Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Medium

This workout combines two high-skill gymnastics movements (ring muscle-ups) with heavy single-arm kettlebell work in an ascending ladder format. The 21 total muscle-ups demand significant upper body and grip strength, while the 42 KB clean & presses (24kg) create cumulative shoulder and core fatigue. The ladder structure means later rounds (5-6 reps) occur when athletes are already fatigued, making skill execution increasingly difficult. Only experienced CrossFitters with solid muscle-up proficiency and kettlebell strength can complete as prescribed without significant scaling.

Benchmark Times for Ring Cycle

• Elite: <12:45
• Advanced: 15:30-19:00
• Intermediate: 24:00-30:30
• Beginner: >80:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High muscular endurance demand with 21 ring muscle-ups and 42 KB clean & presses totaling 63 reps. Cumulative fatigue increases significantly as rounds progress, testing sustained output.
• Power (7/10): Ring muscle-ups are inherently explosive movements requiring rapid hip drive and upper body power. KB clean & press demands explosive hip extension and shoulder drive on each rep.
• Strength (6/10): Ring muscle-ups and single-arm KB work require substantial strength, but the ascending ladder format emphasizes muscular endurance over maximal strength. 24kg KB is moderate load.
• Flexibility (6/10): Ring muscle-ups demand significant shoulder mobility and thoracic extension. Single-arm KB work requires core stability and shoulder range of motion throughout the movement.
• Endurance (5/10): Moderate cardiovascular demand from 6 rounds with 60-second rest periods. The ascending ladder format prevents sustained high-intensity cardio, allowing partial recovery between rounds.
• Speed (4/10): Immediate transitions between movements within rounds create some pacing demand, but 60-second rest periods between rounds reduce overall cycling speed requirements compared to continuous formats.

Movements

• Ring Muscle-Up

Scaling Options

Movement substitutions — replace ring muscle-ups with: (1) Banded ring muscle-ups for athletes close to unassisted; (2) Jumping ring muscle-ups (feet stay on ground through transition) for intermediate athletes; (3) 2:1 ratio chest-to-bar pull-ups or strict pull-ups + ring dips performed separately (e.g., Round 1 = 1 C2B + 1 ring dip) to build the component skills. For the KB clean & press, reduce load to 16kg for athletes struggling with the 24kg overhead position or those with limited pressing capacity — technique breaks down fast under a heavy bell. Weight reductions: 20kg is a solid middle ground if 24kg feels unmanageable but 16kg feels too light. Volume modifications — if 6 full rounds feels like too large a total volume, cap the ladder at 5 rounds (15 muscle-ups + 30 KB reps) or reduce to a 1-2-3-4-5 ascending ladder. Athletes newer to unilateral KB work can start with both movements at reduced reps (e.g., start at 1 and cap at 4 rounds). Rest period can be extended to 90 seconds between rounds for athletes prioritizing technique over density.

Scaling Explanation

Scale the ring muscle-up if you cannot perform at least 3–5 unbroken ring muscle-ups when fully fresh — attempting 21 total reps across 6 rounds with a shaky foundation will reinforce poor mechanics and risk shoulder injury. The ascending ladder magnifies fatigue, so the standard should be higher than a flat-rep workout. Scale the KB load if you cannot press the bell overhead with a fully locked-out, vertical arm and stacked shoulder — a forward lean or shrug-dominant press is a shoulder impingement waiting to happen under fatigue. Prioritize technique over intensity for both movements every time: a clean, scaled ring muscle-up transition or a crisp 16kg press does far more for long-term development than a grinding, compensated rep at Rx weight. Target completion time for Rx athletes is 12–18 minutes of total work (excluding rest), with each round lasting 60–120 seconds of work. If any single round is taking longer than 3 minutes of active work, scale volume or weight immediately. Athletes recovering from shoulder injuries or those newer to gymnastics should default to the pull-up + dip substitution and build toward the full muscle-up pattern before loading this rep scheme.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate time domain effort lasting 12–20 minutes including rest, designed to build upper-body pulling and pressing strength under accumulating fatigue. The ascending rep scheme creates a slow-burn intensity — early rounds feel controlled and almost easy, but rounds 4–6 demand serious skill-under-fatigue and raw pressing endurance. The primary challenge is a blend of gymnastics skill and unilateral strength: ring muscle-ups require full-body tension and coordination that degrades fast once the shoulders and lats fatigue from the KB clean & press. Think of this as a short-burst power workout that compounds — each round you're a little more taxed than the last, making that final round of 6 muscle-ups a true test of technical grit. Adaptation target: upper-body pulling power, shoulder stability, unilateral pressing strength, and neuromuscular efficiency under fatigue.

Coach Insight

Treat the first two rounds as pure warm-up — move with perfect mechanics and resist the urge to rush. Your pacing decision matters most in rounds 3 and 4: if you're straining on round 3 muscle-ups, you are going out too hot. For the ring muscle-up, focus on a strong false grip or a high kip that drives your hips to the rings, then punch the rings down aggressively into the transition — the turnover is where most athletes lose the rep. Keep the rings close to your body throughout. For the KB clean & press, root your feet hard, hinge to load the hip, and drive the bell up with hip extension before the arm press kicks in — it's a push press pattern, not a strict press. Alternate arms each rep (1 left, 1 right = 1 rep completed for that round count). Common mistakes: (1) using a death grip on the rings that kills your forearm pump early — stay relaxed between reps; (2) pressing the KB with a forward-lean torso instead of a stacked, vertical position — this torques the shoulder; (3) rushing transitions and skipping the reset breath between movements. In rounds 5–6, it's acceptable and smart to break muscle-ups into small sets (e.g., 3+2+1 or 4+2) rather than grinding ugly singles. Use your 60-second rest strategically — shake out the shoulders, take 3–4 deep breaths, and mentally rehearse the next round before you start.

Benchmark Notes

Ring muscle-ups are the primary limiter — skill, false-grip endurance, and lat fatigue compound across rounds 4–6, forcing significant set breaks even for capable athletes. The mandatory 300s of structured rest is baked into all times. L5 (~34 min) represents an athlete who can string 2–3 RMUs early but singles late rounds, and breaks the KB press 3-2 or 4-2 from round 4 onward.

Modality Profile

Ring Muscle-Up is a gymnastics movement (bodyweight skill), and Single Arm Kettlebell Clean And Press is a weightlifting movement (external load). Two movements split evenly between G and W modalities.