S A M B R I G G S

CARDIO CLUB
WORKOUTS TO IMPROVE YOUR ENGINE
WELCOME TO CARDIO CLUB!

I originally started the Cardio Club as I would go into the gym on a Sunday (to get my sweat on) and a
few people started to join in. Never one to want to train alone, I gladly said yes! This little group
ended up growing and we had ourselves a regular Sunday sweat session. We’d all meet in the gym
earliesh, like 11am, ok so not that early but it’s Sunday, and hammer away at the machines. Then the
best part of Cardio Club would happen, we’d all go for brunch afterwards for a big feed! 

I would always look forward to my Sunday sessions and I hope by sharing these workouts with you,
you’ll start to enjoy cardio a little bit more! I’d program the workout each week and depending on how
many people we had they would be solo workouts or an occasional team workout. All of the workouts
are designed to help build your engine and get you more comfortable being uncomfortable, which is
one of the biggest battles with endurance workouts!

A lot of people don’t view cardio as being as sexy as lifting or gymnastics, but imagine if next time
you're doing the class workout and you’re able to recover faster between pieces and not having to rest
as much. That would be cool, would it not? Well, that comes as a result of building your cardiovascular
base, AKA, you’re building your ENGINE!!! These workouts don’t have to be performed in any order nor
do they have to be done on a Sunday. They’re purely to add in once a week alongside your regular
training or fill in a day when you miss the class or need a break from lifting.

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S A M B R I G G S

CARDIO CLUB
T H R E E I S K E Y N O T E S F R O M S A M

In a 3 min window This workout is 30 minutes total but you’re only

21 cal row
exerting yourself for 15 minutes. The even work:rest
21 cal bike
Max cal ski in remaining time ratio means we can work just under maximal effort.
Rest 3 min Hit each part hard! Going full intensity might see you
In a 3 min window blow up before the end but working around that 85-
18 cal row
90% effort should be sustainable. Missing a
18 cal bike
Max cal ski in remaining time machine? Sub the max calories for reps of burpees,
Rest 3 min DUs or SUs, WBs or shuttle sprints. Don’t worry if
In a 3 min window you don’t make it onto the ski in the first or second
15 cal row
15 cal bike
rounds. The key here is intensity so if you’re giving
Max cal ski in remaining time your all on those 21 calories you’re still achieving the
Rest 3 min desired effect of the workout! For those of you
In a 3 min window looking for a longer workout, we would occasionally
12 cal row
12 cal bike
rest 10-15 minutes then go again but change the
Max cal ski in remaining time order of the machines.
Rest 3 min
In a 3 min window
9 cal row
9 cal bike
Max cal ski in remaining time

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M F A T K A R E N B U R P S
This is a short but spicy workout to get those 150 wall ball shots for time, 20/30lbs
legs and lungs burning. You have to move fast
starting with and EMOM 5 burpees
and take little to no breaks in the movements.
This should be around the 10-15 minute mark
so if you don’t think you can keep moving with
the heavy WB for 150 reps then scale the
weight or knock your burpees down the 3 reps.
Believe me it will still get you gassed!

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CARDIO CLUB
R O W E R S H A V E A B S N O T E S F R O M S A M

5 rounds The aim of this workout is consistent pacing, with 

completion taking 20-30 minutes. The TTB should
500m row
ideally be unbroken or in 2 sets. If this is out of your
30 burpees over the erg capabilities you can sub for hollow rocks, GHD sit ups
30 toes to bar or ab mat sit ups. We need to stay moving with no rest.
Personally, I would hit the burpees and TTB at a hard
effort and row at a recovery pace. This does not mean
slow, it just means below your threshold so you’re
ready to jump right back onto the burpees.

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 C L A S S I C

N O T E S F R O M S A M C R O S S F I T C A R D I O
The classic CrossFit rep scheme shows up Every 5 minutes x 5 rounds
here for a high intensity piece. We have a
21 cal row
built in rest period but you have to earn that
time. The harder you go the more time you’ll 15 cal bike
have to rest! We’re looking for at least a 9 cal ski
3:2 work:rest ratio. If the round is taking you Rest remaining time
longer than 3 1/2 minutes then reduce the
number of calories to ensure you are getting 1
1/2-2 minutes rest. Missing a machine? Reps
of burpees can be substituted for calories.
1 minute max DUs can be swapped for any of
the stations, or a 200m run.
Guys who are good on the machines should
try hitting 25-18-12 cals.

