Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines two high-skill movements with no built-in rest across 5 rounds. Muscle snatches at 95/55 require technical proficiency and shoulder stability, while ring muscle-ups demand significant upper body strength and coordination. The continuous format creates cumulative fatigue where grip strength, shoulders, and lats are hammered repeatedly. Most average CrossFitters will need to scale the weight significantly or substitute ring rows/jumping muscle-ups to complete this workout.

Benchmark Times for 5 ROUNDS

• Elite: <6:00
• Advanced: 7:00-8:00
• Intermediate: 9:00-10:00
• Beginner: >18:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Power (9/10): Muscle snatches are explosive hip extension movements, and ring muscle ups require powerful pulling and pressing in the transition phase.
• Stamina (8/10): Ring muscle ups and muscle snatches will heavily tax upper body muscular endurance, especially grip strength and pulling stamina over multiple rounds.
• Flexibility (8/10): Muscle snatches require excellent shoulder and thoracic mobility, while ring muscle ups demand shoulder flexibility for the false grip and transition.
• Strength (7/10): 95/55lb muscle snatches require significant overhead strength, while ring muscle ups demand high relative strength for the transition and dip.
• Endurance (6/10): Five rounds of technical movements will elevate heart rate and challenge cardiovascular system, though not purely aerobic due to strength demands.
• Speed (4/10): Technical complexity of both movements limits cycling speed; focus is on maintaining quality reps rather than fast transitions.

Movements

• Ring Muscle-Up
• Muscle Snatch

Benchmark Notes

This workout combines 5 rounds of 5 muscle snatches (95/55) and 5 ring muscle-ups. I'll use Amanda (9-7-5 ring muscle-up + squat snatch 135/95) as the primary anchor, adjusting for the different rep scheme and lighter snatch load. Movement breakdown per round: - 5 Muscle Snatches at 95lb: Elite athletes can perform these at ~2.5 sec/rep when fresh = 12.5 sec - 5 Ring Muscle-Ups: These are highly technical. Elite athletes average 8-10 sec/rep including setup and recovery = 40-50 sec - Transition time between movements: ~3-5 sec for elite Round-by-round analysis: Round 1 (fresh): 12.5 + 45 + 5 = 62.5 sec Round 2: Slight fatigue, muscle-ups become harder: 13 + 50 + 5 = 68 sec Round 3: Noticeable fatigue, grip and shoulders compromised: 14 + 55 + 5 = 74 sec Round 4: Significant fatigue, muscle-ups breaking into singles: 15 + 65 + 5 = 85 sec Round 5: Heavy fatigue, frequent rest on muscle-ups: 16 + 75 + 5 = 96 sec Total elite time: ~385 sec (6:25) Comparing to Amanda anchor (L10: 420-480 sec): Amanda has fewer total reps (21 vs 25 ring muscle-ups, 21 vs 25 snatches) but heavier snatches (135 vs 95). The lighter load partially offsets the higher volume. My calculation of 385 sec aligns well with Amanda's lower bound. For recreational athletes, muscle-ups become exponentially harder with fatigue, often requiring 15-20 sec per rep in later rounds, plus longer rest periods. The muscle snatch technique also degrades significantly. Final targets - L10: 360 sec, L5: 600 sec, L1: 1080 sec

Modality Profile

Muscle Snatch is a weightlifting movement with external load (barbell), while Ring Muscle-Up is a gymnastics bodyweight movement. Two modalities present results in 50/50 split.