Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 1:3 work-to-rest ratio provides substantial recovery between rounds, making individual rounds manageable. However, the combination of grip-intensive toes-to-bar followed immediately by 100ft of sandbag rope pulling creates significant grip fatigue accumulation. The heavy sandbag carry (100/70lbs) for 50ft while already fatigued compounds the challenge. Over 7 rounds, this grip and posterior chain fatigue will accumulate despite rest periods, requiring many athletes to scale the sandbag weight or break up movements.

Benchmark Times for WOD

• Elite: <13:00
• Advanced: 15:00-17:00
• Intermediate: 19:00-21:00
• Beginner: >35:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume toes to bar combined with heavy sandbag work over seven rounds heavily taxes grip strength and muscular endurance throughout.
• Strength (7/10): 100/70lb sandbag rope pulls and carries require significant absolute strength, particularly for grip, posterior chain, and core stabilization.
• Flexibility (6/10): Toes to bar demands significant shoulder and hip flexibility, while sandbag movements require good thoracic extension and hip mobility.
• Endurance (4/10): Seven rounds with 1:3 rest ratio provides some cardiovascular challenge, but generous rest periods limit pure aerobic demand compared to continuous work.
• Power (3/10): Toes to bar require some explosive hip flexion, but sandbag work is more strength-endurance focused with minimal power requirements.
• Speed (2/10): Rest periods allow full recovery between rounds, making this more about work capacity within each round rather than speed.

Movements

• Sandbag Carry
• Toes-to-Bar
• Sandbag Rope Pull

Scaling Options

Reduce sandbag weight to 70/50 lbs or use a 45lb plate. Scale toes to bar to hanging knee raises, V-ups, or sit-ups. Reduce to 5-6 rounds if grip strength is severely limiting. For rope pulls, reduce distance to 25-30ft or substitute with bent-over dumbbell rows. Beginners can use a lighter sandbag (35/25 lbs) and scale to lying leg raises.

Scaling Explanation

Scale if you cannot maintain at least 2 toes to bar per round or if grip fails completely before round 4. Priority is maintaining movement quality and intended time domain over hitting Rx weights. Athletes should finish each round in 2-4 minutes to preserve the stimulus. Scale weight if sandbag carry form breaks down significantly or if unable to complete 50ft unbroken for first 3 rounds.

Intended Stimulus

Moderate to long time domain workout targeting the oxidative energy system with glycolytic bursts. Primary challenge is grip strength endurance and posterior chain conditioning over 20-25 minutes. The 1:3 work-to-rest ratio allows for higher intensity efforts while building aerobic capacity and muscular endurance in pulling patterns.

Coach Insight

Pace the toes to bar as singles or doubles to preserve grip - avoid going to failure early. Use a smooth, controlled pull on the sandbag rope pull focusing on lat engagement rather than bicep dominance. For sandbag carry, hug tight to body and take shorter, quicker steps rather than long strides. Use the full rest period - this isn't meant to be a sprint. Expect rounds 4-5 to be the most challenging as grip fatigue accumulates. Consider alternating grip positions between rounds.

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 7 rounds with 1:3 work-to-rest ratio. Each round includes 4 Toes-to-Bar (6-10 sec fresh), 50ft Sandbag Rope Pull (25-35 sec fresh), and 50ft Sandbag Carry (15-25 sec fresh), totaling 46-70 sec per round when fresh. With transitions (3-5 sec between movements), each round takes 55-80 sec of work. Applying progressive fatigue: Rounds 1-2 at 1.0x (60 sec avg), Rounds 3-4 at 1.1x (66 sec), Rounds 5-6 at 1.25x (75 sec), Round 7 at 1.4x (84 sec). Total work time: 456 sec. With 1:3 rest ratio, rest periods total 1368 sec (456 × 3). However, since this is a structured interval workout, the limiting factor becomes the athlete's ability to maintain the prescribed work-to-rest ratio rather than pure work capacity. Elite athletes complete each round efficiently and recover fully during rest periods (13 min total), while recreational athletes struggle with movement efficiency, require longer transitions, and may not fully recover during rest periods, extending total time to 35+ minutes.

Modality Profile

Three movements across all modalities: Toes-to-Bar (Gymnastics bodyweight movement), Sandbag Rope Pull (Monostructural cardio), and Sandbag Carry (Weightlifting external load carry)