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D E C R E A S E T O I N C R E A S E N O T E S F R O M S A M

50-40-30-20-10 I like this one if I don’t have time for a warm up as I’ll use
cal row the 50’s as my warm up and build the pace and intensity
cal bike from there.  The rep scheme is decreasing over the rounds
cal ski so the aim would be to increase the pace each round. The
feel of the first two rounds are going to be sustained effort.
If someone asked you a question, you’d be able to reply. 
By the 30’s, you’re starting to feel a little uncomfortable.
Through the 20’s, you wouldn’t want to talk to anyone.
Then on the 10’s, you should be finishing on a sprint. 
Time wise this piece is around the 30-40 minute mark.
Missing a machine?
Reps of burpees can be directly swapped for cals,
500-400-300-200-100m run or 150-125-100-75-50 DUs
can also be swapped for the cals.

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M B L A C K J A C K o r 2 1 ' S
This is one of my favorite workouts after traveling. You’ll 21 calorie row
definitely get a good sweat on! It’s really easy to do even if you
1 cal ski & 20 cal row
don’t have access to any machines swapping cals for air squats
and burpees. I’ve also done this combination with the assault
2 cal ski & 19 cal row
runner/C2bike, Assault bike/burpees, and push-up/sit-ups. 3 cal ski & 18 cal row… etc
Use whatever you have access to. This is a fun rep scheme to until you end on 21 cal ski
get a great workout in. You just need something to keep note of
where you’re at as the math can become confusing as you
approach that halfway mark. I would suggest a whiteboard with
all the rounds written down. You can then swipe them off with
your finger as you move through the piece. Focus on quick
transitions as you’ll continuously be going from machine to
machine. The calories will equal 21 each round across the
machines, 462 calories in total. Depending on the
machines/movements chosen, you’ll finish around the 40-50
minute mark. Looking for longer? Rest 10 minutes then repeat
with a different combination of machines.

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 B R I G G S N O T E S F R O M S A M

2km row A few years back I was asked to design a

150 wall ball shots, 14/20lbs
100 burpees
50 barbell thrusters 35/45lbs
signature workout involving the rower for a
series of online rowing workouts. This was my
signature ‘BRIGGS’ rowing workout. Word of
advice, don’t try to set a 2km record or the rest
of the workout is going to suck! The aim of the
workout is hard effort but not to redline until
the thrusters. This is a 20-30 minute workout so
you can really push the back end of it. Pick up
the speed for the second half of the burpees
and the thrusters will hurt but try for unbroken!

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M T R I C K I E R T R I P L E T H R E E

An evil twist on the CrossFit Games workout. This 300 burpees to 6” target
version isn’t for the faint hearted. High reps of each
300 double unders
movement need to be completed before you can move
on to the next skill. The workout should finish around 300 cal Assault bike
the 50-60 minute mark. If you don’t think you can
finish in that time, then you can time cap each
individual part rather than the whole workout. So
allow 25 min for max burpees, 10 min for DUs, and a
30 min cap on the Assault Bike.

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 C I N D Y G O T L U N G S N O T E S F R O M S A M

Alternating EMOM until failure In 2014 I was challenged to complete this workout against
or you reach 40 minutes Matt Chan by Aerobic Capacity king himself, Chris Hinshaw. 
Even: 17/20 cal row Only with a slight twist, I had to do the mens 20 calories! I
Odd: 1 round of Cindy came very close to failing around 30 minutes in. Then Matt
(5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats) got time capped, so I had to complete it to just rub it in and
beat him. This workout is high effort. For most, the only rest
you’ll get is after the round of Cindy. You need to be able to
row efficiently to allow for jumping straight up onto the pull-
ups and get Cindy done. You’ll quickly lose your rest period
if not! The ultimate aim is 40 minutes of work. If you can’t
complete the calories in the minute then reduce the
number to allow you to complete at a hard but sustainable
pace. If you struggle with pull-ups or push-ups and wouldn’t
be able to perform unbroken then reduce the reps to allow
you to complete in 30-40 seconds max. A good sub for pull-
ups would be KB swings. A scale for push ups would be to
go onto your knees or push up against a bench or box to
increase the incline.

