Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Easy

This workout features four basic bodyweight movements with complete separation—3 minutes dedicated to each exercise with implicit rest between stations. The average CrossFitter can maintain a sustainable pace throughout each movement without interference or cumulative fatigue. Total work time is only 12 minutes with natural recovery built in during transitions. No technical skills, no heavy loading, and the time-priority format allows athletes to self-regulate intensity, making this an accessible conditioning session.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Each 3-minute station tests muscular endurance across different muscle groups, accumulating high volume in pulling, pushing, core, and leg movements with sustained output.
• Endurance (7/10): Twelve continuous minutes of bodyweight work with minimal rest creates significant cardiovascular demand, though the segmented format allows brief recovery between stations.
• Speed (6/10): The 3-minute stations reward quick cycling and efficient transitions between reps, though not as demanding as continuous AMRAP formats with mixed movements.
• Flexibility (3/10): Pull-ups require shoulder mobility, sit-ups demand hip flexor and spinal flexibility, while squats need ankle and hip range of motion for proper depth.
• Strength (2/10): Purely bodyweight movements with no external load; tests relative strength endurance rather than maximal force production capabilities.
• Power (1/10): Minimal explosive demand; the time priority format encourages steady, controlled repetitions rather than ballistic or dynamic movement patterns.

Movements

• Pull-Up
• Push-Up
• Sit-Up
• Air Squat

Scaling Options

Pull-ups: Substitute jumping pull-ups, banded pull-ups, or ring rows to maintain pulling volume. Aim for sets of 10-15. Push-ups: Scale to hand-release push-ups from knees, bench push-ups, or wall push-ups. Maintain 3-second descent tempo for quality. Sit-ups: Reduce range of motion to abmat sit-ups without reaching overhead, or substitute dead bugs (2 reps = 1 sit-up). Air squats: Reduce depth to parallel or above if mobility limited, or substitute to box squats for depth consistency. Consider reducing time to 2 minutes per station for newer athletes while maintaining movement quality.

Scaling Explanation

Scale pull-ups if you cannot perform at least 3-5 consecutive strict pull-ups - the goal is continuous work with brief rests, not long breaks between singles. Scale push-ups if you cannot maintain chest-to-deck depth for 20+ total reps - quality trumps quantity. Scale sit-ups if you experience lower back discomfort or cannot maintain pace. The intended stimulus is sustained work at each station, so choose scaling that allows 80-90% work time with brief strategic rests. Target feeling is significant muscular burn at each station without complete failure. Each movement should allow 40-60+ total reps in the 3-minute window when properly scaled.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate-duration muscular endurance test lasting 12 minutes total. Primarily glycolytic with oxidative contribution as fatigue accumulates. Tests ability to sustain high rep bodyweight movements under localized muscular fatigue while managing breathing and pacing across four distinct movement patterns. Mental challenge increases as grip, shoulders, core, and legs accumulate fatigue sequentially.

Coach Insight

Treat each 3-minute station as its own mini-AMRAP with strategic pacing. Pull-ups: Start conservative with sets of 5-10 depending on capacity, rest 10-15 seconds between sets to preserve grip for the full 3 minutes. Avoid going to failure early. Push-ups: Maintain strict form with chest-to-deck contact. Break into manageable sets (10-20 reps) before shoulders burn out. Keep hips level and core tight. Sit-ups: This is your 'recovery' station relatively speaking - maintain steady rhythm of 15-25 reps per set with minimal rest. Focus on full range touching ground behind head. Air squats: Fight the urge to slow down. Aim for unbroken sets of 20-30+ reps. Hit full depth every rep - this station separates competitors. Record total reps at each station. Goal is 50+ pull-ups, 100+ push-ups, 100+ sit-ups, 150+ air squats for competitive athletes.

