Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

Back squats at 70% 1RM for AMRAP creates significant leg fatigue, followed immediately by overhead pressing with minimal rest. The 30-second rest intervals prevent meaningful recovery between movements, forcing athletes to work at high percentages while accumulating fatigue. Four rounds compounds this effect. Most athletes will need to reduce loads or reps significantly as rounds progress, making this substantially harder than individual elements suggest.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Strength (8/10): Back squats at 70% 1RM and shoulder press at 8-12RM load represent significant strength demands throughout the workout.
• Stamina (7/10): Sixty-second AMRAPs of heavy back squats and shoulder presses will heavily tax muscular endurance, especially with minimal rest periods.
• Endurance (4/10): Short work periods with rest create moderate cardiovascular demand, but 30-second rests allow partial recovery between high-intensity efforts.
• Flexibility (3/10): Back squats require hip and ankle mobility, while overhead pressing demands shoulder flexibility, but nothing extreme is required.
• Speed (3/10): AMRAP format encourages steady cycling, but heavy loads naturally slow movement speed and limit rapid transitions between reps.
• Power (2/10): Heavy loads performed for maximum reps prioritize strength endurance over explosive power output in these movement patterns.

Movements

• Back Squat
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Scaling Options

Reduce back squat to 60-65% if form breaks down early. Use lighter DBs targeting 15+ reps first round. Substitute seated DB press for strict movement. Consider reducing to 3 rounds if unable to maintain movement quality. Can extend rest to 45-60 seconds if needed for safety.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if back squat form deteriorates significantly by round 2 or if shoulder mobility limits full range of motion. Priority is maintaining quality reps over hitting prescribed percentages. Goal is consistent movement for all 4 rounds with expected rep degradation of 30-50% from first to last round.

Intended Stimulus

Strength-endurance hybrid targeting muscular fatigue and lactate tolerance. Moderate time domain with glycolytic emphasis. Tests ability to maintain strength output under fatigue across multiple rounds. Primary challenge is muscular endurance with heavy loads.

Coach Insight

Start conservative - aim for 8-12 reps in first back squat set, knowing you'll drop significantly by round 4. Focus on breathing between reps, don't hold your breath. For DB shoulder press, choose weight where first set is 12+ reps but final set drops to 6-8. Maintain strict form on shoulders - no leg drive. Rest periods are active recovery, shake out legs and shoulders. Expect dramatic rep drop-off - this is normal and intended.

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 4 rounds of 60-second AMRAPs alternating between Back Squat at 70% 1RM and DB Shoulder Press at 8-12 RM weight, with 30-second rests between exercises. Round 1 Back Squat: At 70% 1RM, elite athletes can perform 1 rep every 2-3 seconds for 20-25 reps, average athletes 15-18 reps, beginners 10-12 reps. Round 1 DB Shoulder Press: At 8-12 RM weight, elite athletes can perform 1 rep every 2 seconds for 25-30 reps, average athletes 18-22 reps, beginners 12-15 reps. Rounds 2-4 apply progressive fatigue: Round 2 sees 10-15% decline, Round 3 sees 20-25% decline, Round 4 sees 30-40% decline due to accumulated fatigue in shoulders and legs. Total calculation: Elite (L9-L10): Round 1: 25+30=55, Round 2: 22+26=48, Round 3: 19+23=42, Round 4: 15+18=33, Total: 178 reps. Average (L5): Round 1: 18+20=38, Round 2: 16+17=33, Round 3: 14+15=29, Round 4: 11+12=23, Total: 123 reps. Beginner (L1-L2): Round 1: 12+15=27, Round 2: 10+13=23, Round 3: 8+10=18, Round 4: 6+8=14, Total: 82 reps. The 30-second rests provide partial recovery but are insufficient for full recovery, creating cumulative fatigue across rounds.

Modality Profile

Both Back Squat and Dumbbell Shoulder Press are weightlifting movements using external load, making this 100% weightlifting with no gymnastics or monostructural components.