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M J E R R Y I N T E R V A L S

When I was in the fire service I would use this 1km row
workout regularly if I needed a quick cardio fix
between jobs. I would be aiming to increase the
400m run
pace over each round with the 4th round being x 4 rounds
my hardest effort.The workout should be around
20-30 minutes with a relatively hard pace being
sustained. Think about your 2km pace for the row
and a comfy 800m run pace for the run, then try
and pull the pin on the last round.

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W E " 3 " C A R D I O K I N G S N O T E S F R O M S A M

In 3 min window Here we have 1:1 work:rest ratio so

500m row the intensity can be kept high. We
want hard effort with recovery
Max burpees in remaining time before the next bout of hard effort. 
Rest 3 min The 3 rounds will take 54 minutes
In 3 min window but you’ll only be actually working
for 27 of those minutes so try to
400m run keep your effort levels up! You
Max cal ski in remaining time should be feeling gassed at the end
Rest 3 min of each 3 minutes but then be ready
to hit the next with the same level of
In 3 min window effort so be careful not to redline too
1km Assault Bike early! Don’t have a ski erg? It’s just as
Max DUs in remaining time beneficial to do max burpees each
round! No assault bike? Then run or
Rest 3 min row again.
Repeat x 3 rounds

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M M A C H I N E T R I A T H L O N
Here we’re looking for sustained effort with no rest 5km row
between the machines. You can be tactical if you
know you’re better at one machine. Push harder
10km bike
here and recover on one of the other machines. 5km ski
We’re looking at around the 60-75 minute time
frame. If you know one of the pieces will take
longer than 30 minutes then reduce the distance.
Another option would be to perform max distance
in 20 minutes of each machine. You can easily sub a
5km run for one of the machines. We’ve also done
this one as a team of three, keeping the distances
the same, working on one machine at a time, and
doing a minute each in rotation. The 1:2 work:rest
ratio meant we could keep the intensity high, which
is definitely a different type of workout stimulus but
a fun alternative!

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 C I N D Y L I K E S T O R U N N O T E S F R O M S A M

In 40 minute window This is one of the first workouts I ever coached in a

Run 5km
Max rounds of Cindy in remaining time
(5 pull-ups 10 push-ups 15 air squats)
CrossFit class and I’m not sure many of the
members thanked me for it! Here we’re looking for
a hard effort on the run to buy you as much time as
possible for the rounds of Cindy. Once you’re there
just keep chipping away at those reps! The aim is to
be continually moving so don’t go out too hard so
you can’t do a push-up a few rounds in! It definitely
pays to be a good runner here as you’ll be able to
buy yourself more time and not be as drained from
the run! It can easily be subbed for a 5km row or
10km bike. If you’re struggling to do the pull-ups or
push-ups in at least 2 sets then reduce the reps so
you can hit the rounds hard.

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M S U R V I V E T H E F I V E
In this workout we have 5 minutes of hard effort work with equal rest In 5 min window
before we begin another hard effort. The workout in total will be 60
minutes but you’ll only be exerting yourself for 30 minutes so the effort 1km row
and intensity level is high! Ideally you should be getting at least 1 Max cal Assault bike in remaining time
minute on the second machine. If you know you can’t hold that pace
then reduce the distances. For example: 750m row, 2km assault bike, Rest 5 mins
750m ski. When performing this workout I held a sustainable pace on In 5 min window
the first part, think your 5km row pace, so I could go straight onto the
second machine then gave maximal effort to clock up the calories. If 2.5km Assault bike
you go too hard on the first bit you won’t be able to push the calories Max cal ski in remaining time
and that’s where the magic lies. Full effort here is then rewarded with 5
minutes of rest before we start again.This type of workout helps to Rest 5 mins
teach us what kind of pace we can maintain and still be able to In 5 min window
produce maximal effort, recover and repeat. You’ll have to utilize
pacing on each machine in the first part then a maximal effort in a later 1km ski
interval. Ideally you would have three different machines to work on.  Max cal row in remaining time
An assault runner or C2Bike can be easily swapped in for 800m run,
2km C2Bike. If you don’t have access to three machines then an Rest 5 mins
outdoor 800m run and max shuttle sprints can be used. x 2 rounds

