Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The pistol squats require significant single-leg strength and balance that many average CrossFitters lack, forcing scaling. The EMOM format with unbroken pull-ups creates accumulating fatigue without adequate recovery. The combination of high-skill unilateral movements under time pressure, plus the isometric squat holds with plate, creates multiple limiting factors (strength, balance, grip) that will challenge most athletes simultaneously.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Flexibility (8/10): Single-leg squats with rear foot placement demand exceptional hip, ankle, and knee mobility, plus bottom squat holds challenge deep hip flexion.
• Stamina (7/10): Unilateral squats and kipping pull-ups challenge muscular endurance, especially grip and leg stamina, with accumulating fatigue over 15 minutes.
• Strength (6/10): Single-leg squats require significant unilateral strength and stability, while kipping pull-ups demand upper body pulling strength against bodyweight resistance.
• Endurance (4/10): 15-minute EMOM provides moderate cardiovascular demand with built-in rest periods, preventing pure aerobic stress but maintaining elevated heart rate throughout.
• Power (3/10): Kipping pull-ups involve some hip drive and coordination, but overall workout emphasizes controlled strength movements over explosive power output.
• Speed (2/10): EMOM format allows recovery between efforts, emphasizing quality execution over rapid cycling or transition speed between movements.

Movements

• Kipping Pull-Up
• Squat Hold

Benchmark Notes

This workout is scored by total reps completed, focusing on the kipping pull-ups in the EMOM portion since the pistol squats are fixed at 7 reps per leg per round. The 15-minute EMOM structure means 5 complete cycles of the three-movement pattern. Movement breakdown: Minutes 1&2 each round: 7 pistol squats per leg (14 total) - these are fixed reps that most athletes will complete. Minute 3: Unbroken kipping pull-ups - this is where the scoring differentiation occurs. The challenge is maintaining unbroken sets as fatigue accumulates over 5 rounds. Elite athletes (L9-L10) can maintain 20-25 unbroken pull-ups even in later rounds, while intermediate athletes (L5-L6) will see degradation from 15-18 early rounds to 8-12 in final rounds. Beginners (L1-L2) may only manage 5-8 unbroken pull-ups per round. The squat holds with plate are not scored but will contribute to overall fatigue. Total calculation: 5 rounds × (14 pistol squats + variable pull-ups). Since pistol squats contribute 70 fixed reps, the differentiation comes from pull-up performance: L10: ~25+20+18+15+12 = 90 pull-ups + 70 pistols = 160 total reps, L5: ~18+15+12+10+8 = 63 pull-ups + 70 pistols = 133 total reps, L1: ~8+7+6+5+4 = 30 pull-ups + 70 pistols = 100 total reps. The benchmark levels reflect the progressive fatigue on pull-up capacity while accounting for the fixed pistol squat contribution.

Modality Profile

All three movements (Single Leg Squat, Kipping Pull-Up, Squat Hold) are bodyweight gymnastics movements with no external load or cyclical cardio components.