Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

This workout creates significant fatigue accumulation through continuous high-intensity intervals. Chest-to-bar pull-ups are skill-demanding and grip-intensive, immediately followed by max push-ups with no recovery. The 4:1 work-to-rest ratio (20s work, 80s rest) provides minimal recovery across 9 rounds, totaling 18 minutes. The combination of upper body pulling and pushing movements creates interference patterns, while the max-rep push-up component under pre-fatigue makes this challenging for average athletes.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High-volume upper body work with chest-to-bar pull-ups and max push-ups will severely test pulling and pushing muscular endurance.
• Endurance (4/10): Nine rounds with 80-second rest periods provides moderate cardiovascular demand, but rest allows for recovery between efforts.
• Strength (4/10): Chest-to-bar pull-ups require significant relative strength, while push-ups test bodyweight pressing strength under fatigue.
• Flexibility (3/10): Chest-to-bar position demands good shoulder mobility and thoracic extension beyond basic pull-up requirements.
• Speed (3/10): With generous rest periods, speed of movement is less critical than maximizing reps within each 20-second window.
• Power (2/10): Minimal explosive demand; focus is on grinding out reps rather than explosive movement patterns.

Movements

• Chest-to-Bar Pull-Up
• Push-Up

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 9 rounds with 20 seconds of 3 chest-to-bar pull-ups followed by max push-ups, with 80 seconds rest between rounds. Since it's scored as 'Reps', we're tracking total repetitions completed across all rounds. Movement Analysis: - Chest-to-bar pull-ups: 3 reps per round × 9 rounds = 27 total (fixed) - Push-ups: Variable based on athlete capacity during 20-second windows Push-up capacity per 20-second window: - Elite (L10): 18-20 push-ups per round in early rounds, degrading to 12-15 in later rounds - Average (L5): 12-14 push-ups per round initially, degrading to 8-10 in later rounds - Novice (L1): 6-8 push-ups per round initially, degrading to 4-5 in later rounds Fatigue considerations: - Rounds 1-3: Full capacity - Rounds 4-6: 10-15% decline - Rounds 7-9: 20-30% decline from fresh state - 80-second rest allows partial recovery but cumulative fatigue builds Calculated totals (chest-to-bar + push-ups): - L10: 27 + 225 = 252 total reps - L5: 27 + 153 = 180 total reps - L1: 27 + 81 = 108 total reps This workout is similar to high-volume gymnastics benchmarks but with built-in rest periods that allow for sustained output across 9 rounds. The 80-second rest prevents complete failure but doesn't eliminate cumulative fatigue. Final targets: L10: 252 reps, L5: 180 reps, L1: 108 reps

Modality Profile

Both Chest-to-Bar Pull-Up and Push-Up are bodyweight gymnastics movements, resulting in 100% Gymnastics modality