Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Extremely Hard

Fifty minutes in a vest with rope climbs, high-rep squats, and push-ups is a long endurance grind with significant muscular fatigue. Rope climbs add skill and grip demands under fatigue, and the repeated 400 m runs limit recovery. Duration, volume, and vest loading combine to make this extremely hard for most athletes.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): High total volume of squats and push-ups over five intervals requires sustainable sets and repeated efforts without failure. Rope climbs add repeated upper-body efforts under fatigue across long duration.
• Endurance (9/10): Fifty minutes of continuous work with a run every round places a premium on aerobic capacity and sustainable breathing. The vest and transitions keep the heart rate elevated for the entire piece.
• Speed (4/10): Moderate pace and smooth transitions matter. There are no sprint intervals, but efficient cycling of squats and controlled rope climb pacing improves total output.
• Power (3/10): Brief, powerful efforts occur on rope climbs (hard pulls and aggressive clamps) but the majority is steady, repeatable work rather than explosive output.
• Strength (2/10): No heavy external loads and no max lifts. The vest adds slight resistance, but demands are primarily bodyweight capacity rather than peak force production.
• Flexibility (2/10): Basic range of motion: full-depth squats, standard push-up positions, and rope climb foot locks. No extreme mobility requirements beyond sound positions and consistent standards.

Scaling Options

Scale to: Rope Climb → 12-ft climbs or seated rope pulls • Push-Ups → elevate hands or from knees to keep sets of 8-12 • Vest 20/14 → 10/8 lb or no vest; Run 400 m → 300 m (finish ≤3:00)

Scaling Explanation

These options preserve movement patterns, control upper-body fatigue, and maintain the intended sub-3:00 run while allowing consistent work across all five rounds.

Intended Stimulus

A long, gritty grinder with steady cardio and accumulating upper-body fatigue. Rope climbs are controlled singles or quick doubles, air squats smooth and unbroken, and push-ups in smart sets before failure. Run at a sustainable pace that reliably finishes under 3 minutes, using any leftover time to settle breathing before the next round.

Coach Insight

Pace the rope climbs—singles with short, consistent rests beat early big sets. Squat smoothly and breathe; push-ups in small, repeatable sets just shy of failure. The one thing: finish every 400 m well under 3:00 so you protect recovery and keep round-to-round consistency. Avoid death sets on push-ups and sloppy rope footwork. Quality reps save grip and keep you moving.

Benchmark Notes

Totals assume 15-ft rope climbs counted as 1 rep each and 400 m runs completed within the 3-minute window. Track reps each station and add across 5 rounds. If the run consistently approaches 3:00, expect rep totals to drop as fatigue accumulates.

Modality Profile

Seven of each 10-minute round are gymnastics (rope climbs, squats, push-ups) and three are monostructural (run), yielding roughly 70% G and 30% M. There is no traditional weightlifting; the vest adds load but the movements remain gymnastics.

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