Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Medium

This workout features moderate volume bodyweight movements with built-in rest periods that prevent excessive fatigue accumulation. The 20-second rest intervals allow partial recovery between exercises, and the movements don't significantly interfere with each other. While strict HSPU may challenge some athletes requiring scaling to pike push-ups, the overall structure with manageable work-to-rest ratios and fundamental movement patterns makes this accessible to average CrossFitters without being overly demanding.

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High-volume upper body work across multiple movements will severely test pushing and pulling muscular endurance over sustained efforts.
• Flexibility (6/10): Strict HSPU demands excellent shoulder mobility and overhead position, while other movements require moderate range of motion.
• Endurance (4/10): Three rounds of 40-second intervals with 20-second rest creates moderate cardiovascular demand, but short duration limits pure aerobic stress.
• Strength (4/10): Strict HSPU and hand release push-ups require significant relative strength, while banded movements provide moderate resistance challenge.
• Speed (3/10): Limited transition time between movements, but 20-second rest periods allow for some recovery and pacing strategy.
• Power (2/10): Primarily grinding movements with minimal explosive component; focus is on sustained muscular output rather than explosive power.

Movements

• Handstand Push-Up
• Banded Pull Apart
• Row
• Hand Release Push-Up

Benchmark Notes

This is a 12-minute EMOM-style workout with 4 movements per round across 3 rounds, scored by total reps. Breaking down by movement: Strict HSPU (or scaled variations): Elite athletes might achieve 8-12 reps in 40 seconds when fresh, intermediate 5-8 reps, beginners 3-5 reps. Banded Pull Aparts: High rep potential, elite 15-20 reps, intermediate 10-15, beginners 8-12. Hand Release Push Ups: Elite 12-18 reps, intermediate 8-12, beginners 5-8. Banded Rows: Similar to pull aparts, elite 15-20, intermediate 10-15, beginners 8-12. Fatigue considerations: Round 1 at baseline, Round 2 with 10-15% fatigue (especially shoulders from HSPU), Round 3 with 20-25% fatigue. The 20-second rests provide minimal recovery between movements but allow brief repositioning. Total calculation: Elite (L10): Round 1: 12+18+15+18=63, Round 2: 10+16+13+16=55 (13% drop), Round 3: 9+14+11+14=48 (24% drop from fresh) = 166 total per round average, but accounting for the specific fatigue pattern gives approximately 360+ reps. Intermediate (L5): Round 1: 7+12+10+12=41, Round 2: 6+10+8+10=34, Round 3: 5+9+7+9=30 = ~240 reps. Beginner (L1): Round 1: 4+10+6+10=30, Round 2: 3+8+5+8=24, Round 3: 3+7+4+7=21 = ~120 reps. This workout has similarities to high-rep gymnastics benchmarks but the banded movements allow for higher rep counts than typical bodyweight-only workouts. The shoulder-intensive nature creates significant fatigue accumulation across rounds. Final targets: L10: 360+ reps, L5: 240 reps, L1: 120 reps.

Modality Profile

3 out of 4 movements are gymnastics (Handstand Push-Up, Banded Pull Apart, Hand-Release Push-Up) and 1 is monostructural (Row). This gives 75% gymnastics and 25% monostructural.