with descending rep scheme tests muscular endurance, particularly in pushing and core.
• Endurance (8/10): Extended duration with continuous movement through single-unders and bodyweight exercises creates significant cardiovascular demand across the 5 rounds.
• Speed (7/10): Quick transitions between movements and fast cycling of single-unders are crucial for optimal performance.
• Flexibility (4/10): Lunges require decent hip mobility and range of motion, while push-ups and sit-ups need basic flexibility.
• Power (3/10): Single-unders require modest power output, while other movements are more endurance-focused with controlled tempo.
• Strength (2/10): Exclusively bodyweight movements that focus on endurance rather than maximal strength production.

Movements

• Alternating Lunge
• Push-Up
• Sit-Up

Scaling Options

Single-unders: Reduce to 60 seconds or march in place. Push-ups: Elevate hands on box/bench or do from knees. Lunges: Reduce range of motion or step back to a shorter stance. Sit-ups: Reduce range of motion or substitute V-ups or crunches. Volume options: 40-30-20-15-10 or 3 rounds instead of 5. Time cap at 25 minutes.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to perform 15+ unbroken push-ups when fresh or if lunges cause knee pain. Priority is maintaining consistent movement through all rounds - scale to allow 2-3 sets per movement versus grinding through singles. Athletes should finish in 15-20 minutes with relatively even round times. If projected time exceeds 25 minutes, reduce volume. Form should not break down significantly in final rounds.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-length metabolic conditioning workout (15-20 minutes) targeting the oxidative and glycolytic energy systems. Primary challenge is maintaining consistent output across decreasing rep schemes while managing local muscular fatigue in pushing and leg muscles. The 90-second jump rope intervals create active recovery while maintaining elevated heart rate.

Coach Insight

Break up the lunges and push-ups strategically from the start - don't go unbroken early. For 50 reps, consider 5 sets of 10. Push-ups can be broken into sets of 10-15 initially, decreasing to sets of 5-8 as fatigue sets in. Keep single-under pace steady at 80-85% max speed to allow for recovery. Transition quickly between movements. Common mistake is rushing the first round then hitting a wall by round 3. Aim for consistent round times.

Benchmark Notes

This workout is structurally similar to Annie (50-40-30-20-10 of double-unders and sit-ups) but with three movements and single-unders instead. Using Annie as our anchor (L10: 300-360s, L5: 480-600s, L1: 780-960s), we need to scale up significantly. Breakdown: 1. Single-unders: 90s fixed per round = 450s total 2. Alternating Lunges: 1.5s/rep average = 225s total 3. Push-ups: 1.5s/rep fresh, scaling with fatigue = 250s total 4. Sit-ups: 1.2s/rep average = 180s total 5. Transitions between movements: ~5s x 3 movements x 5 rounds = 75s Fatigue multipliers: - Round 1: 1.0x (fresh) - Round 2: 1.1x - Round 3: 1.2x - Round 4: 1.3x - Round 5: 1.4x Compared to Annie, this workout is roughly 2.8x longer due to: - Fixed 90s single-under periods (vs faster double-unders) - Addition of lunges and push-ups - Greater cumulative fatigue from three movements Final targets: L10 (Elite): 14:00 (840s) L5 (Intermediate): 20:00 (1200s) L1 (Beginner): 30:00 (1800s)

Modality Profile

Of the 4 movements: Single Under (G), Alternating Lunge (G), Push-Up (G), and Sit-Up (G) are gymnastics movements, while Single Under also counts as monostructural due to its cyclical nature. With 3 pure gymnastics movements and 1 movement that crosses into monostructural, the breakdown rounds to 75/25/0.