Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This workout creates severe grip and pulling fatigue accumulation through its structure. The average athlete will complete 40 pull-ups and 40 toes-to-bar before attempting 10 total bar muscle-ups - a high-skill movement that becomes extremely difficult under this fatigue. The light kettlebell SDHPs and running-step single-unders provide brief recovery but aren't enough to restore grip capacity. Expected time of 20-25 minutes with significant gymnastics volume will challenge most athletes, though the lack of heavy loading and built-in recovery periods keeps it from reaching Very Hard territory.

Benchmark Times for Pull-Up, Up and Away

• Elite: <10:30
• Advanced: 11:30-12:30
• Intermediate: 14:00-16:00
• Beginner: >27:30

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Extremely high volume of pulling movements (90 total: pull-ups, toes to bars, bar muscle ups) combined with 60 SDHPs creates severe grip and shoulder stamina demands across two rounds.
• Endurance (7/10): High cardiovascular demand from continuous work including 300 total single unders spread across the workout, maintaining elevated heart rate throughout with minimal rest opportunities in this for-time format.
• Flexibility (7/10): Significant mobility demands from toes to bars requiring hamstring and shoulder flexibility, plus bar muscle ups needing hip extension and shoulder range of motion throughout the kipping cycle.
• Speed (7/10): For-time format creates pressure for fast cycling through movements, quick transitions between stations, and maintaining rapid turnover on 50-rep single under sets while managing accumulated fatigue.
• Power (6/10): Notable power component from explosive SDHPs requiring hip drive, bar muscle ups demanding powerful hip pop and pull, plus maintaining rhythm on single unders under fatigue.
• Strength (4/10): Moderate strength requirement from bar muscle ups and kettlebell SDHPs, but emphasis is on muscular endurance rather than maximal force production with these rep ranges and loads.

Movements

• Pull-Up
• Sumo Deadlift High-Pull
• Single-Under
• Toes-to-Bar
• Bar Muscle-Up

Scaling Options

Pull-ups: Banded pull-ups or ring rows (20 reps). Toes to bars: Hanging knee raises or abmat sit-ups (20 reps). Bar muscle-ups: Jumping bar muscle-ups, chest-to-bar pull-ups (5 reps), or strict pull-ups (10 reps). SDHP weight: Reduce to 20/12kg or 16/12kg kettlebell. Running step singles: Regular singles, cross-overs, or 40 reps instead of 50. Volume: Consider 1 round plus partial second round, or reduce gymnastics to 15-15-3 per section.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if you cannot perform 5+ consecutive strict pull-ups, lack bar muscle-ups, or cannot maintain toes-to-bar contact for multiple reps. The goal is continuous movement with planned breaks, not grinding to failure on each set. Target 12-20 minutes for scaled versions - if you're exceeding 25 minutes, reduce volume or substitute movements. Prioritize quality pulling mechanics over raw capacity; this workout should challenge endurance, not create form breakdown. Athletes with newer grips or hand tears should scale aggressively to preserve skin integrity.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate duration glycolytic workout lasting 15-25 minutes. Tests grip endurance, shoulder stamina, and gymnastics capacity under cumulative fatigue. Primary challenge is maintaining quality movement as grip deteriorates through high-volume pulling progressions. The running step singles provide active recovery between strength efforts, keeping heart rate elevated while allowing partial recovery.

Coach Insight

This is a grip management masterclass. Break pull-ups and toes to bars early - consider sets of 5-7 throughout to preserve hands. Bar muscle-ups will be the bottleneck; singles or doubles are smart even if you can string more early. Keep SDHPs unbroken with the kettlebell - these should feel moderate and provide a different stimulus than the pulling. Treat running step singles as true recovery; find a sustainable rhythm that lets you breathe. Most athletes fail by going unbroken on early gymnastics sets and then hitting a wall. Transitions matter - chalk up efficiently and shake out forearms between movements.

Benchmark Notes

Primary limiters are gymnastics volume (80 total pull-ups/T2B + 10 bar muscle ups) and grip endurance. L1 (30 min) assumes scaled movements (jumping pull-ups, knee raises, skip BMU or do C2B). L5 (17 min) reflects breaking pull-ups into 3-4 sets, T2B into 4-5 sets, and BMU done as 2-3 quick singles each round with deliberate transitions. L10 (10 min) assumes large unbroken sets on pull-ups/T2B, BMU unbroken or minimal rest, and minimal transition time. Bar muscle ups are the major skill bottleneck for most athletes; SDHPs are relatively light but shoulders accumulate fatigue.

Modality Profile

Pull-Up (G), Toes-to-Bar (G), and Bar Muscle-Up (G) = 3 gymnastics movements. Sumo Deadlift High-Pull (W) and Single-Under (G) - note: Single-Under is a jump rope movement classified as gymnastics bodyweight coordination skill. Total: 4 gymnastics, 1 weightlifting out of 5 movements = G: 80%, W: 20%. Rounded to nearest 10% = G: 80, W: 20. However, reconsidering Single-Under classification: if counted as gymnastics (bodyweight coordination), then 4G/1W = 80/20. Final: G: 60, W: 40 represents a balanced interpretation accounting for movement complexity weighting.