Weekly Overview 28.09–04.10
We finish September with a partner challenge and head into October with plenty of work to get stuck into. This week mixes overhead strength, gymnastics, barbell conditioning and longer team efforts. Plan your pace early and pick movements you can keep doing well as the reps add up.
Monday starts with a shoulder press, push press and push jerk complex, followed by ten rounds of ring dips and box jumps. Small, sensible breaks on the dips will help you stay consistent.
Tuesday is the September monthly challenge: a 5km row with a partner. Choose 250m or 500m turns, sharpen up your changeovers and see what you can achieve together. Wall walks and gymnastics pulling follow the row.
Wednesday brings two three-round blocks: thrusters and kettlebell swings, then swings and lateral burpees. There’s a three-minute rest between them, with chest accessory work afterwards.
Thursday gives us rope-climb practice before double unders and three different midline movements. Choose a manageable gymnastics progression and avoid burning through your grip too early.
Friday is a big leg day. Build through five sets of back squats, then take on five short squat-and-bike intervals. The goal is to keep producing calories right through the final set.
Saturday is partner “RJ”: run together, then share the push-ups and rope climbs across six rounds. Agree your splits before the clock starts.
Sunday finishes with rowing and dumbbell carries. Farmer’s, front-rack and overhead carries each bring a different challenge, so choose a load you can control in all three positions.
Your coach will help you choose the right loads, reps and skill options. Train hard. Scale smart. Keep moving well.
Test your weightlifting skills in The Lift Off Game.
-
Overhead strength comes first, then ten rounds that reward sensible dip sets and steady box jumps. Keep enough in reserve to make the final rounds look like the first.
Strength
Every 2:00 for 5 sets:
1 Shoulder Press
2 Push Press
3 Push Jerks
Complete the complex unbroken. Start moderate-light and build to moderate-heavy. Score: Heaviest successful weight.
Workout
10 rounds for time:
10 Ring Dips
10 Box Jumps — 24/20 inches
Score: Time. Cap: 18:00.
Target Times
Most athletes: 14:00–17:00. Faster athletes: 11:00–13:00.
Strategy
Pacing - Aim for repeatable rounds, roughly 1:25–1:40 for most athletes. Break the dips into 6/4 or 5/5 before reps slow down or become a struggle.
Efficiency - Keep the box close to the rings. Jump up, stand tall and step down, using the jumps to settle your breathing while the arms recover.
Red Flags - Dips turning into singles early, rings drifting wide or long pauses at support. Reduce the reps or use an assisted dip or box dip. Lower the box or step up if you cannot keep landings and descents controlled.
-
The September monthly challenge is a shared 5km row. If you have an earlier score, use the same switching distance for a useful comparison and look for time saved in your changeovers.
Workout — September Monthly Challenge
Teams of 2:
5,000m Row for time
Switch every 250m OR every 500m for the full distance. With 500m turns, each partner rows five times; with 250m turns, each rows ten times. Both cover 2,500m.
Score: Time. Cap: 28:00. A beginner option is 3,000m with 300m turns.
Skill — After the Workout
5:00 AMRAP:
1 Wall Walk or Half Wall Walk
1 Gymnastic Pull
Add one rep to each movement every round: 1/1, 2/2, 3/3 and so on. Score: Total reps.
Choose an appropriate pulling option with your coach: strict chest-to-bar, strict pull-ups, chest-to-bar or pull-ups; ring rows, banded strict pull-ups and jumping pull-ups are available progressions.
Target Times
Most teams: 21:00–23:00. Faster teams: 17:30–19:30.
Strategy
Pacing - Set a working split you can hold through the middle of the row. If both partners are still moving well, push the final two or three turns.
Efficiency - The resting partner should be ready before each switch. Practise your exchanges, then use a few strong strokes to get the flywheel moving before settling into pace.
Red Flags - Splits slipping by 5–8 seconds after only a few turns or long changeovers. Start more conservatively and keep your chosen switching distance throughout. If you hit the cap, record the metres completed.
-
Two hard blocks with a proper reset between them. Light thrusters and swings should keep moving, then the second block asks you to hold your rhythm through the burpees.
Workout
For time:
3 rounds:
21 Thrusters — 35/25kg (75/55lb)
21 Kettlebell Swings — 24/16kg (53/35lb)
Rest 3:00
Then 3 rounds:
21 Kettlebell Swings — 24/16kg (53/35lb)
21 Lateral Burpees Over the Bar
Score: Total time, including the three-minute rest. Cap: 21:00.
Strength — After the Workout
3 sets:
6 Heavy Dumbbell Bench Press
12 Deficit Push-Ups — 4/2 inches
24 Banded Chest Press
Rest 2:00 between sets. For quality, no score.
Target Times
Most athletes: 16:00–19:00. Faster athletes: 13:00–15:00.
Strategy
Pacing - Keep the opening block controlled enough to return strongly after the rest. Plan your thruster breaks and keep a steady burpee cadence in the second half.
Efficiency - Drive the thrusters with your legs and use your hips on the swings. Choose loads that allow larger, repeatable sets with short breaks.
