Weekly Overview 07.09–13.09
This week is retest week. After building our Front Squat and Push Press throughout August, we’re going back to the 8-rep tests we established at the beginning of the cycle and seeing what progress we’ve made.
Monday starts with our 8RM Front Squat retest before we take on the classic Hero workout Daniel. Pull-ups, running and thrusters make this a big start to the week, and smart pacing will be much more important than coming out too hot.
Tuesday switches gears with gymnastics and repeat sprint work. Wall walks and midline work lead into six short efforts where the goal is to earn as much time as possible on the box jumps.
Wednesday brings our 8RM Push Press retest, followed by the September Monthly Challenge — a partner 5,000m row. Choose your partner wisely because you’ll be retesting this one together later in the month.
Thursday is all about speed. Five short intervals of double-unders and overhead dumbbell walking lunges should be fast, aggressive and repeatable.
Friday is our 9/11 343 Tribute Workout, remembering the 343 FDNY firefighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Nine rounds of burpees, Olympic lifting and gymnastics make this a tough physical and mental test.
Saturday is a partner grind with rowing, kettlebell swings and box step-ups. Control the first part of the workout so you’ve still got something left when you get back onto the rower.
Sunday closes the week with a long bodyweight endurance piece: 3,000m of running alongside high-volume push-ups and air squats.
There’s plenty going on this week. Two strength retests, our September Challenge, a Hero workout and a tribute workout mean this definitely isn’t the week to feel like you have to Rx everything. Train hard. Scale smart. Keep moving well.
Test your Weightlifting skills in The Lift Off Game
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We start the week by finding out how much progress we’ve made on our 8-rep Front Squat. Build sensibly in small sets, then leave enough in the tank for one or two genuine attempts at your best eight. Daniel follows: a steady Hero workout where managing the two big pull-up sets and keeping the thruster light enough to cycle will make the difference.
Strength
ON A 12:00 CLOCK
Build to a Heavy 8-Rep Front Squat
Retest from 04.08
Score = Weight
Workout
DANIEL
FOR TIME
50 Pull-Ups
400m Run
21 Thrusters (95/65lb)
800m Run
21 Thrusters (95/65lb)
400m Run
50 Pull-Ups
Score = Time
KG: 42.5/30
Target Times
Most - 20:00–22:00 (25:00 time cap)
Top - 15:00–17:00
Strategy
Pacing - Keep the first half controlled, then aim to maintain or slightly increase your pace after the 800m run. The runs should let you return to the pull-up bar and thrusters ready to work.
Efficiency - Break pull-ups before failure. Choose a thruster weight you can move for 10–15 easy reps when fresh, then use quick sets of seven, 12 and nine, or go unbroken if appropriate.
Red Flags - Spending more than four minutes on either pull-up section, repeatedly failing reps, or needing more than one or two breaks in the thrusters. Adjust the pull-up volume and loading before the clock starts.
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Today is six repeat sprint efforts. The midline work and wall walks are the buy-in; the box jumps are where you score. Each interval should look similar, with at least 30 seconds left to work on the box every round. We’ll use the skill EMOM to practise strong wall-walk positions and controlled midline movement first.
Skill
EVERY 1:00 FOR 6:00 — alternate minutes
Advanced: Min 1 - 1 Wall Walk + 20-second hold at the top. Min 2 - 8 GHDs to parallel or 8 slow V-Ups.
Intermediate: Min 1 - 1 Wall Walk + 10-second hold at the top. Min 2 - 6 GHDs to parallel or 6 slow V-Ups.
Beginner: Min 1 - 1 Half Wall Walk + 5–10-second hold halfway. Min 2 - 8 Alternating V-Ups or 8 Alternating Bike Crunches.
Workout
2:00 AMRAP × 6 SETS
16 GHDs or 20 V-Ups
4 Wall Walks
Max Reps Box Jumps (24/20in)
Rest 2:00 between sets
Score = Total Box Jumps
Target Scores
Most - 60–90 Box Jumps total (around 10–15 each round)
Top - 120–140 Box Jumps total
Everyone should have at least 30 seconds on the box each round.
Strategy
Pacing - Move smoothly through the buy-in and push the box jumps. Use the two-minute rest so round six can look like round one.
Efficiency - Keep transitions short and use a fast step-down from the box. Pick a height you can jump confidently and consistently.
Red Flags - Still working through the buy-in after 1:25, losing control on the wall walks, or a big drop in box-jump reps. Reduce the buy-in reps or movement difficulty to protect the sprint.
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Retest - Build to a heavy 8 rep push press
Five short intervals combine double-unders with a single-arm overhead dumbbell walking lunge. Each effort should be fast enough to push the heart rate up but controlled enough that your fifth interval still resembles your first.
The first set establishes the standard.
Then try to match it.
Workout
EVERY 3:00 — 5 SETS
50 Double Unders
50ft Single Arm Overhead Dumbbell Walking Lunge
22.5/15kg50 Double Unders
Score = Slowest Set
All movements and weights can be scaled to suit each athlete.
Target Times
Most: 1:50-2:10 slowest set
Cap: 2:15 per set
Top: 1:35-1:50Strategy
Pacing — Aim for roughly 1:30-2:00 per interval. Move aggressively, but don't turn the opening 50 double-unders into an unnecessary max effort.
