Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

Riley is a long couplet: 3 total miles of running wrapped around 150 burpees. There’s no heavy load or high skill, but the duration and volume are significant, with sustained heart rate and repetitive full-body effort. Most athletes will be working 45–70 minutes without a real recovery point, which makes pacing and aerobic endurance the primary challenges.

Benchmark Times for Riley

• Elite: <35:00
• Advanced: 37:30-40:00
• Intermediate: 45:00-50:00
• Beginner: >100:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Endurance (9/10): Two long runs bookending a large burpee set demand sustained aerobic effort for 40–60 minutes. Heart rate stays elevated with minimal rest, testing pacing and breathing under fatigue more than peak power or skill.
• Stamina (8/10): 150 burpees require consistent chest-to-ground reps and pop-ups without stopping. Shoulders, triceps, and hips must repeat full ranges under fatigue, rewarding athletes who can maintain submaximal output over dozens of minutes.
• Speed (4/10): Transitions are minimal, but the best scores come from sustainable speed—smooth burpee cadence and controlled run pacing—rather than sprinting. Overpacing early punishes the back half.
• Flexibility (2/10): Requires standard positions—plank, squat, and overhead jump reach. Adequate hip and shoulder mobility keeps reps efficient, but extreme ranges are not necessary for safe, effective execution.
• Power (2/10): Burpees include a small jump and fast floor-to-stand transition, but output is tempered by volume and pacing; explosive capacity is secondary to aerobic and muscular endurance.
• Strength (1/10): There are no heavy loads. Only bodyweight resistance from burpees and running; strength is not the limiter beyond basic ability to press off the floor and jump repeatedly.

Movements

• Burpee
• Run

Scaling Options

Scale to: 1 mile run • 100 burpees • 1 mile run • 2 x 1200 m runs + 120 burpees • 2,000 m row – 100 burpees – 2,000 m row

Scaling Explanation

Reductions in running distance and burpee volume preserve the long, aerobic-stamina stimulus while fitting within a manageable time domain and maintaining movement intent.

Intended Stimulus

A sustained, grinding effort with controlled breathing and a steady cadence. Run the first 1.5 miles at a pace you can repeat on the second. Settle into unbroken, metronomic burpees—no big surges. Finish the last run with a slight negative split if you conserved well. It should feel challenging but steady, not sprinty.

Coach Insight

Pace the first run at 10–15 seconds slower per mile than your 5K PR pace. Then hold burpees at a repeatable rhythm (e.g., 10 reps every 50–60 seconds). Your one big tip: lock a cadence. Count breaths or reps per minute to stay honest. Avoid sprinting early, sloppy burpee standards, and skipping planned breaks—fatigue spikes will crush the second run.

Benchmark Notes

Times assume no vest. Beginners may mix jogs with walk breaks and chip away at burpees in small sets. Mid-level athletes target 45–55 minutes with steady pacing. Elite athletes can hold fast run splits and sub-12–14 minute burpees to finish near or under 35 minutes.

Modality Profile

Roughly 60% of work is monostructural running, while 40% is high-rep bodyweight burpees. No external loading is prescribed. The piece is a classic monostructural-plus-gymnastics couplet emphasizing aerobic endurance with a significant gymnastics stamina demand.

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