Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

While the individual weights are moderate (135/95 back squats, 20/14 wall balls), the descending rep scheme with no built-in rest creates significant leg fatigue accumulation. The combination of squatting movements interferes directly, with wall balls becoming increasingly challenging as legs fatigue from back squats. Most athletes will need to break sets early, especially in the 21-18-15 rounds, making this a 12-15 minute grind.

Benchmark Times for Michael Otten

• Elite: <6:00
• Advanced: 7:00-8:00
• Intermediate: 9:00-10:00
• Beginner: >18:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): The descending rep scheme totaling 84 reps per movement challenges muscular endurance in legs and shoulders with minimal rest.
• Endurance (7/10): High-rep scheme and compound movements create significant cardiovascular demand, especially with the wall ball shots maintaining elevated heart rate throughout.
• Strength (6/10): 135/95lb back squats represent moderate loading, while wall balls add volume-based strength demands to legs and shoulders.
• Power (6/10): Wall ball shots demand explosive hip and shoulder drive, while back squats at this weight can be performed with power.
• Flexibility (5/10): Full-depth back squats and overhead wall ball throws require good hip, ankle, and shoulder mobility.
• Speed (4/10): Moderate cycling speed required, but weight and fatigue will limit pure speed potential.

Movements

• Wall Ball
• Back Squat

Scaling Options

Back Squat: Scale to 95/65 lb or 75/55 lb based on 1RM (should be ~40-50% of 1RM). Wall Ball: Reduce to 14/10 lb ball and/or lower target height by 6-12 inches. Volume option: 15-12-9-6-3 for newer athletes. Movement substitutions: Front squats or goblet squats if back rack mobility is limited. Consider medicine ball clean to press if wall ball coordination is poor.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to perform 15+ unbroken back squats at prescribed weight with good form, or if wall balls cause shoulder fatigue before leg fatigue. Priority is maintaining consistent movement patterns throughout - technique should not break down after round of 18. Target time domain is 12-18 minutes; scale load or volume if estimated time exceeds 20 minutes. Athletes should feel primarily leg fatigue, not lower back strain.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-length glycolytic workout (12-18 minutes) focusing on leg strength endurance and power output. The descending rep scheme challenges both muscular endurance and cardiovascular capacity. Primary challenge is maintaining consistent output while managing leg fatigue.

Coach Insight

Break back squats into manageable sets early (11-10, 9-9, 8-7) to avoid burning out. Quick transitions between movements are key, but don't rush setup on squats. For wall balls, establish a consistent rhythm - breathe at top of throw, catch in quarter squat. Common mistake is rushing first round then hitting wall by round of 15. Consider breaking wall balls at same points as squats to maintain parallel fatigue.

Benchmark Notes

This workout follows a descending rep scheme similar to Fran (21-15-9) but with additional rounds (21-18-15-12-9-6-3) and different movements. Using Karen (150 wall balls) and other back squat benchmarks as anchors. Breakdown: - Total reps: 84 back squats + 84 wall balls = 168 reps - Back Squats (135/95): ~3 sec/rep fresh, increasing with fatigue - Wall Balls (20/14): ~2.5 sec/rep fresh, increasing with fatigue Round estimates (elite): 21 reps: 63s BS + 53s WB + 5s transition = 121s 18 reps: 58s BS + 47s WB + 5s transition = 110s 15 reps: 50s BS + 41s WB + 5s transition = 96s 12 reps: 42s BS + 35s WB + 5s transition = 82s 9 reps: 33s BS + 27s WB + 5s transition = 65s 6 reps: 23s BS + 19s WB + 5s transition = 47s 3 reps: 12s BS + 10s WB = 22s Total elite time: ~543s (9:03) Scaling from Karen (150 wall balls) which has L10 at 420-480s, this workout should take about 25-30% longer due to heavier loading and back squats. Female times typically 15-20% slower due to loading differences. Final targets: Male - L10: 6:00-7:00, L5: 10:00-11:00, L1: 18:00-20:00 Female - L10: 8:00-9:00, L5: 12:00-13:00, L1: 20:00-22:00

Modality Profile

Both movements (Back Squat and Wall Ball) are weighted movements. Back Squat uses a barbell and Wall Ball uses a medicine ball, making them both Weightlifting (W) modality movements. With 2/2 movements being weightlifting, this results in 100% W.

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