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S U S T A I N E D 2 1 - 1 5 - 9 N O T E S F R O M S A M

5 rounds With this version of the 21-15-9, you’re performing the same number
of calories across all the machines, with no rest periods. The aim is to
21 cal row be consistent across the 5 rounds. Don’t go out too hard in your first
21 cal bike round that your last round takes you twice as long! The intention of the
workout is long duration moderate-hard effort. You should feel you’re
21 cal ski working but if needed you could push harder. You don’t want to be
15 cal row feeling like you’re working at full capacity. Personally when I hit this
workout I had a pace for the 21’s, increased this a little for the 15’s,
15 cal bike then increased again for the 9’s, dropping the pace back down again
15 cal ski for the next round of 21’s.In terms of time this workout should be
around the 45-60 minute mark. If each round is taking longer than 12
9 cal row minutes then instead of 5 rounds complete max rounds in 60 minutes.
9 cal bike Or you could reduce the calories to 18-12-6. Burpees can be directly
swapped reps for cals if you don’t have access to all three machines.
9 cal ski 300-200-100m run or 100-75-50 DUs swapped for the 21-15-9 cals.

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M A L I T T L E S K I B R E A K
In this workout the calories are getting less each round for the row and
100-80-60-40-20 cal row
the assault bike, but you have a constant 20 cal ski in-between each
row and bike interval. The aim of this style workout is to hit the row 20-20-20-20-20 cal ski
and bike hard with the ski as your recovery. In total you’ll be 90-70-50-30-10 cal Assault Bike
performing 300 calories on the rower, 250 on the bike, and 200 on the
ski so you’re looking at around that 60 minute mark. For those cardio
20-20-20-20-20 cal ski
ninjas, 50 minutes would be gold standard. For those newer to the
engine building then I would consider dropping the first round and
starting with the 80 cal row. You’ll still be getting a heck of a workout
then you can aim to build up to the full 5 rounds.You definitely need
two machines for this workout for the main intervals ideally the row
and assault bike but assault runner, ski erg or C2bike can be used. The
recovery ski however can be swapped for a number of exercises
instead of another machine. I have personally done it with GHD’s
instead but I would recommend reducing the reps if you’re not used to
doing high numbers of GHD’s. 50 DUs, 60 second plank or 20 KB
swings would also be a good swap.

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5 0 0 C A L C H A L L E N G E N O T E S F R O M S A M

Alternating EMOM This was initially a challenge workout that fellow athlete Harriett
Roberts sent to me. Since then we have done this workout in various
Even: max cal C2bike forms during Cardio Club. It can also be done as a partner workout. 
Odd: 7/10 cal ski erg Increase the cals to 1000, person one performs max cals in a minute
whilst person 2 does the recovery ski, then keep swapping until you've
reached a 1000 cals on the bike. I’ve also done this on the Assault bike
Until you've accumulated 500 and Assault runner following the same principle. In my opinion the
calories on the bike. Assault bike was the hardest but I like to run!
As you can see this workout is all about the bike! You have to go hard
on that minute to accumulate the calories. If you're good on the bike
then this workout is definitely doable under the 50 minute mark. For
most it's going to be around 60-70 minutes. If you're new to the bike
then maybe reduce the target to 300-400 calories with the aim to build
up to that 500 cal challenge. Likewise on the ski, if the 7/10 cals is
taking the full minute and isn’t a ‘recovery’ minute then reduce the cals
to 5/8. It’s important here that you attack the workout knowing it's
going to be around 20-30 rounds on the bike, so go hard but don't end
yourself on the first few rounds!

