Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This workout combines moderate-heavy thrusters (135/95) with high-volume bike calories in a continuous format with no built-in rest. The descending ladder creates urgency while accumulated leg fatigue from biking directly interferes with thruster performance. Most athletes will struggle with the 21 thrusters after 42 calories, and the continuous nature prevents meaningful recovery. The combination of cardiovascular demand and moderate loading under fatigue makes this challenging for average CrossFitters.

Benchmark Times for WOD

• Elite: <5:30
• Advanced: 6:00-6:30
• Intermediate: 7:00-7:30
• Beginner: >12:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume of thrusters (45 total reps) at moderate weight will severely test shoulder, leg, and core muscular endurance capacity.
• Endurance (7/10): Bike calories combined with thrusters create significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output throughout the descending ladder format.
• Strength (6/10): 135/95lb thrusters require moderate strength for the front squat and overhead press components, especially as fatigue accumulates.
• Speed (6/10): Fast transitions between bike and thrusters are crucial, plus maintaining high cycling speed on movements as fatigue builds.
• Power (5/10): Thrusters require explosive hip drive from bottom position, while bike calories demand sustained power output rather than peak power.
• Flexibility (4/10): Thrusters demand good ankle, hip, and shoulder mobility for proper squat depth and overhead position throughout high volume.

Movements

• Air Bike
• Thruster

Benchmark Notes

This workout combines bike calories with thrusters in a descending ladder format (42/21, 30/15, 18/9), totaling 90 calories and 45 thrusters at 135/95 lbs. I'll use Fran as the primary anchor since it features the same 21-15-9 thruster pattern, then adjust for the bike calories. Fran anchor times: L10: 120-140 sec, L5: 320-360 sec, L1: 540-660 sec Movement breakdown: - Bike calories: Elite ~1.5 sec/cal, Intermediate ~2.5 sec/cal, Recreational ~3.5 sec/cal - Thrusters 135 lbs: Elite ~2.5 sec/rep, Intermediate ~4 sec/rep, Recreational ~6 sec/rep Round-by-round analysis: Round 1 (42 cal bike + 21 thrusters): Fresh state, minimal fatigue - Elite: 63 sec bike + 53 sec thrusters + 5 sec transition = 121 sec - Intermediate: 105 sec bike + 84 sec thrusters + 8 sec transition = 197 sec - Recreational: 147 sec bike + 126 sec thrusters + 12 sec transition = 285 sec Round 2 (30 cal bike + 15 thrusters): 1.15x fatigue multiplier - Elite: (45 + 38 + 5) × 1.15 = 101 sec - Intermediate: (75 + 60 + 8) × 1.15 = 164 sec - Recreational: (105 + 90 + 12) × 1.15 = 238 sec Round 3 (18 cal bike + 9 thrusters): 1.25x fatigue multiplier - Elite: (27 + 23 + 5) × 1.25 = 69 sec - Intermediate: (45 + 36 + 8) × 1.25 = 111 sec - Recreational: (63 + 54 + 12) × 1.25 = 161 sec Total projected times: - Elite (L10): 291 sec (~4:51) - Intermediate (L5): 472 sec (~7:52) - Recreational (L1): 684 sec (~11:24) Comparing to Fran: This workout should take roughly 2.5x longer due to the bike calories adding significant volume. Fran L10 is ~130 sec, so 330 sec is reasonable. Fran L5 is ~340 sec, so 450 sec aligns well. Fran L1 is ~600 sec, so 720 sec represents the appropriate scaling. Final targets: L10: 330 sec, L5: 450 sec, L1: 720 sec

Modality Profile

Bike is monostructural cardio (M) and Thruster is a weighted barbell movement (W). Two modalities split evenly.