2 rounds for time of:
20/25-calorie row*
30 single-leg squats
20/25-calorie row*
90 box step-ups
*Complete the calories on any machine.
♀ 20-inch box
♂ 24-inch box
Post time to comments.
Stimulus and Strategy:
This workout will challenge endurance and lower-body stamina with a variety of unilateral movements. Expect the movement redundancy to lead to a substantial amount of lower-body muscular fatigue. On the rower, plan to move at a steady pace to complete each set in under 2 minutes. The single-leg squats will likely be the most demanding part of this workout. Expect the step-ups to be time-consuming. The goal is working at a consistent pace and trying to complete each set of 90 reps in under 4:30.
Intermediate option:
2 rounds for time of:
20/25-calorie row*
20 single-leg squats, hook behind the heel
20/25-calorie row*
90 box step-ups
*Complete the calories on any machine.
♀ 20-inch box
♂ 24-inch box
Beginner option:
2 rounds for reps of:
2-minute max-calorie row
2-minute max reverse lunges
2-minute max-calorie row
2-minute max box step-ups
Perform no more than 30 reverse lunges in each interval.
♀ 12-inch box
♂ 18-inch box
Resources:
Rowing
The Single-Leg Squat
The Box Step-Up
Single-Leg Squat Scaling
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Comments on 260114
132 Comments
treadmill cals
21:47
Sub:
25 cal row
30 weighted sit ups (25#)
25 cal row
90 box step ups (20")
20:00 time cap:
1 round + 57 step ups
M52/5'11/220#
2RFT
25 cal row
20 single leg squat to 18" bench
25 cal row
90 stepups: 24"
27:07
Second round used assault bike
Single leg squat>>Lunge
28:35
20:40
M/54/5’5”/150#
23:33 (w/hook behind heel)
Pistols on box 45 cm
M/44/230#/6’3”
25 cal rows
24 in box
Pistols to 14in box
M34/5’9/175#
22:20
ski erg
rx/56/M
Cal Row
Rx 14:49
*Ski Erg/Bike Erg/Ski Erg/Bike Erg for Calories.
*First round >1300 Cal/hr.
*Second round >1400 Cal/hr.
**This was an interesting and fun workout!
Total Reps
345m Rowing
37 Reverse Lunges (no weights)
62 Box Step-ups @12"
Intermediate-ish, finally a good excuse to use all the machines.
25-calorie row*
20 single-leg squats, to a 16” box
25-calorie Echo bike*
90 box step-ups @24”
25-calorie BikeErg*
20 single-leg squats, to a 16” box
25-calorie Ski*
90 box step-ups
18:54
Used a 15# plate on pistols, for counterbalance, but as prescribed otherwise - echo bike for cals
17:33
Supported pistols using squat rack for knee pain.
25:39
Rx
16:34
Rower, pistols in sets of 3 then 2
M/227lbs
Are the single leg squats 30 total or 15 per leg?
Are the step ups 90 total or 90 per leg?
20:48
20 pistols/round to an 11” sandbag
I am In The Open….. pray there’s no pistols.
No DUBs 🤞🏻
Intermediate
20 cal row
Time: 18:20
23:05 with mods.
Subbed 25 sdhp at 45 for rows
20 step back lunges with 25lb plate for pistols
Step ups were 22.5” onto ice chest.
Holy leg smoker…
Great subs & improves, as always!
*improvs (autocorrect misspells me)
Ladies' Rx -w/TRX assisted pistols
15:31
Hell yeah, Favo!
Rx
22:57
Intermediate
22:39.74
Subbed Toenail Squats for Pistols, otherwise Rx
20:30
I think toenail squats are similar if not the same thing as the heel hook mentioned in the Intermediate scale. C2 on drag 5/6 and each was 1:10-1:12. Did the toenail squats in 5s before alternating. Alternated every BSO. This probably added more time but it forces me to fully stand up at the top and come off the box at the bottom. I did not push the transitions and prioritized how my knees were feeling over time.
I agree that style squat seems similar, if not actually maybe a little more difficult than the heel hook, because I feel like the hook gives you a bit of extra resistance/stabilization IMHO. I definitely noticed an imbalance when alternating those BSUs!
Awesome job!!
Thanks Favo, and I made a typo, should have been BSUs not BSOs.
Luke, I found out about toenail squats in one of Juan Acevedo’s posts circa 2019-2020. Too bad he stopped posting, he gave some real good instruction and alternative movements.
Wildfire CrossFit 🔥
18:16 Scaled single leg squats to a 14" box-20 cal row - 20" box step ups
30:27 RX
25 Cal - Assault Bike
17'24 RX with weighted jacket
Spot on, Mike. Chris, I'm sure the impact on your community is incredible.
