Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

50 lateral barbell burpees for time creates significant cardiovascular and muscular fatigue with no built-in recovery. The lateral component adds coordination demands while fatigued, and the continuous nature prevents pacing strategies. Most average CrossFitters will need 8-12 minutes of sustained high-intensity work with grip, core, and leg fatigue accumulating rapidly. The volume and unbroken format pushes this beyond medium difficulty.

Benchmark Times for C. 50 Burpees Over Bar

• Elite: <4:30
• Advanced: 5:00-5:30
• Intermediate: 6:00-7:00
• Beginner: >12:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): High volume of burpees tests muscular endurance in legs, core, and shoulders with minimal rest between repetitions.
• Endurance (8/10): Fifty continuous lateral barbell burpees will significantly challenge cardiovascular capacity and aerobic system throughout the workout duration.
• Power (7/10): Each burpee requires explosive hip extension to jump up and lateral power to clear the barbell.
• Flexibility (6/10): Lateral movement over barbell requires hip mobility and coordination, plus full burpee range of motion.
• Speed (6/10): For time format encourages quick transitions and maintaining pace, though fatigue will limit cycling speed.
• Strength (4/10): Moderate strength demand from jumping over barbell and bodyweight movements, but not maximal loading.

Movements

• Lateral Burpee Over Bar

Benchmark Notes

This workout is 50 lateral barbell burpees for time. I'll analyze this as a high-volume single movement workout similar to Karen (150 wall balls) but with a more complex movement pattern. Movement Analysis: - Lateral barbell burpee combines: burpee (3-4 sec fresh) + lateral jump over barbell (~1 sec) = 4-5 sec per rep when fresh - This is more demanding than standard burpees due to the lateral component and barbell obstacle Fatigue Progression: - Reps 1-15: 4.5 sec/rep (fresh state) - Reps 16-30: 5.5 sec/rep (15% slower, breathing becomes labored) - Reps 31-45: 6.5 sec/rep (25% slower, significant fatigue) - Reps 46-50: 7.5 sec/rep (40% slower, final push through exhaustion) Set Breaking Pattern: - Elite athletes: Larger sets (15-10-10-8-7) with minimal rest - Intermediate: Medium sets (10-8-8-6-6-6-6) with 5-10 sec breaks - Recreational: Small sets (5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5) with 10-20 sec breaks Calculated Times: - L10 (Elite): 270 sec - Maintains pace, minimal breaks - L5 (Average): 420 sec - Moderate pacing with regular breaks - L1 (Beginner): 720 sec - Frequent breaks, slower movement execution This workout is similar in intensity to Karen but shorter duration due to fewer reps. Karen benchmarks (L10: 420-480 sec, L5: 600-720 sec, L1: 900-1020 sec) were scaled down proportionally for the 50-rep format versus 150 reps, accounting for the increased complexity of lateral barbell burpees. Final targets: L10: 270 sec (4:30), L5: 420 sec (7:00), L1: 720 sec (12:00)

Modality Profile

Lateral Burpee Over Bar is a bodyweight movement combining a burpee with lateral movement over a barbell. This is purely gymnastics as it requires no external load and is entirely bodyweight-based.