Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 2K row is a challenging aerobic piece that takes 8-10 minutes for average athletes, creating significant leg fatigue. The devil presses (burpee to double dumbbell press) immediately after require full-body power when already taxed. While 50/35 lbs isn't heavy in isolation, doing 30 reps of this complex movement under rowing fatigue makes this a demanding couplet with no built-in rest.

Benchmark Times for Row to Hell

• Elite: <7:00
• Advanced: 7:30-8:00
• Intermediate: 9:00-10:00
• Beginner: >15:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Endurance (8/10): The 2000m row is a significant aerobic challenge, and when combined with devil presses, creates sustained cardiovascular demand over 15-20 minutes of work.
• Stamina (7/10): Maintaining output on the rower and completing 30 devil presses requires considerable muscular endurance, especially in the posterior chain and shoulders.
• Flexibility (5/10): Devil presses demand good hip and shoulder mobility. The rowing stroke requires decent ankle, hip, and thoracic mobility.
• Strength (4/10): Devil presses with moderate loads (50/35 lbs) require decent strength, but not maximal. The rowing is more technique and endurance focused.
• Power (4/10): Devil presses have an explosive component in the drive. Rowing power output matters but is submaximal for this distance.
• Speed (3/10): Steady pacing on the row is crucial. Devil presses are typically performed deliberately rather than cycled quickly.

Movements

• Row
• Devil Press

Scaling Options

Row: Reduce to 1500m or 1000m. Keep consistent pace rather than interval efforts. Devil Press: Scale weight to 35/25 lbs or 25/15 lbs. Can substitute dumbbell ground-to-overhead if burpee is limiting factor. Option to reduce total reps to 20-24 reps. For newer athletes, consider breaking workout into 500m row chunks with Devil Presses between.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if unable to maintain sub-2:15/500m row pace or if Devil Press weight causes breakdown in form after 8-10 reps. Priority is maintaining steady output on row and full range of motion on Devil Press. Target time is 12-18 minutes. Scale load/volume if workout will take over 20 minutes. Athletes should feel challenged but able to maintain consistent movement throughout.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-length aerobic workout (12-18 minutes) with oxidative system focus and glycolytic spike at the end. Tests aerobic capacity and ability to maintain output when fatigued. Row tests steady-state endurance while Devil Presses challenge total body strength-endurance under fatigue.

Coach Insight

Row: Start at 24-26 spm and hold consistent split. Don't sprint first 500m. Aim to negative split the row (faster second 1000m). Devil Press: Break sets early (6-5-5-5-5-4 or 5x6). Keep dumbbell close to body on burpee. Full extension at top of press. Common mistake is rushing burpee portion and losing power on press. Rest 10-15 seconds between sets to maintain quality.

Benchmark Notes

Breaking this down using Jackie (1000m row, 50 thruster, 30 pull-up) as the closest anchor: 2000m Row: - Elite: 6:30-6:45 (390-405s) - Based on classic 2K row benchmarks (L10 360-390s) - Add 8-10% for fatigue impact on devil presses 30 Devil Presses: - Similar to dumbbell snatch + burpee complex - Fresh rate: 4-5s per rep for elite (120-150s total) - Fatigue from row increases time by ~20% - Elite: 144-180s for this portion Transitions: 10-15s total Total time calculation: - Elite (L10): 390s + 150s + 15s = ~555s (9:15) - Scale up progressively for other levels - L5 (median): 10:00-11:00 - L1 (scaled): 15:00-16:00 This aligns well with Jackie anchor (L10 5:10-5:40) when accounting for: - Double row distance (+100%) - Devil press vs thruster/pull-up (+20%) Final targets: Male: L10: sub-7:00 L5: 10:00 L1: 15:00 Female (add 10-15% due to loading): L10: sub-8:00 L5: 11:00 L1: 16:00

Modality Profile

Row is monostructural (M) cardio. Devil Press is a weightlifting (W) movement as it uses dumbbells. With two movements split across two modalities, this results in a 50/50 M/W split.

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