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M T R I A N G U L A R T R I P L E T
I like workouts with patterns and the numbers make sense. Here we
have 3 machines hence the triangle, and the calories to be performed
55-45-36-28-21-15-10-6-3-1
are … you've guessed it all triangular numbers! If you look closely you’ll cal row
see that each round the calories are reduced by 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 … cal bike
see what a lovely pattern!
I would probably write the numbers up on a board so you don't forget
cal ski
them though! This workout is all about transitions, as there are a lot of
them. The focus should be on starting each interval fast then settling
into your pace to get those calories rolling.  As each round the calories
are getting less you should be aiming to increase your pace as you go,
with the 15-10-6-3-1 as sprints.
The workout is 220 calories on each machine so we have a total of 660.
If this seems too much to start with, drop the 55 cals and begin at the
45 cals. For someone with a good aerobic base, you're looking at
around 40-45 minutes. For those newer to the engine building then a
target would be sub 60 minutes.

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 P U L L I T L I K E I T S H O T N O T E S F R O M S A M

In 3 min window Now this one gets spicy! I love a challenging workout and this one you
have to pull the plug and go for it. You're only rewarded for going hard.
21 cal row Go too slow and you'll have to do more rounds than necessary.The aim
15 cal bike of the workout is hard intervals with 2 minutes of rest between efforts.
Max cal ski in remaining time Going from one machine to another should allow you to keep the
intensity up for the 3 minutes of work without feeling like you can't
Rest 2 min push it on the ski. For those machine beasts then you should destroy
Repeat until you’ve accumulated this workout in 9-10 rounds. If machines aren’t your friend then I
would recommend scaling the target down to 200/150 calories. Also,
300/200 Cal Ski for the row and bike I would move down to 18 and 12 respectively, or
even lower if needed, to give you at least 1 minute on the ski.For me
the row was taking 55 seconds, the bike 45. With transitions, I was
getting roughly 70 seconds each round on the ski.

Only have access to 2 machines? Max burpees would be your

substitute! Only have one machine? Then 21 cal on the machine, 50
DUs then max burpees.

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M 1 2 D A Y S O F C A R D I O
This workout is performed like the song 12 Days of Christmas and 100m row
yes it was our Cardio Club’s Christmas workout but you can do it
any time of the year. For example it goes, 100m row, 200m run + 200m run
100m row, 30 DU’s + 200m run + 100m row … etc until you 30 DUs
perform all 12 exercises.
4 HSPUs
If you can't do HSPUs then scale for pike press push ups or 5 KB swings
normal push ups. Pistols can be subbed for candlestick to squat 6 cal ski
jump. Handstand walk can be subbed for a 12m inch worm. This
workout is definitely more fun in a group.Pacing strategy, this is
7 GHD’s
continuous work so think steady state, you're working hard but if 8 burpees
someone asked you a question, you’d be able to reply. The
9 jump lunges
workout should take around the 50-60 minute mark.
10 cal Assault Bike
11 candlestick to pistol
12m handstand walk

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 P O W E R S U R G E N O T E S F R O M S A M

Your max watt test is simply 20 minutes holding the

Start at 70% of max watt test
EMOM x 5 increase by 10 watts*
 Rest 2 mins
Drop to 80% and repeat 5 mins
Rest 2 mins
Drop to 90% and repeat 5 mins
Rest 2 mins
Keep adding 10% to start watts
maximum power you can on any of the machines. It’s widely
used in the cycling world and is known as your FTP test
(Functional Threshold Power test). If you've never done your
FTP then that would be a good workout in itself. For the FTP I
would recommend a good warm up then set the machine to
single time 20 minutes. You can then either have the screen
set to show watts or keep on distance and go for max
distance in 20 minutes. When you have finished you can go
into the memory and look at the average watts you held for
the 20 minutes. This is your FTP. 

until you can't finish the 5 mins Continued notes for Power Surge on next page.

