Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines two high-skill movements (bar muscle-ups and power snatches at moderate-heavy weight) in a format that creates significant fatigue accumulation. While 2-minute rest periods provide some recovery, 8 rounds means athletes must repeatedly perform technical movements under increasing fatigue. Bar muscle-ups are limiting for most athletes, and maintaining power snatch technique at 135/95 becomes increasingly difficult as rounds progress. The combination of skill demands with moderate loading over 32 total minutes makes this accessible only to experienced athletes.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): Bar muscle ups and power snatches will heavily tax upper body pulling stamina and posterior chain endurance across multiple rounds.
• Power (8/10): Power snatches are purely explosive movements, and bar muscle ups require significant power generation for the transition phase.
• Endurance (7/10): Eight 2-minute AMRAPs with 2-minute rest creates significant cardiovascular demand, though rest periods prevent pure aerobic conditioning.
• Flexibility (7/10): Bar muscle ups require exceptional shoulder mobility and thoracic extension, while power snatches demand ankle, hip, and shoulder flexibility.
• Strength (6/10): 135/95 power snatch requires moderate strength, while bar muscle ups demand significant relative strength for multiple repetitions.
• Speed (6/10): AMRAP format demands quick transitions and efficient movement cycling to maximize rounds within the 2-minute windows.

Movements

• Power Snatch
• Bar Muscle-Up

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 8 rounds of 2-minute AMRAPs with 2-minute rest periods. Each round contains 3 bar muscle-ups and 3 power snatches at 135/95 lbs. I'll analyze this by breaking down the movement times and applying fatigue across rounds. Movement Analysis per Round: - Bar Muscle-Up: 3-5 seconds per rep when fresh, so 3 reps = 9-15 seconds - Power Snatch (135 lbs): 2.5-3.5 seconds per rep for elite, 3.5-5 seconds for intermediate, so 3 reps = 7.5-15 seconds - Transitions between movements: 3-6 seconds - Total per round when fresh: 19.5-36 seconds, leaving 84-100.5 seconds of rest within the 2-minute window This means elite athletes can complete multiple cycles per 2-minute window. An elite athlete might complete 4-5 cycles (12-15 total reps) per round when fresh, while intermediate athletes might complete 2-3 cycles (6-9 total reps). Fatigue Application Across 8 Rounds: - Rounds 1-2: 1.0x multiplier (fresh performance) - Rounds 3-4: 1.1-1.2x multiplier (slight fatigue) - Rounds 5-6: 1.2-1.3x multiplier (moderate fatigue) - Rounds 7-8: 1.3-1.5x multiplier (significant fatigue) Bar muscle-ups become particularly limiting as fatigue sets in, and the heavy snatch weight (135 lbs) will cause grip and posterior chain fatigue. The 2-minute rest periods provide good recovery but won't fully restore performance in later rounds. Elite Performance (L9-L10): 5 cycles per round early, degrading to 3-4 cycles in final rounds = ~36-40 total rounds Advanced (L7-L8): 4 cycles early, degrading to 2-3 cycles late = ~28-32 total rounds Intermediate (L5-L6): 3 cycles early, degrading to 2 cycles late = ~20-24 total rounds Novice (L1-L3): 1-2 cycles per round consistently = ~8-16 total rounds The workout is scored as total rounds completed across all 8 AMRAP periods. Since each cycle represents one 'round' of the prescribed movements, the benchmarks reflect total cycles completed. Final targets: L10: 40+ rounds, L5: 24 rounds, L1: 8 rounds

Modality Profile

Bar Muscle-Up is a gymnastics bodyweight movement, Power Snatch is a weightlifting movement with external load. Two modalities split 50/50.