Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

50 strict pull-ups for time creates an extremely demanding grip and upper body endurance challenge with no built-in recovery. The continuous nature prevents rest, forcing athletes to accumulate significant fatigue while maintaining strict form. Most average CrossFitters will hit failure multiple times, requiring extended breaks that push them toward the 8-minute cap. The combination of high volume and unforgiving movement standard makes this very challenging.

Benchmark Times for B. 50 Strict Pull Ups

• Elite: <2:30
• Advanced: 3:00-3:30
• Intermediate: 4:00-4:40
• Beginner: >8:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Fifty strict pull-ups will severely test upper body muscular endurance, particularly lats, rhomboids, and biceps over sustained effort.
• Strength (7/10): Strict pull-ups require significant relative strength, especially as fatigue accumulates and each rep becomes more challenging.
• Speed (6/10): Time cap creates urgency to maintain consistent rep pace and minimize rest between singles or small sets.
• Endurance (4/10): Eight minutes of continuous strict pull-ups will elevate heart rate and challenge cardiovascular system, though not primarily aerobic.
• Flexibility (3/10): Requires adequate shoulder mobility and thoracic extension for proper pull-up mechanics throughout the workout.
• Power (2/10): Strict pull-ups are primarily strength-endurance focused with minimal explosive component compared to kipping variations.

Movements

• Pull-Up

Benchmark Notes

This workout is 50 strict pull-ups for time with an 8-minute cap. I'll analyze this as a high-volume strict pull-up workout and reference the Angie benchmark (100 pull-ups + other movements) for comparison. Strict pull-ups are significantly slower than kipping pull-ups due to the controlled eccentric and lack of momentum. For fresh strict pull-ups, elite athletes can maintain 2-3 seconds per rep, while recreational athletes need 4-6 seconds per rep. However, with 50 reps, significant fatigue and set breaking occurs. Elite athletes (L10) might break this into sets like 15-10-8-7-5-3-2, with minimal rest between sets (3-5 seconds), totaling around 150-180 seconds. Advanced athletes (L5) would break into smaller sets like 10-8-6-6-5-4-3-3-3-2 with longer rests (8-12 seconds between sets), totaling around 280-320 seconds. Recreational athletes (L1) would need very small sets (5-4-3-3-3-3-3-etc.) with substantial rest periods (15-20 seconds), potentially hitting the 8-minute cap at 480 seconds. The Angie benchmark shows L10 at 900-1080 seconds for 100 pull-ups plus 300 other reps, so 50 strict pull-ups alone should be proportionally faster but account for the strict movement penalty. Final targets: L10: 150-180 sec, L5: 280-320 sec, L1: 480 sec (cap).

Modality Profile

Pull-ups are a bodyweight movement, making this workout 100% Gymnastics with no Monostructural or Weightlifting components.