Efficiency — Keep the rope and dumbbell close together. Double-unders should ideally be one or two sets and the lunge should keep moving.
Red Flags — Repeated rope misses, putting the dumbbell down repeatedly or needing a long recovery before picking the rope back up. If you're regularly over two minutes, adjust something early rather than surviving five bad rounds.
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Then it's time for our September Monthly Challenge.
For the first time, our monthly challenge is a partner event:
5,000m Row — split evenly between two athletes.
You'll choose either 250m or 500m turns and stick with that strategy for the entire workout.
And remember who you partnered with — you'll be coming back to defend this score together later in September.
Strength
ON A 10:00 CLOCK
Build to a Heavy:
8-Rep Push Press
Retest from 06.08
Score = Weight
Workout
SEPTEMBER MONTHLY CHALLENGE
IN TEAMS OF 2
5,000m Row
Partners must switch every even:
250m OR 500m
For 500m switches, both athletes row five times.
For 250m switches, both athletes row ten times.
Each athlete completes 2,500m total.
Score = Time
Target Times
Most: 22:00-24:00
Time Cap: 28:00
Top: 18:00-20:00Strategy
Pacing — This isn't a normal 5k row. Because you're getting almost equal rest between turns, you can hold a considerably harder split. Find a pace you can repeat every single turn rather than producing one huge opening effort.
Efficiency — The changeovers matter. Get the resting athlete ready before the working athlete finishes and use the same entry/exit direction every time. Three or four seconds wasted at every exchange quickly becomes a lot of time.
Red Flags — If your 500m split starts climbing significantly after only three or four turns, you went too hard. Settle onto something sustainable and keep the flywheel moving during every exchange.
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Friday is about more than the score.
Our 9/11 343 Tribute remembers the 343 FDNY firefighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
The workout is nine rounds combining lateral burpees, power snatches, overhead squats and bar muscle-ups.
This is deliberately a long grind.
Move with purpose, choose appropriate scaling and find a pace you can maintain across all nine rounds.
Workout
9/11 343 TRIBUTE
9 ROUNDS FOR TIME
11 Lateral Burpees Over Bar
3 Power Snatch
70/47.5kg4 Overhead Squats
70/47.5kg3 Bar Muscle-Ups
Score = Time
All movements and weights can be scaled to suit each athlete.
Target Times
Most: 19:00-23:00
Time Cap: 25:00
Top: 17:00-19:00Strategy
Pacing — The goal is roughly one round every two minutes. Keep the burpees methodical rather than sprinting them and paying for it later.
Efficiency — Keep transitions tight. Move directly from the barbell to the rig and have a plan for the gymnastics before you start.
Red Flags — Missed muscle-ups, rushed burpees or a barbell weight that causes technique to deteriorate. Scale before movement quality disappears.
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Saturday is a proper partner grind.
You'll work through an opening row, 100 kettlebell swings, 100 kettlebell box step-ups and another 100 swings before getting back onto the rower.
Whatever time remains is your chance to rack up as many metres as possible.
The temptation will be to attack the opening row and kettlebell work.
Don't.
The teams that manage the opening 20 minutes properly will be the ones who can actually race the final few minutes.
Workout
TEAMS OF 2
25:00 AMRAP
2000/1800m Row
100 Kettlebell Swings
24/16kg100 Kettlebell Box Step-Ups
24/16kg — 24/20"100 Kettlebell Swings
24/16kgThen:
Max Distance Row in the Remaining Time
Partner 1 works while Partner 2 rests.
Switch as needed throughout.
Score = metres completed on the final row
Target Scores
Most: 500-1200m final row
Top: 1200-1800m final row
Most teams should aim to reach the final row with around 2-4 minutes remaining.
Strategy
Pacing — Control early, send it late.
Efficiency — Use short, planned partner switches instead of waiting until one athlete is completely exhausted.
Red Flags — Row pace dropping significantly, sloppy kettlebell swings or step-ups grinding to a halt. Switch sooner rather than trying to squeeze five more bad reps out of a tired athlete.
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We're finishing the week with a simple one.
Simple doesn't mean easy.
This is a long, steady bodyweight endurance workout built around 3,000m of running, 100 push-ups and 200 air squats.
There is nowhere to hide behind a heavy barbell or complicated movement.
The goal is simply to keep moving.
Your biggest decision will probably be how you break up the push-ups. Huge opening sets might feel great for about thirty seconds before turning the remaining reps into singles.
Start smaller than you think.
Workout
FOR TIME
1000m Run
100 Push-Ups
1000m Run
200 Air Squats
1000m Run
Score = Time
All movements can be scaled to suit each athlete.
Target Times
Most: 30:00-38:00
Time Cap: 40:00
Top: 24:00-30:00Strategy
Pacing — Run at a controlled pace that allows you to start working almost immediately when you come back through the door. Ideally, the final 1000m is your fastest.
Efficiency — Break the push-ups early into repeatable sets — something like 5-10 at a time. Keep the squats moving in manageable chunks rather than trying to smash out 100 before stopping.
Red Flags — Racing the first kilometre, taking the push-ups to failure or spending long periods standing around before starting the squats.