Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 155/105lb power cleans are moderately heavy for most athletes, but the 30-second cap creates intense time pressure requiring fast barbell cycling. The lateral burpees immediately after heavy cleans target already-fatigued legs and lungs with no transition time. While 60 seconds rest helps, repeating this combination 10 times creates significant cumulative fatigue. The forced pace and movement interference make this substantially harder than the individual elements suggest.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High-volume lateral barbell burpees combined with repeated power cleans will heavily tax muscular endurance, especially grip and posterior chain stamina.
• Power (8/10): Power cleans are explosive by nature, and lateral burpees require rapid transitions from ground to jump, creating high power demands throughout.
• Endurance (7/10): Ten rounds with 60-second rest creates significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic capacity to maintain output across multiple intervals.
• Strength (6/10): Power cleans at 155/105 require moderate to heavy loading, demanding significant strength from the posterior chain and upper body.
• Speed (6/10): 30-second cap creates urgency for quick transitions and fast cycling of burpees to maximize reps before time expires each round.
• Flexibility (4/10): Power cleans require good hip, ankle, and shoulder mobility, while lateral burpees demand basic range of motion for ground-to-standing transitions.

Movements

• Lateral Burpee Over Bar
• Power Clean

Scaling Options

Reduce power clean weight to 135/95 or 115/75 lbs - should be able to hit 3 unbroken when fresh. Substitute regular burpees or step-ups if lateral movement is challenging. Consider reducing to 8 rounds or extending cap to 45 seconds if unable to complete both movements within time domain. Advanced athletes can increase weight to 185/125 lbs.

Scaling Explanation

Scale weight if you cannot perform 5+ unbroken power cleans at prescribed load when fresh. The goal is 15-20 seconds for power cleans, leaving 10-15 seconds for max burpees. If taking longer than 25 seconds for the 3 cleans, reduce load. Priority is maintaining intensity and movement quality over hitting Rx weight. Target is feeling completely gassed by round 6-7 with a strong finish in final rounds.

Intended Stimulus

High-intensity glycolytic intervals targeting power endurance and lactate tolerance. Each 30-second sprint taxes the phosphagen system initially, then shifts to glycolytic as fatigue accumulates. The 60-second rest allows partial recovery but not full restoration, creating cumulative fatigue across 10 rounds. Primary challenge is maintaining power output and movement quality under severe metabolic stress.

Coach Insight

Power cleans should be fast singles or doubles - avoid touch-and-go to preserve grip and positioning. Focus on aggressive hip extension and quick elbows. For lateral burpees, step laterally over the bar rather than jumping to save energy, then explode up from the bottom. Aim for 8-12 burpees per round depending on fitness level. Use the first 2-3 rounds to establish sustainable pace, then push final 3 rounds. Quick transitions between movements are crucial - have your hands on the bar ready to clean immediately after completing 3 reps.

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 10 rounds with a 30-second work cap followed by 60 seconds rest. Each round requires 3 power cleans at 155/105 lbs, then max lateral barbell burpees. Since it's scored by total reps, I need to calculate burpee capacity per round. Power clean analysis: At 155/105 lbs, these are moderately heavy. Elite athletes can complete 3 reps in 6-8 seconds, intermediates in 8-12 seconds, beginners in 12-18 seconds. This leaves varying time for burpees. Lateral barbell burpee timing: These are slower than regular burpees due to the lateral jump over the barbell. Fresh pace is 4-5 seconds per rep for elite, 5-6 seconds intermediate, 6-8 seconds recreational. Round-by-round breakdown: - Elite (L9-L10): 6 sec for cleans, 24 sec for burpees = 4-5 burpees per round - Advanced (L7-L8): 8 sec for cleans, 22 sec for burpees = 3-4 burpees per round - Intermediate (L5-L6): 10 sec for cleans, 20 sec for burpees = 3 burpees per round - Novice (L3-L4): 14 sec for cleans, 16 sec for burpees = 2 burpees per round - Beginner (L1-L2): 18 sec for cleans, 12 sec for burpees = 1-2 burpees per round Fatigue considerations: The 60-second rest allows partial recovery, but power cleans will slow slightly in later rounds. Burpee pace degrades 10-15% by rounds 8-10. Total rep calculation (10 rounds): - L10: 45-50 burpees = 360-400 total reps - L5: 30 burpees = 240 total reps - L1: 12-15 burpees = 120-150 total reps No direct anchor match, but this follows similar patterns to high-intensity interval workouts. The power clean component limits burpee volume significantly compared to burpee-only workouts. Final targets: L10: 360 reps, L5: 240 reps, L1: 120 reps

Modality Profile

Power Clean is a weightlifting movement (W), Lateral Burpee Over Bar is a bodyweight gymnastics movement (G). Two modalities present, so 50/50 split.