Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines high-skill bar muscle-ups with fatiguing bar-facing burpees in a continuous AMRAP format, creating significant cardio demand. The hang squat cleans at moderate weight will tax the legs and grip when already fatigued. The 86-rep buy-out of lunge thrusters is especially brutal after 19 minutes of work, making this a compound challenge that many athletes will need to scale.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): High volume of compound movements with significant load in thrusters and cleans. The 86-rep buy-out is a major test of muscular endurance.
• Endurance (8/10): 19-minute AMRAP plus buy-out creates significant cardiovascular demand through continuous work. Bar-facing burpees and high-rep thrusters particularly tax the aerobic system.
• Flexibility (7/10): Bar muscle-ups require significant shoulder mobility. Hang cleans and thrusters demand good front rack, ankle, and hip flexibility.
• Power (7/10): Explosive hip extension in cleans, thrusters, and bar muscle-ups. Power output crucial for efficient movement execution.
• Strength (6/10): Moderate loads in hang squat cleans and thrusters (40/30kg) plus demanding gymnastics with bar muscle-ups test strength capacity.
• Speed (6/10): Quick transitions needed between movements in AMRAP. Fast cycling of burpees and maintaining pace on thrusters important for success.

Movements

• Burpee
• Bar Muscle-Up
• Hang Squat Clean

Scaling Options

Level 1 (Intermediate): Reduce weight to 30/20kg, substitute pull-ups or chest-to-bar for muscle-ups, reduce buy-out to 60 reps. Level 2 (Beginner): Use 20/15kg, substitute ring rows or jumping pull-ups, reduce burpees to 15 reps, scale buy-out to 40 reps. For both levels: maintain bar-facing position on burpees but step back instead of jumping if needed. Consider breaking buy-out into 2-3 sets with rest periods.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to perform 2+ unbroken bar muscle-ups when fresh, or if hang cleans above 75% 1RM. Priority is maintaining movement quality through fatigue - technique should not break down significantly in later rounds. Target 3-4 rounds during AMRAP portion. Buy-out should take 5-8 minutes. Scale load or reps if unable to maintain proper front rack position or if lunges show significant form deterioration. Goal is to finish entire workout within 25 minutes.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-length mixed modal workout (15-25 min) targeting glycolytic and oxidative energy systems. Primary challenge is skill endurance with bar muscle-ups, combined with moderate load cycling in the cleans. The buy-out creates significant leg fatigue and tests mental toughness. Overall stimulus aims to build capacity to maintain technical movements under increasing fatigue.

Coach Insight

Break bar facing burpees into sets of 5-7 to maintain quick transitions. For muscle-ups, singles are recommended as fatigue builds - focus on clean transitions and don't rush between reps. Break hang cleans early (sets of 5-7) to avoid form breakdown. For the buy-out, break reverse lunge thrusters into manageable sets of 10-15 reps. Common mistake is rushing early rounds and burning out before the buy-out. Aim for consistent round times through the AMRAP portion.

Benchmark Notes

Analysis based on 19-minute AMRAP with buy-out: Per-round breakdown (before fatigue): - 20 Bar Facing Burpees: 4.5s × 20 = 90s - 4 Bar Muscle-Ups: 4s × 4 = 16s (plus setup/transition) - 20 Hang Squat Cleans: 3s × 20 = 60s Base round time: ~175s (2:55) fresh Fatigue multipliers: - Rounds 1-2: 1.0x (175s) - Rounds 3-4: 1.15x (201s) - Rounds 5+: 1.25x (219s) Buy-out impact: 86 Reverse Lunge Thrusters will take 3-4 minutes for elite athletes, 5-7 minutes for intermediates. Closest benchmark comparison is Amanda (muscle-ups + barbell) and Cindy (high-rep calisthenics). Using Cindy's 20-minute format as primary anchor, but accounting for higher skill requirement of bar muscle-ups and heavier loading. L10 (Elite): 6.8+ rounds (aggressive pace, minimal transition, efficient buy-out) L5 (Intermediate): 4.8 rounds (steady pace, some breaks on muscle-ups) L1 (Beginner): 2.5 rounds (significant rest between muscle-ups) Female adjustment: ~12% fewer rounds due to heavier relative loading on cleans and more challenging muscle-up requirements.

Modality Profile

Burpee (G), Bar Muscle-Up (G), Hang Squat Clean (W), Reverse Lunge Thruster (W). Total 4 movements: 2 gymnastics (bodyweight) and 2 weightlifting (barbell) movements. Rounded to nearest 10% from 50/50 split.

Similar Workouts to Maria

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

• Stuart McGrath (85% similar) - For Time 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of: Squat Cleans (60/40 kg) Wall Ball Shots (20/14 lb) Jerks (60/40 ...
• Mama Paula (85% similar) - 7 Rounds for Time 7 Man Makers (2x22.5/15 kg) 7 Dumbbell Squat Cleans (2x22.5/15 kg) 7 Dumbbell Clea...
• Rouse 410 (84% similar) - For Time 100 Deadlifts (135/95 lb) 100 Power Cleans (115/85 lb) 100 Power Snatches (95/65 lb) 100 Ov...
• Three Wise Men (84% similar) - For Time 3 Rounds of: 5 Hang Squat Snatches (185/125 lb) 10 Bar Facing Burpees Then, 3 Rounds of: 1...
• Randy Savage (84% similar) - For Time 10 Right-Arm Kettlebell Snatches (24/16 kg) 10 Burpees 10 Left-Arm Kettlebell Snatches (24/...
• Tommy Mac (84% similar) - 2 Rounds For Time 12 Burpees 12 Thrusters (115/75 lb) 12 Burpees 12 Power Snatches (115/75 lb) 12 Bu...
• Macho Man (83% similar) - EMOM for as Long as Possible 3 Power Cleans (185/135 lb) 3 Front Squats (185/135 lb) 3 Jerks (185/13...
• T.J. (83% similar) - For time: 185-lb. bench presses, 10 reps 10 strict pull-ups 135-lb. thrusters, max set Repeat the tr...

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