Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Very Hard

This workout combines high-skill bar muscle-ups with moderate-heavy muscle snatches in a continuous format. While 60-second rests provide some recovery, the bar muscle-ups will severely tax grip and pulling strength, making the subsequent snatches exponentially harder. Most average CrossFitters lack consistent bar muscle-ups, and those who do will struggle with the barbell cycling under accumulated fatigue. The skill-strength combination under fatigue pushes this into Very Hard territory.

Benchmark Times for 5 Rds (BMU, M. Snatches, BJ, Thrusters)

• Elite: <6:00
• Advanced: 7:00-8:00
• Intermediate: 9:00-10:00
• Beginner: >18:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Power (9/10): Muscle snatches are pure explosive power, bar muscle ups require explosive pulling, and box jumps add lower body power demands.
• Stamina (8/10): High-skill movements like bar muscle ups and muscle snatches will heavily tax upper body and grip stamina over multiple rounds.
• Flexibility (8/10): Bar muscle ups require exceptional shoulder and thoracic mobility, while muscle snatches demand full overhead and hip flexibility.
• Strength (7/10): Moderate loads at 95/65 pounds combined with bodyweight strength movements like bar muscle ups demand significant strength output.
• Endurance (6/10): Five rounds with built-in rest periods creates moderate cardiovascular demand, but rest allows some recovery between efforts.
• Speed (4/10): Built-in rest periods reduce speed demands, though efficient transitions and movement execution remain important for overall time.

Movements

• Thruster
• Bar Muscle-Up
• Muscle Snatch
• Box Jump

Benchmark Notes

This workout consists of 5 rounds with two distinct couplets separated by 60-second rest periods. Round 1: 2 Bar Muscle Ups + 5 Muscle Snatches (95/65), Rest 60s, 2 Box Jumps (24/20) + 5 Thrusters (95/65), Rest 60s. Let me break this down movement by movement: Bar Muscle Ups: Elite athletes can perform these at 3-4 seconds per rep when fresh, but they're highly fatiguing. In a 5-round format, expect 3-4s for rounds 1-2, 4-5s for rounds 3-4, and 5-6s for round 5. Average per round: 4-5 seconds each, so 8-10 seconds per round. Muscle Snatches (95/65): These are lighter than full snatches but still technical. Fresh state: 2.5-3 seconds per rep. With fatigue from bar muscle ups and accumulating rounds: 2.5-3s rounds 1-2, 3-3.5s rounds 3-4, 3.5-4s round 5. Average 15-17 seconds per round. Box Jumps (24/20): Relatively quick recovery movement. 1.5-2 seconds per rep throughout. 3-4 seconds per round. Thrusters (95/65): Moderate load, but coming after muscle ups, snatches, and box jumps creates significant fatigue. Fresh: 2-3 seconds per rep. With accumulated fatigue: 2.5-3s rounds 1-2, 3-3.5s rounds 3-4, 3.5-4s round 5. Average 15-18 seconds per round. Transitions: Minimal equipment changes within each couplet (3-5 seconds), but 60-second prescribed rest between couplets. Per round breakdown for elite (L9-L10): - Bar Muscle Ups: 8-10s - Muscle Snatches: 15-17s - Rest: 60s - Box Jumps: 3-4s - Thrusters: 15-18s - Rest: 60s - Total per round: ~161-169s - 5 rounds: ~805-845s (13:25-14:05) This doesn't closely match any single iconic benchmark, but the combination of high-skill gymnastics (bar muscle ups) with moderate barbell work is similar to Amanda (ring muscle-up + squat snatch), though Amanda has heavier loading and different rep scheme. Amanda's L10 range is 420-480s for males, but this workout has 5 rounds vs Amanda's 3, plus the additional box jumps and rest periods, making it significantly longer. Adjusting for the volume and complexity: Elite athletes should complete this in 6-7 minutes, intermediate athletes in 9-10 minutes, and beginners in 15-18 minutes. Final targets - Male: L10: 360s (6:00), L5: 600s (10:00), L1: 1080s (18:00)

Modality Profile

4 movements total: Bar Muscle-Up and Box Jump are Gymnastics (bodyweight movements), while Muscle Snatch and Thruster are Weightlifting (barbell movements with external load). This gives us 2 G movements and 2 W movements for a 50/50 split.