Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This workout combines moderate-heavy loads (135/95 power cleans, 95/65 thrusters) with high-skill movements (TTB, HSPU) in a continuous format. The 21-15-9 descending ladder creates significant fatigue accumulation before the row, then the ascending 9-15-21 forces athletes to perform thrusters and HSPU under increasing fatigue. The combination of barbell cycling, grip demands, and gymnastics skills with minimal rest makes this challenging for average athletes, requiring scaling of weights or movements.

Benchmark Times for WOD

• 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:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume of power cleans, toes to bar, and thrusters will severely tax grip strength and muscular endurance across multiple muscle groups.
• Power (8/10): Power cleans are purely explosive movements, and maintaining power output on thrusters and HSPU while fatigued is extremely challenging.
• Endurance (7/10): The 500m row combined with high-rep barbell cycling creates significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output throughout the workout.
• Flexibility (7/10): Toes to bar demands exceptional shoulder and hip flexibility, while power cleans require good ankle and thoracic mobility for proper positioning.
• Strength (6/10): Moderate loads on power cleans (135/95) and thrusters (95/65) require significant strength, especially when fatigued from previous movements.
• Speed (6/10): The descending-ascending rep scheme encourages fast transitions and quick cycling, especially during the lighter middle rounds of each couplet.

Movements

• Thruster
• Power Clean
• Toes-to-Bar
• Handstand Push-Up
• Row

Benchmark Notes

This workout combines two distinct couplets with a 500m row transition, creating a complex chipper format. I'll analyze each section separately then account for cumulative fatigue. Section 1 - 21-15-9 Power Clean (135/95) + Toes to Bar: Power cleans at 135/95 are moderate load requiring 2-3 sec per rep fresh. Total 45 reps: Elite ~90-120 sec, Intermediate ~180-240 sec, Novice ~270-360 sec. Toes to bar at 1.5-2.5 sec per rep fresh, 45 total reps: Elite ~70-90 sec, Intermediate ~135-180 sec, Novice ~225-270 sec. Combined with transitions and set breaks: Elite ~180-240 sec, Intermediate ~360-480 sec, Novice ~540-720 sec. 500m Row Transition: Fresh 500m row times: Elite 85-95 sec, Intermediate 105-120 sec, Novice 135-150 sec. However, this comes after significant upper body and grip fatigue from power cleans and toes to bar, adding 15-25% time penalty: Elite ~100-115 sec, Intermediate ~125-145 sec, Novice ~165-185 sec. Section 2 - 9-15-21 Thrusters (95/65) + HSPU: This reverse ladder format means starting with lighter volume when most fatigued. Thrusters at 95/65 require 2-3 sec per rep, 45 total reps with significant pre-fatigue: Elite ~120-150 sec, Intermediate ~200-270 sec, Novice ~315-405 sec. HSPU are highly technical and demanding after upper body fatigue, requiring 8-12 sec per rep in complex workouts, 45 total reps: Elite ~180-240 sec, Intermediate ~360-480 sec, Novice ~540-720 sec. Combined section time: Elite ~330-420 sec, Intermediate ~600-810 sec, Novice ~900-1200 sec. Total Workout Time Calculation: Section 1: Elite 180-240 sec, Intermediate 360-480 sec, Novice 540-720 sec Row: Elite 100-115 sec, Intermediate 125-145 sec, Novice 165-185 sec Section 2: Elite 330-420 sec, Intermediate 600-810 sec, Novice 900-1200 sec Transitions (3 major): Elite 15 sec, Intermediate 30 sec, Novice 45 sec Total Times: Elite 625-790 sec, Intermediate 1115-1465 sec, Novice 1650-2150 sec This workout doesn't match any single anchor exactly, but shares elements with Elizabeth (21-15-9 squat clean + ring dip) and incorporates significant rowing volume. Elizabeth benchmarks are L10: 160-200 sec, L5: 360-420 sec, L1: 540-720 sec. However, this workout is substantially longer due to the additional 500m row and second couplet, roughly 3-4x the volume, justifying proportionally longer times. Final targets: L10: 360 sec (6:00), L5: 600 sec (10:00), L1: 1080 sec (18:00)

Modality Profile

5 movements total: Toes-to-Bar and Handstand Push-Up are Gymnastics (2/5 = 40%), Row is Monostructural (1/5 = 20%), Power Clean and Thruster are Weightlifting (2/5 = 40%)