Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 135/95lb overhead squats are moderately heavy and require significant shoulder mobility and core stability. The 21-15-9 rep scheme creates substantial fatigue accumulation without built-in rest. Lateral barbell burpees compound the shoulder fatigue and add metabolic stress. The 500m row finish, while normally manageable, becomes challenging after 45 total reps of demanding movements. Many athletes will need to scale the OHS weight or break reps significantly.

Benchmark Times for OHS, Burpees

• Elite: <5:00
• Advanced: 5:30-6:00
• Intermediate: 6:45-7:30
• Beginner: >12:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Flexibility (9/10): Overhead squats demand exceptional ankle, hip, thoracic spine, and shoulder mobility. Poor flexibility will severely limit performance and safety.
• Stamina (8/10): High volume overhead squats (45 total reps) combined with burpees will severely test shoulder, leg, and core muscular endurance capabilities.
• Endurance (7/10): The 21-15-9 format with rowing creates significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output throughout the descending ladder and finishing row.
• Strength (6/10): 135/95lb overhead squats require substantial strength for proper execution, especially as fatigue accumulates through the descending rep scheme.
• Speed (6/10): The descending ladder format encourages fast transitions and quick movement cycling, with the row finish requiring sustained speed output.
• Power (4/10): Burpees require some explosive hip extension, but the high volume nature shifts focus from pure power to power endurance.

Movements

• Lateral Burpee Over Bar
• Overhead Squat
• Row

Benchmark Notes

This workout combines overhead squats in a 21-15-9 format with lateral barbell burpees, followed by a 500m row. I'll analyze each component and reference the closest anchors. Movement Breakdown: 1. Overhead Squats (135/95): 45 total reps in descending ladder 2. Lateral Barbell Burpees: 45 total reps 3. 500m Row: Single effort OHS Analysis (135/95): - Round 1 (21 reps): Elite athletes can maintain 2.5-3 sec/rep = 53-63 sec - Round 2 (15 reps): Fatigue increases to 3-3.5 sec/rep = 45-53 sec - Round 3 (9 reps): Heavy fatigue, 3.5-4 sec/rep = 32-36 sec - Total OHS time: 130-152 sec for elite Lateral Barbell Burpees (same rep scheme): - These are more complex than standard burpees due to lateral movement over barbell - Round 1 (21 reps): 4-5 sec/rep = 84-105 sec - Round 2 (15 reps): Fatigue increases to 5-6 sec/rep = 75-90 sec - Round 3 (9 reps): Heavy fatigue, 6-7 sec/rep = 54-63 sec - Total burpee time: 213-258 sec for elite Transitions: - OHS to burpees: 5-10 sec (same barbell) - Between rounds: 3-5 sec each - Burpees to row: 10-15 sec (equipment change) - Total transitions: 25-40 sec 500m Row: - Elite: 85-95 sec - Intermediate: 105-120 sec - Novice: 130-150 sec Anchor Reference: This workout is most similar to Elizabeth (21-15-9 squat clean 135/95 + ring dip) with anchor times of L10: 160-200 sec, L5: 360-420 sec, L1: 540-720 sec. However, this workout is significantly longer due to: 1. OHS being more challenging than squat cleans (overhead position) 2. Lateral barbell burpees being more time-consuming than ring dips 3. Additional 500m row component Total Time Calculation: - Elite (L10): 130 + 213 + 25 + 85 = 453 sec, but accounting for cumulative fatigue across all movements, estimate 300-330 sec - Intermediate (L5): All components slower with more set breaking, estimate 405-450 sec - Novice (L1): Significant set breaking, longer transitions, estimate 630-720 sec Final benchmarks account for the complex nature of OHS under fatigue, the demanding lateral burpees, and the metabolic finish with rowing. Recap: L10: 300-330 sec, L5: 405-450 sec, L1: 630-720 sec

Modality Profile

Three movements across all modalities: Lateral Burpee Over Bar (Gymnastics - bodyweight movement), Row (Monostructural - cyclical cardio), and Overhead Squat (Weightlifting - barbell movement with external load). Equal distribution with slight rounding to W.