Thank you Jim. And the more time I spend in the archives, the more I realize the biggest impact on the CF community is the people like you who do this on their own. If affiliates are the lifeboat that picks up all the stranded people at sea, then the land of the garage gyms is where they're taken. From this outside perspective, and without having any inside info, I believe the longtime solo CrossFitters like you guys are the true foundation of CrossFit. Without the evidence you guys have provided since February 2001, there would be no destination for the saved.
2 rounds
25 cal row
15 back squats, 95#
25 cal row
65 box step ups, 20"
19:47
Nice subs to hit the "dead legs" stimulus. Great work, as always!
Nicely done, Jim!
CF...preparing you for the unexpected.
There ya go, @Jim! CF: it's not how many times you fall or suffer equipment fails; it's how many reps you hit after that😂
Great work, Jesse, hope head is OK.
Nice!
18:28
Subbed ankle hook pistols
16:41
Great time!
Row
Assisted pistol squat (10in weight stack)
Grind!
41M
It was! That last set of step ups...oof.
25 cal row
pistols down to sit on 12”box
21” box step ups
19:04
step ups unbroken, pistols split to 2 sets each
Beginner option: 2 rounds for reps of:
2-minute max-calorie row 24 cal/25 cal
2-minute max reverse lunges 30/30
2-minute max-calorie row 25 cal/26 cal
2-minute max box step-ups 26/27
M31 6'2 217lbs RX 22:49
25-cal row*
16:28
Fantastic!
2 rounds for time of:
25-calorie row
20 single-leg squats, hook behind the heel
25-calorie row
90 box step-ups
24" Box
23:45
intermediate at the Y. Rowing calories. 20 single leg wrap behind squats. 90 step ups to 24”.
17:06.
step ups took 4-4:15 each round even trying to push the pace. Rows and squats combined were 3-3:30 and the rest was walking to and from the box or stepping up. Legs are smoked!
Great job!
Definitely got the legs caught up to upper body in the fatigue dept.
M33/205/6'
Ski Erg
16:22 RX
Nice work, that ski ERG adds a challenging OH & upper body element
Ski erg, pistols, 25 burpee (need to work on them) and step up.
pistols was really hard to day, especially on round 2. 24" box is a bit high for me to get them done fast.
25. cal rowx2
20 single leg squats assist w/box
90 box step up 24”
2 rounds
Felt great. 1:40-1:50 rows
18” gym box, pistols
It was a "dig deep" one by the end for sure! Awesome work pushing through!
19:46 Rx
F38 17:36 but with reverse lunges instead of single-leg squats.
2-minute farmer’s walks
2-minute max reverse lunges
2-minute farmer’s walks
2-minute max box step-ups
*2’ rest b/t rds
27inch box/35’s
Excellent subs.
3 mile run warmup
Single leg squat to 20” box. Everything else RX. Step-ups weren’t hard, just time consuming. Need to work on rhythm and flow.
A 3 mile run first!?! Legs if steel! Well done!
*of
That’s awesome!
Alguma sugestão do que fazer no lugar do remo?
Qualquer ergometro/maquina... 15 calorias pras mulheres nk caso de assault ou echo bike
20:34
Still working on pistol squats...
They're tricky, but that's a great time working them in!
Scaled
2 rnds
25 cal row
30 sqts
90 step ups to 20"
19:54
m/55/180
Nice job!
135 rep total
Rx
18:58
Great!
2 rounds
25 Renagate row 45 pound
30 pistols
25 ranagete row 45 pounds
90 box step up
That's a solid sub; nice job!
1 round
16:18
1R BIKE .erg 2R ROW
M/55 🎅🏻
Rx 27:20
2 rounds for time of:
25-calorie tredmill
30 reverse lunges
25-calorie tredmill
90 box step-up
22:49 in total
22:23
Notes: took it very easy pace-wise. Slow consistent reps on pistols and box stepups. Half way through second set of pistols some discomfort around my right fibular head. Went away with adjustment of form.
Neck and shoulder feeling generally worse today 1 bothered me a lot during the warmup but eased off during the workout.
23:20
Champions Club Scaling Notes
RANT
The thing I've been fighting with myself the most since the Summer is the demographic of our gym; I really, really want it to be a gym for athletes. Middle school, high school, college, you name it. I try to rationalize it by citing that the Champions Club was founded as a high school program, that I was a college athlete when we started, and that the kids really make the community live, but that's all really a front for the fact that my pride doing the persuading; when Cecilia has a great soccer career or Chase makes All-State in basketball or Sarah is smashing volleyballs in the faces of the poor princesses on the other teams, the accolades always come back to me. I share in the credit, and that makes me feel validated in both effort and method.