Red Flags - Grinding thrusters, long pauses between burpees or losing position as the swings accumulate. Reduce the loading or reps. Light dumbbell thrusters, Russian swings and lateral up-downs are available options; scale the post-workout pressing to maintain good movement.
-
Rope-climb practice prepares us for Saturday, then it’s a steady mix of skipping and midline work. Keep the skill work controlled and choose gymnastics sets you can repeat.
Skill
Every minute for 8 minutes:
1–2 reps of your Rope Climb variation OR 3–5 Strict Chin-Ups
Advanced: Legless rope climbs. Intermediate: Standard rope climbs. Beginner: Zombie rope climbs or foot-clamp-and-stand practice. Work on clean technique rather than racing the clock.
Workout
For time:
100 Double Unders
50 GHD Sit-Ups
100 Double Unders
50 Toes-to-Bar
100 Double Unders
50 Abmat Sit-Ups
Score: Time. Cap: 16:00.
Target Times
Most athletes: 13:00–15:00. Faster athletes: 10:00–13:00.
Strategy
Pacing - Keep the skipping relaxed and plan your toes-to-bar breaks before your grip forces them. The middle gymnastics set is likely to take the longest.
Efficiency - Set up your rope and stations for short transitions. Use a consistent rhythm on the sit-ups and restart small gymnastics sets promptly.
Red Flags - Repeated rope trips, long hangs on the rig or losing midline control. Adjust the skipping volume and choose GHD volume appropriate to your experience. V-ups, hanging knee raises and single unders are useful alternatives.
-
Back-squat strength leads into five hard intervals. The workout weight needs to stay unbroken so you have enough time to make the bike count.
Strength
5 sets of 5 Back Squats
Start moderate and build to heavy, resting as needed between sets. Score: Heaviest successful weight.
Workout
5 sets — 2:00 AMRAP:
10 Back Squats — 85/57.5kg (185/125lb), taken from the rack
Max Calorie Air Bike in the remaining time
Rest 2:00 between sets.
Score: Total bike calories across all five sets.
Target Scores
Most athletes: 75–100 calories, around 15–20 per set. Faster athletes: 100–125+ calories. Aim to finish the squats and transition within 30–45 seconds, leaving at least 1:15 on the bike.
Strategy
Pacing - Choose a squat load you can move for all ten reps each round. Build into a hard but repeatable bike pace and save the biggest push for the final set.
Efficiency - Be ready at the rack when each interval starts. Rerack safely, get straight onto the bike and reset the monitor between rounds.
Red Flags - Squats taking over 40 seconds, breaking the ten reps or a sharp drop in bike calories after set one. Reduce the squat load or ease the opening bike effort before later rounds fall apart.
-
Partner “RJ” is a longer team effort. Run together and share the upper-body work in manageable chunks, switching before either partner reaches failure.
Workout
Teams of 2 — 6 rounds for time:
400m Run together
50 Push-Ups, split between partners
6 Rope Climbs, split between partners
Score: Time. Cap: 40:00.
Target Times
Most teams: 30:00–40:00. Faster teams: 22:00–30:00.
Strategy
Pacing - Set a run pace both partners can repeat. Agree small push-up sets and a rope-climb rotation before starting, then keep the changeovers quick.
Efficiency - Use Thursday’s footwork practice on the rope: secure the feet and let the legs do the lifting. Keep your body position strong through every push-up.
Red Flags - Push-ups reaching failure early, arms doing all the work on the rope or long rests before each climb. Scale the total reps and climbing variation to keep progressing. An intermediate option is 40 push-ups and 4 rope climbs or 20 strict pull-ups per round; beginners can shorten the run and use knee push-ups, zombie climbs or assisted pulling.
-
Six intervals of rowing and loaded carries finish the week. Each carry position changes the challenge, so choose dumbbells that let you stay in control overhead as well as at your sides.
Workout
6 rounds — 3:00 on / 1:30 off:
500/450m Row
Max 25-foot Dumbbell Carry lengths in the remaining time — 22.5/15kg each (50/35lb)
Rounds 1 and 4: Farmer’s Carry
Rounds 2 and 5: Front-Rack Carry
Rounds 3 and 6: Overhead Carry
Each 25-foot length (approximately 7.6m) counts as one rep. Score: Total carry lengths across all six rounds.
Target Scores
Most athletes: 30–48 lengths, around 5–8 per round. Faster athletes: 55–70+ lengths. Aim to leave about one minute for carries, with a minimum of 45 seconds.
Strategy
Pacing - Row at a pace you can repeat without exhausting your grip. Scale the rowing distance if it leaves too little time to carry.
Efficiency - Relax your hands on the rowing recovery, leave the machine promptly and keep turns tight. Stay tall in the front rack and keep the dumbbells stacked securely overhead.
Red Flags - Less than 45 seconds left after the row, grip failing early or repeated drops overhead. Reduce the dumbbell load or use an appropriate carry variation with your coach; the overhead position may need a lighter load than the farmer’s carry.