Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 155/100lb power cleans are moderate-heavy for most athletes, but become challenging when repeated every round with minimal rest. Lateral burpees significantly tax the posterior chain and grip, directly interfering with clean performance. The 250m row maintains elevated heart rate between rounds. While 1-minute rest provides some recovery, the cumulative fatigue from barbell cycling under metabolic stress over 5 rounds creates significant difficulty for average athletes.

Benchmark Times for WOD

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

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Power (8/10): Power cleans are explosive triple extension movements. Burpees require power for the jump, and rowing demands powerful leg drive.
• Endurance (7/10): Five rounds with rowing and burpees create significant cardiovascular demand, though 1-minute rest periods provide some recovery between efforts.
• Strength (7/10): Power cleans at 155/100 lbs for triples require substantial strength, particularly as grip and posterior chain fatigue from previous movements.
• Stamina (6/10): Lateral barbell burpees will challenge muscular endurance, especially in later rounds as fatigue accumulates from the power cleans and rowing.
• Speed (5/10): Rest periods allow for recovery, but maintaining intensity within each round and quick transitions between movements remain important for performance.
• Flexibility (4/10): Power cleans demand good hip, ankle, and thoracic mobility. Lateral burpees require some lateral movement patterns and overhead reach.

Movements

• Lateral Burpee Over Bar
• Power Clean
• Row

Scaling Options

Reduce power clean weight to 115/80 or 95/65 lbs. Substitute regular burpees if lateral movement is challenging. Reduce row to 200m or substitute 15 cal bike/ski. Consider reducing to 4 rounds or extending rest to 90 seconds. Advanced athletes can increase weight to 185/125 lbs.

Scaling Explanation

Scale weight if you can't perform touch-and-go doubles when fresh or if technique breaks down significantly under fatigue. Scale burpees if lateral movement causes pain or balance issues. Goal is completing each round in 2-3 minutes with quality movement. If rounds exceed 4 minutes, reduce load or volume to maintain intended stimulus.

Intended Stimulus

High-intensity interval training targeting the glycolytic energy system. This 15-18 minute workout tests power endurance with technical lifting under fatigue. The 1-minute rest allows partial recovery to maintain quality across rounds, creating repeated bouts of moderate-high intensity work.

Coach Insight

Pace the power cleans as singles or doubles to maintain form - avoid going to failure early. Keep lateral burpees smooth and rhythmic, step over the bar if needed. Row at 85% effort to preserve legs for the cleans. Use the rest strategically - walk around, shake out arms, and prepare mentally for the next round. Biggest mistake is going too hard on round 1-2 and dying in rounds 4-5.

Benchmark Notes

This workout includes 5 rounds of 3 power cleans (155/100), 5 lateral barbell burpees, 250m row, with 1 minute rest between rounds. Per round breakdown: Power cleans at 155lb take ~3 sec fresh, becoming 3.5 sec by round 5 (15-17.5 sec total). Lateral barbell burpees take ~4.5 sec each fresh, slowing to 5.5 sec with fatigue (22.5-27.5 sec total). 250m row takes 50-55 sec fresh, degrading to 60-65 sec with accumulated fatigue. Transitions between movements add 3-8 sec per round. Total work time per round: Round 1: ~95 sec, Round 2: ~98 sec, Round 3: ~102 sec, Round 4: ~108 sec, Round 5: ~112 sec. Total work time: 515 sec. Adding 4 minutes of prescribed rest (240 sec) gives base time of ~755 sec. Elite athletes can maintain better pacing and transitions, while recreational athletes experience more fatigue degradation and longer transitions.

Modality Profile

Three movements across all modalities: Lateral Barbell Burpee (Gymnastics - bodyweight movement), Row (Monostructural - cyclical cardio), Power Clean (Weightlifting - external load barbell movement). Even distribution with slight emphasis on weightlifting.