Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

While 185/135 is moderate-heavy for singles, performing 9 total reps EMOM with complex Olympic lifts creates compounding challenges. The combination of heavy front-rack position, technical demands of the jerk, and accumulating fatigue with no designated endpoint makes this brutal. Most athletes will struggle to maintain form and intensity beyond 10-15 minutes, with grip and shoulders becoming significant limiting factors.

Benchmark Times for Macho Man

• Elite: >9:00
• Advanced: 13:00-11:00
• Intermediate: 17:00-15:00
• Beginner: <40:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): Nine total reps per minute of Olympic lifting movements tax both local muscular endurance and systemic fatigue accumulation, especially in shoulders and legs.
• Power (8/10): Power cleans and jerks are explosive movements by nature. Even with fatigue, each rep requires significant power output to execute properly.
• Endurance (7/10): EMOM format with complex barbell cycling creates significant cardiovascular demand. Sustaining power output each minute while managing fatigue becomes increasingly challenging over time.
• Strength (7/10): Moderately heavy loads for all movements require significant strength to maintain technique. Weight is substantial enough to demand focus on force production.
• Flexibility (6/10): Olympic lifts demand good mobility in ankles, hips, shoulders, and wrists. Front rack position and overhead lockout require particular mobility attention.
• Speed (6/10): Quick transitions between movements are crucial to allow adequate rest within each minute. Efficient barbell cycling becomes increasingly important.

Movements

• Front Squat
• Power Clean
• Jerk

Scaling Options

Weight: Scale to 65-75% of 1RM clean (135/95, 115/75 lb). Movement substitutions: Power clean to hang clean, push press instead of jerk, front squat to goblet squat. Volume options: Reduce to 2 reps each or alternate minutes (odd: clean + front squat, even: jerk). Time domain: Cap at 12 minutes for beginners. Consider EMOM x 10 minutes as base volume.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to maintain all three movements unbroken for 5+ minutes at prescribed weight. Form degradation on any lift, especially the jerk, indicates need for load reduction. Prioritize perfect positions and full range of motion over load - each rep should look like a teaching video. Target RPE should be 7-8/10 allowing consistent execution across all minutes. Athletes should feel challenged but in control throughout.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate to long duration phosphagen/glycolytic workout targeting strength endurance and technical proficiency under fatigue. Time domain is open-ended but athletes should maintain quality work for at least 10-15 minutes. Primary challenge is maintaining positional strength and technique while managing cumulative fatigue.

Coach Insight

Start at 70-75% of your normal cycle time to build a sustainable rhythm. Aim for 12-15 seconds of work per minute, leaving 45+ seconds rest. Break up complex into quick singles with minimal pause between reps. Keep torso tight during transitions. Common faults: rushing first 5 minutes, losing front rack position, cutting depth on squats. Reset grip between jerks if needed. Consider breaking at 7-8 minutes to prevent technique degradation.

Benchmark Notes

This is an EMOM-until-failure workout with complex barbell cycling. Each minute requires 9 total reps of Olympic lifts at 185/135. Analysis using DT (5 rounds of 12/9/6 at 155/105) as primary anchor: - DT L10 is 360-420s for men at 155# - This workout is ~20% heavier load than DT - But only 9 reps per round vs 27 in DT - Fresh state timing per round: * Power Clean: 3 reps × 3s = 9s * Front Squat: 3 reps × 3s = 9s * Jerk: 3 reps × 3s = 9s * Transitions: 2 × 3s = 6s Total work time: ~33s leaving 27s rest Fatigue progression: - Minutes 1-3: Fresh (33s work) - Minutes 4-6: 1.1x fatigue (36s work) - Minutes 7-9: 1.2x fatigue (40s work) - Minutes 10-12: 1.3x fatigue (43s work) - Minutes 13-15: 1.4x fatigue (46s work) - Minutes 16+: 1.5x+ fatigue (50s+ work) Elite athletes (L10) should last 17-18 minutes (1020-1080s) Intermediate (L5) should last 8-10 minutes (480-600s) Novice (L1) should manage 4-5 minutes (240-300s) Final targets: Men: L10: 1020s, L5: 600s, L1: 240s Women: L10: 1200s, L5: 720s, L1: 300s

Modality Profile

All three movements (Power Clean, Front Squat, Jerk) are weightlifting movements involving external load with a barbell. Since all movements fall into the weightlifting category, this results in 100% weightlifting modality.

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