Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The combination of tempo front squats at 50% (challenging under fatigue with strict timing) followed immediately by overhead pressing creates significant muscular interference. The 10-round format with minimal rest (10 seconds) prevents meaningful recovery, leading to cumulative fatigue. While individual elements are moderate, the continuous nature and movement pairing where legs are pre-fatigued before overhead work makes this demanding for average athletes.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume of tempo front squats and AMRAP shoulder presses will severely test muscular endurance in legs and shoulders over multiple rounds.
• Endurance (7/10): 10 rounds with minimal rest creates significant cardiovascular demand, especially as fatigue accumulates from the continuous work-to-rest cycling pattern.
• Strength (6/10): Front squats at 50% with controlled tempo and weighted shoulder presses provide moderate strength demand without being maximal effort lifting.
• Flexibility (4/10): Front rack position requires good thoracic spine and wrist mobility, while piked shoulder press demands shoulder and hip flexibility for proper positioning.
• Speed (3/10): Short rest periods require efficient transitions, but the tempo squats prevent rapid cycling and AMRAP format doesn't emphasize pure speed.
• Power (2/10): Tempo front squats are deliberately slow and controlled, while shoulder presses focus on muscular endurance rather than explosive movement patterns.

Movements

• Front Squat
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Scaling Options

Front squat: Reduce to 40% or use goblet squats with same tempo. Piked shoulder press: Reduce to 35/25 lbs or substitute seated dumbbell press. Movement subs: Replace tempo front squats with tempo air squats, replace piked press with regular standing dumbbell press. Volume: Reduce to 6-8 rounds if unable to maintain quality movement throughout.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if you cannot maintain the 6-2-x tempo on front squats with proper depth and control, or if you cannot achieve at least 6 reps per round on the piked press. Priority is maintaining the intended high intensity while preserving movement quality. Athletes should finish feeling like they gave maximum effort in each 30-second window. If completing fewer than 2 front squats or 6 shoulder presses per round, scale the load or movement.

Intended Stimulus

High-intensity interval training targeting both strength endurance and power output. Primary focus on phosphagen and glycolytic systems with 10 short, intense bursts. Challenges leg strength under tempo control followed by shoulder power and conditioning. The 30-second work windows create a sprint mentality while the minimal rest forces athletes to work through accumulating fatigue.

Coach Insight

For tempo front squats, focus on the controlled 6-second descent and 2-second pause - this is where the magic happens. Don't rush these for more reps; 2-4 quality reps per round is perfect. During piked shoulder press, establish a sustainable pace early - aim for 8-12 reps per round and maintain that output. Keep transitions quick between movements. The 10-second rest barely allows heart rate recovery, so expect each round to feel progressively harder. Maintain perfect position on the piked press - avoid turning it into a push press.

Benchmark Notes

This workout combines tempo front squats with piked DB shoulder press across 10 rounds. Each round has two 30-second work periods separated by 10-second rests. For tempo front squats at 50% 1RM with 6-second eccentric + 2-second pause, athletes can realistically complete 1-2 reps per 30-second window due to the demanding tempo requirement. The piked DB shoulder press allows for higher rep rates at 2-3 seconds per rep, enabling 8-12 reps per 30-second period depending on athlete level. Fatigue accumulates significantly across 10 rounds, especially for the shoulder-intensive movements. Round 1-3: Fresh state allows maximum output. Rounds 4-6: 10-15% decline in performance as shoulders fatigue. Rounds 7-10: 20-30% decline with significant muscular endurance demands. Elite athletes might achieve 2 front squats + 12 shoulder press per round early, declining to 1 + 8 in later rounds (total ~130 reps). Recreational athletes start with 1 + 6 per round, declining to 1 + 4 in final rounds (total ~50 reps). The 10-second rests provide minimal recovery between movements but help with transitions.

Modality Profile

Two movements: Tempo Front Squat (weightlifting with external load) and Piked Dumbbell Shoulder Press (weightlifting with external load). Wait - Piked Dumbbell Shoulder Press could be interpreted as bodyweight piked position with dumbbell, making it gymnastics. However, the primary focus is the dumbbell pressing movement. Actually, reconsidering: if it's a piked position (bodyweight gymnastics position) with dumbbell press, it's hybrid. But typically piked dumbbell movements are classified as weightlifting due to the external load being the primary resistance. So both are weightlifting movements, making it 100% W.