A few weeks ago I went to visit my uncle who never played a sport in his life (besides the old stories of baseball at the park with the neighborhood kids and winter ice hockey in makeshift backyard rinks). The conversation went something like this:
I smiled so hard when he said that, and I'm laughing even now as I butchered the interpretation of his reply. There are many reasons why I love visiting him, and the top of the list might be the fact that, while he cares about me deeply, he truly does not care one bit about the specifics of what I do. In the 15 years since the Champions Club began I've coached CrossFit at our gym, multiple high schools, multiple middle schools, and a day care, and coached track, football, and basketball (high school, AAU, and this camp for new kids on Wednesdays); not one of those settings really care about any of the other settings. Any success that happens with the track kids carries no weight with the babies at the day care, and none of the cool stuff at the Champions Club has any influence on whether or not a McDonald's All-American is going jump to helpside or not. I am slowly, begrudgingly coming to the realization that any validation I seek, and credit I receive, is usually only relevant in a small frame, and only seems to last for a short period of time.
Since around 2023 our high school, middle school, and college athlete numbers have been waaaaaay down. I've definitely tried to force the numbers back up at times - led by my pride, of course - but I've let my intuition lead me into the realization that the population that really needs the Champions Club (at this time, at least) are overweight/out-of-shape coaches and helicopter parents. So earlier today I was fighting the urge to chase the flashy scores and results that come from athletes that were born good at being athletes, and instead practiced my patience and humility with parents needing back squats to get their knees to stop hurting while a gang of little 5 year-olds were running around causing mayhem.
I wrote all of that to say that not one single person in your life cares about your pistol squats. Not one. I'm pretty sure Daniel Tosh made a joke about them on his show a while back. And if nobody cares about about what you can do with just your bodyweight, then you know damn well trying to speak to them in a language of calories on a machine you sit down for will bring out the lawn mower talk the instant there's a lull in the conversation. Seriously fellas... pistols and rowing: I cannot think of a more humbling and challenging method of testing your squatting strength that would draw such a big yawn from your neighbor or your pickup basketball group. The only people that really understand your struggle with that combo (and then the additional struggle of having to step up to a box) are the people posting here on this site. So for the love of ripped pants and ripped ACLs, if your pistols and rowing are not going to help something that is actually important to you and your community, then scale this thing in a way that will.
Chris--this rant is why I usually post my successes/failures/trials and everything else---NONE of my friends or coworkers would understand what I'm talking about:)
My wife and sons do, but they are stuck with me:)
More importantly---you are doing great work with your gym and members.
The athletes you talk about--you see their results in a relatively short time through watching in games or awards or scholarships.
Those moms/dads/out of shape people? You may never know your impact, but what if a grandchild watches his/her Grandpa/Grandma getting fit or exercising while also having fun while doing it? You may have just started a lineage of being healthy. Keep at it and stay on the path.
My man, I have known for a long time that nobody, well, not nobody, most don't care at all about what I do or can do in the gym. I've been trying real hard not to speak in absolutes (e.g. everyone, nobody, always, never, etc.) because I don't believe it is possible to speak for everyone, even the people in your life. But you know what, I don't care if anyone cares or not. I don't train to impress, get accolades, feel better about myself, etc. - if that stuff happens, great, if not, no skin off my back. I like hard work because it pays off and I want to be ready for the unknown and unknowable. I compare WOD results to previous results more so as a measure of readiness than how fit I am. I will still do this workout as close to Rx as I can (or should given the state of my joints) because I can see some readiness value in the unilateral loading while fatigued (what if I had to jump from one platform to another several times and only one foot at a time). I do agree with you though that whatever physical activity someone embarks on, there should be a purpose/goal in mind, and that it should guide how they execute that activity. That's my own mini rant I guess.
I agree with Mike that you are doing great work with the folks you interact with and train, and that you have had a much bigger impact than you realize. Heck, you help me with your rants, insight and the older versions of your notes where you gave scaling and modification tips/ideas. Though I may not care if anyone cares about my gym life, I deeply appreciate you and every one of my virtual box-mates that show up to do the work and share their 'whiteboards'.
Well said, all! I have, in the past, attempted to explain my workouts, usually only when asked what I do to look like I do, or move like I do, etc.,but I almost always, almost immediately, get a "Oh, well that's just crazy, over the top, stuff." dismissal. Clearly, it doesn't dissuade me, because, like LK said, this "crazy" stuff translates to real life, and becomes more, not less, important as we transition from youth to vintage status humans. So, I just smile & nod & sip my creatine Kool Aid 😉 & keep showing up.