Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Hard

The 100/70lb sandbag weight is heavy for most athletes, requiring significant strength and power. The 21-15-9 rep scheme creates high volume (45 total reps each movement) with no built-in rest. Sandbag thrusters are metabolically demanding, and the alternating shouldering will compound shoulder and grip fatigue. The awkward sandbag loading makes this more challenging than equivalent barbell work, creating substantial fatigue accumulation throughout.

Benchmark Times for Building Sandcastles

• Elite: <4:00
• Advanced: 4:40-5:20
• Intermediate: 6:00-7:00
• Beginner: >12:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (8/10): High volume of compound movements with heavy sandbags will severely test upper body, core, and leg muscular endurance across 45 total reps per movement.
• Endurance (7/10): The 21-15-9 format with heavy sandbag movements creates significant cardiovascular demand, requiring sustained aerobic output throughout the descending rep scheme.
• Strength (6/10): 100/70lb sandbags require substantial strength for thrusters and shouldering, though not maximal loads, creating moderate strength demands throughout.
• Speed (6/10): The descending rep scheme encourages faster cycling as fatigue sets in, with grip and transition efficiency becoming crucial for maintaining pace.
• Power (5/10): Thrusters require explosive hip drive and overhead press, while shouldering demands powerful hip hinge and explosive lifting from ground to shoulder.
• Flexibility (4/10): Sandbag thrusters demand good overhead mobility and hip flexibility, while shouldering requires adequate shoulder and thoracic spine range of motion.

Movements

• Sandbag Thruster
• Sandbag Alternating Shouldering

Benchmark Notes

This workout follows a 21-15-9 rep scheme with two movements: Sandbag Thrusters (100/70) and Sandbag Alternating Shouldering (100/70). I'll use Fran as the primary anchor since it shares the exact same rep scheme (21-15-9) with thrusters as the first movement. Fran anchors: L10: 120-140 sec, L5: 320-360 sec, L1: 540-660 sec. However, this workout has key differences that require adjustments: 1) Sandbag thrusters are significantly more challenging than barbell thrusters due to the awkward, shifting load and grip demands. 2) Sandbag alternating shouldering is a unilateral movement requiring more time per rep than pull-ups. 3) Both movements heavily tax the posterior chain and grip. Movement breakdown: Round 1 (21 reps each): Sandbag thrusters at 3-4 sec/rep = 63-84 sec, Sandbag shouldering at 2-3 sec/rep = 42-63 sec. Round 2 (15 reps each): With fatigue, thrusters 3.5-4.5 sec/rep = 52-67 sec, shouldering 2.5-3.5 sec/rep = 37-52 sec. Round 3 (9 reps each): Heavy fatigue, thrusters 4-5 sec/rep = 36-45 sec, shouldering 3-4 sec/rep = 27-36 sec. Adding transitions (15-30 sec total) and rest between sets (30-60 sec), the total time ranges from 240 sec (elite) to 720 sec (beginner). This represents approximately 80-100% longer than Fran due to the sandbag complexity and movement demands. Final targets: L10: 240 sec, L5: 420 sec, L1: 720 sec.

Modality Profile

Both Sandbag Thruster and Sandbag Alternating Shouldering are external load movements using a sandbag, making this workout 100% Weightlifting modality.