Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 135lb power cleans are moderately heavy for most athletes, but the 3-minute time cap creates significant intensity pressure. While individual rounds seem manageable, the short rest periods (1 minute) prevent full recovery between cycles. The combination of barbell cycling under fatigue, time pressure across 4 cycles, and minimal recovery creates substantial cumulative stress that pushes this beyond medium difficulty for the average athlete.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): Continuous cycling through power cleans, push-ups, and squats for 3 minutes tests muscular endurance across multiple muscle groups with cumulative fatigue.
• Endurance (7/10): Four 3-minute high-intensity intervals with 1-minute rest creates significant cardiovascular demand, testing aerobic power and recovery capacity between rounds.
• Power (7/10): Power cleans are explosive by nature, requiring rapid force production from the floor, making this a significant power development stimulus.
• Strength (6/10): 135-pound power cleans require moderate strength, while bodyweight push-ups and squats add strength endurance demands throughout the workout.
• Speed (6/10): Fast transitions between movements and maintaining high cycling speed during 3-minute intervals is crucial for maximizing rounds completed.
• Flexibility (4/10): Power cleans demand good hip and ankle mobility, while squats to medicine ball require adequate depth and range of motion.

Movements

• Push-Up
• Air Squat
• Power Clean

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 4 cycles of 3-minute AMRAPs with 1-minute rest between cycles. Each round contains 3 power cleans at 135lb, 6 push-ups, and 9 squats to medicine ball (18 total reps per round). I'll analyze this by breaking down movement times and applying fatigue across the 4 cycles. Movement Analysis per Round: - 3 Power Cleans (135lb): Elite athletes can cycle these in 2-2.5 sec each = 6-7.5 sec total - 6 Push-ups: 1-1.5 sec each = 6-9 sec total - 9 Squats to med ball: 1-1.5 sec each = 9-13.5 sec total - Transitions between movements: 2-4 sec each = 4-8 sec total - Total round time: Elite 25-38 sec, Intermediate 35-50 sec, Recreational 45-65 sec Cycle-by-Cycle Breakdown: Cycle 1 (fresh): Elite 7-8 rounds, Intermediate 4-5 rounds, Recreational 3-4 rounds Cycle 2 (slight fatigue): Elite 6-7 rounds, Intermediate 4 rounds, Recreational 3 rounds Cycle 3 (moderate fatigue): Elite 5-6 rounds, Intermediate 3-4 rounds, Recreational 2-3 rounds Cycle 4 (high fatigue): Elite 4-5 rounds, Intermediate 3 rounds, Recreational 2 rounds The 135lb power clean is a significant limiting factor - this is a moderately heavy load that will cause grip fatigue and require set breaking for most athletes after the first cycle. Push-ups will also become limiting as shoulder fatigue accumulates. Total Expected Rounds: - Elite (L9-L10): 22-26 rounds across 4 cycles - Advanced (L7-L8): 18-21 rounds - Intermediate (L5-L6): 14-17 rounds - Recreational (L3-L4): 10-13 rounds - Beginner (L1-L2): 6-9 rounds This workout is similar to Fight Gone Bad in its multi-cycle AMRAP format, but the barbell component and shorter work periods create different demands. The power clean loading is substantial enough to be a primary limiter. Final targets: L10: 24+ rounds, L5: 14-15 rounds, L1: 6-7 rounds

Modality Profile

3 movements total: Power Clean (W), Push-Up (G), Air Squat (G). Two gymnastics movements (67%) and one weightlifting movement (33%).