Benchmark Notes

This workout is a 12-minute AMRAP-style session (3 minutes per movement × 4 movements) focusing on bodyweight gymnastics. The athlete performs as many reps as possible of each movement within its 3-minute window. **ANCHOR REFERENCE**: This workout is most similar to **Angie** (100 pull-ups + 100 push-ups + 100 sit-ups + 100 air squats for time) and **Cindy** (AMRAP 20: 5 pull-ups + 10 push-ups + 15 air squats). However, this workout is structured differently - it's time-prioritized with 3 minutes per movement rather than continuous rounds. **MOVEMENT-BY-MOVEMENT BREAKDOWN**: **Pull-Ups (3 minutes)**: - L10 (Elite): 60-75 reps (sets of 15-20, minimal rest, ~2.4-3 sec/rep average with breaks) - L5 (Intermediate): 30-40 reps (sets of 8-10, moderate rest, ~4.5-6 sec/rep average) - L1 (Beginner): 12-18 reps (singles/doubles, significant rest, ~10-15 sec/rep average) **Push-Ups (3 minutes)**: - L10: 90-110 reps (sets of 20-30, minimal rest, ~1.6-2 sec/rep average) - L5: 50-65 reps (sets of 10-15, moderate rest, ~2.8-3.6 sec/rep average) - L1: 25-35 reps (sets of 5-8, significant rest, ~5-7 sec/rep average) **Sit-Ups (3 minutes)**: - L10: 100-120 reps (large sets of 30-40, minimal rest, ~1.5-1.8 sec/rep average) - L5: 60-75 reps (sets of 15-20, moderate rest, ~2.4-3 sec/rep average) - L1: 30-40 reps (sets of 10-12, rest, ~4.5-6 sec/rep average) **Air Squats (3 minutes)**: - L10: 110-130 reps (large sets of 30-50, minimal rest, ~1.4-1.6 sec/rep average) - L5: 70-85 reps (sets of 20-25, moderate rest, ~2.1-2.6 sec/rep average) - L1: 40-50 reps (sets of 10-15, rest, ~3.6-4.5 sec/rep average) **TOTAL REP CALCULATIONS**: **L10 (Elite Male)**: 60+90+100+110 = 360 to 75+110+120+130 = 435 reps - Mid-range: ~720 reps (using upper estimates for elite performance) **L5 (Intermediate)**: 30+50+60+70 = 210 to 40+65+75+85 = 265 reps - Mid-range: ~480 reps **L1 (Beginner)**: 12+25+30+40 = 107 to 18+35+40+50 = 143 reps - Mid-range: ~240 reps **COMPARISON TO ANCHORS**: - **Cindy** (20 min AMRAP: 5 PU + 10 Push + 15 Squat) shows L10 at 25-30 rounds (500-600 total reps in 20 min), L5 at 15-18 rounds (300-360 reps), L1 at 6-8 rounds (120-160 reps) - Our 12-minute workout with 4 movements should yield approximately 60% of Cindy's volume for similar athletes, adjusted for the different structure - **Angie** total reps (400) completed in 900-1080 sec (L10) suggests elite athletes can maintain ~22-27 reps/min across all four movements - Our workout: 720 reps ÷ 12 min = 60 reps/min (L10), which is higher due to focused 3-min blocks vs. continuous chipper fatigue **FATIGUE CONSIDERATIONS**: - Each movement gets a fresh 3-minute window, so fatigue resets between movements - No cumulative fatigue across movements (unlike Angie or Cindy) - Athletes can push harder in each 3-minute block - Pull-ups are first (hardest), air squats last (easiest) - good progression **LEVEL DISTRIBUTION** (Total Reps): - L1: 240 reps (beginner, scaled movements likely) - L2: 300 reps - L3: 360 reps (novice) - L4: 420 reps - L5: 480 reps (median CrossFitter) - L6: 540 reps - L7: 600 reps (advanced) - L8: 660 reps - L9: 720 reps (competitive/elite) - L10: 720+ reps **FINAL RECAP**: - **L10 Male**: 720+ total reps - **L5 Male**: 480 total reps - **L1 Male**: 240 total reps

Modality Profile

All four movements (Pull-Up, Push-Up, Sit-Up, Air Squat) are bodyweight gymnastics movements with no external load or monostructural cardio elements.