Workout Description
6 Rounds for Time
5 Power Cleans (135/95 lb)
10 Push Presses (135/95 lb)
15 Hand Release Push-Ups
20 Double-Unders
Why This Workout Is Hard
The combination of moderately heavy barbell cycling (power cleans into push presses) with high-volume bodyweight movements creates significant fatigue accumulation across 6 rounds. The hand-release push-ups become increasingly challenging after overhead work, and double-unders require skill maintenance under fatigue. Most athletes will need to break up the barbell work by round 3-4. Expected time domain: 12-15 minutes of sustained effort.
Benchmark Times for Paul Beyer
- Elite: <6:00
- Advanced: 7:00-8:00
- Intermediate: 9:00-10:00
- Beginner: >16:00
Training Focus
This workout develops the following fitness attributes:
- Stamina (8/10): High volume of upper body pushing and pressing movements taxes local muscular endurance. Grip endurance challenged through cleans and push presses.
- Endurance (7/10): Six rounds of compound movements with moderate loads creates significant cardiovascular demand. Double-unders add sustained cardio stress between barbell work.
- Power (7/10): Power cleans are explosive by nature, and push presses require significant power output. Double-unders add lower body power demands.
- Strength (6/10): Moderate loads on power cleans and push presses require decent strength. Not maximal but heavy enough to be challenging across rounds.
- Speed (6/10): Quick transitions between movements and fast cycling of double-unders are key. Barbell cycling speed important for overall time.
- Flexibility (5/10): Front rack position for cleans and push press demands shoulder mobility. Hand release push-ups require good thoracic extension.
Movements
- Push Press
- Power Clean
- Hand-Release Push-Up
- Double-Under
Scaling Options
Power Clean: Reduce to 95/65 lbs or 75/55 lbs based on capacity. Push Press: Match clean weight or reduce by 10-20 lbs if needed. Hand Release Push-ups: Elevate hands on box/bench or perform from knees while maintaining hand release. Double-unders: Sub 40 single unders or 30 alternating high knees. Consider reducing to 4-5 rounds for newer athletes.
Scaling Explanation
Scale if you cannot perform 3+ unbroken power cleans or 5+ unbroken push presses at prescribed weight. Hand release push-ups should be scalable to allow 5+ reps per set. Target completion time is under 18 minutes - scale load or volume to maintain intensity and proper movement patterns. Priority is maintaining power output while managing shoulder fatigue across all movements.
Intended Stimulus
Moderate-length glycolytic workout targeting muscular endurance and power output, typically lasting 12-18 minutes. Primary focus is on shoulder/pressing endurance with complementary lower body power. The workout challenges both barbell cycling efficiency and gymnastics capacity while maintaining power output.
Coach Insight
Break up the power cleans and push presses strategically from the start - consider sets of 3+2 on cleans and 5+5 on push presses. Keep transitions quick between movements. For push-ups, maintain a strong plank and full range of motion while breaking into sets of 5-7 when needed. Double-unders should be your recovery period - stay relaxed and breathe. Watch for shoulder fatigue affecting push-up quality in later rounds.
Benchmark Notes
This workout is most similar to Grace (30 C&J at 135/95) but with 6 rounds of mixed movements. Let's break it down:
Per round:
- 5 Power Cleans: 5 × 2.5s = 12.5s
- 10 Push Press: 10 × 2s = 20s
- 15 Hand Release Push-Ups: 15 × 1.5s = 22.5s
- 20 Double-Unders: 20 × 0.5s = 10s
Base time per round: 65s
Transitions between movements: 3 × 4s = 12s
Total fresh round: 77s
Fatigue multipliers:
Rounds 1-2: 77s
Rounds 3-4: 77s × 1.2 = 92s
Rounds 5-6: 77s × 1.3 = 100s
Total projected time:
Elite (L10): ~360s (6:00)
Intermediate (L5): ~600s (10:00)
Beginner (L1): ~960s (16:00)
Compared to Grace anchor points (135/95):
Grace L10: 90-120s
Grace L5: 240-300s
Grace L1: 480-600s
This workout is roughly 3x volume of Grace with easier movements (Push Press vs Jerk) but more complexity. Multiplied Grace benchmarks by 2.8-3x and adjusted for movement flow.
Final targets:
Male L10: 6:00 / L5: 10:00 / L1: 16:00
Female L10: 8:00 / L5: 12:00 / L1: 18:00
Modality Profile
4 total movements split as: G=1 (Hand-Release Push-Up), M=1 (Double-Under), W=2 (Power Clean, Push Press). With 4 movements, each represents 25%, making W=50% (2 movements), G=25% (1 movement), M=25% (1 movement)
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