*Increase watts by 10, each minute

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C O N T . N O T E S F O R P O W E R S U R G E

When taking your FTP, it really should be a maximum test! I have literally fallen off the bike at the end with nothing left in my legs! If you want to
do the workout above and don't want to complete your FTP you can input your 5km row/ski time or 10km bike time on the concept 2 website
training calculator, and it will convert into watts which would give you a good estimate of your FTP.From your FTP you can find out your rating:
dividing your ave. Watts by your body weight in kg to get your score, for example 250 watts / 60kg body weight = 4.16

Roughly speaking: Roughly speaking:

1 = untrained 1 = untrained
2 = fair 2 = fair
3 = good 3 = good
4 = very good 4 = very good
4.5 = excellent 4.5 = excellent
5 = exceptional 5 = exceptional
6 = world class 6 = world class

This power surge workout is a pure test of guts. Each round only lasts 5 minutes but it's all about who can dig the deepest to keep increasing
that pace. The first two rounds should be more than doable as you won’t be going above your FTP. Round 3 is where it gets spicy then each
round will be starting at your FTP and above so you have to be switched on from the get go! Realistically getting into round 5 is a good target,
completing round 5 would be your ultimate aim. If you're completing 6 or more then you've increased your power output and I’d recommend
re-testing that FTP!Pacing for this workout is determined by your capacity. This is a maximal effort piece so expect high heart rate and discomfort!
It’s time to get comfortable being uncomfortable!

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M R O W T O B U Y Y O U R T I M E
The first 5 rounds are just your buy in to the bike. When we’re there, In a 30 minute window:
sustain max RPMs.  You’ll want to hit the first part with a pace.  You
should be breathing hard but always feel like you could turn it up.  It’s
5 rounds
a strategy, as if you go too hard you’ll have nothing for the bike, not 500m row
hard enough and you won’t have enough time on the bike!  You won’t 30 burpees
need to scale the distance or reps as 30 minutes will be plenty of time
for everyone to at least get onto the bike. For those who already have a
good aerobic base you should be looking for a 2:1 ratio of time spent
In remaining time
on each part. Strong rowers may get longer than 10 minutes on the accumulate max
bike, so be prepared to work hard!If you only have access to one Assault Bike calories
machine, sub the burpees for 100 DUs then perform max burpees in
remaining time.

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 S E V E N T H H O U R N O T E S F R O M S A M

In 7 min window As the name implies this workout, including rests, will take you
an hour. We have 7 minutes of work followed by 3 minutes of
2000/1600m C2Bike
rest each time. This should be a hard effort but not all out. The
400m run three minutes of rest will help you recover but go out too hard
Max DU’s in remaining time and it won't be long enough to be able to fully hit the next
Rest 3 mins round!The flow of the workout is simple, you bike fast, run fast
then complete as many DU’s in the remaining time. If you don't
X 6 rounds
have a C2Bike then the distance would be the same on an
Assault bike, or on a rower it would be 1000/800m.

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M R U N N E R S L E G S
Working with the Red Pill team the term Legs for Days comes 5 rounds
up all the time, and it refers to leg volume days. These types of
workouts are used to get our legs performing well after a large
50 air squats
volume of training. In this workout, we have to run efficiently 40 walking lunges
after performing a lot of squats and lunges. I have done many 30 jumping lunges
variations of the above but love the simplicity of just running 20 jump squats
after as you don’t have to have any equipment and can do
wherever you are. It’'s a perfect workout when on vacation
1km run
somewhere or if you're working away from home! It’s also a
good one to do wearing a weight vest!

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 E A R N Y O U R R O W N O T E S F R O M S A M

5km row for time Need to work on transitions? This is one for
EMOM you!  Each minute, you’ll need to jump off the
Get off the rower and alternate movements rower, perform either TTB or KB Swings
EVEN MINUTE: 5 KB swings, 16/24kg  quickly, and buy as much time for rowing as
ODD MINUTE: 5 toes to bar possible. Aim for your 5km pace or faster
while on the rower. The workout in total
*Start on rower and begin EMOM should be around 30-40 minutes in duration. 
at minute 1. You can easily sub the TTB for V-ups to get the
same core stimulus if you struggle with the
movement.

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M M A C H I N E M A D N E S S

Each station should take no longer than 60 Every 5 minutes x 8

seconds. This allows a full minute rest
rounds
between the rounds. If a round takes longer
than 4 minutes, adjust the calories down for
15/20 cal ski
the remaining rounds. The workout is 40 15/20 cal bike
minutes long BUT there is rest built in. Keep 15/20 cal row
the intensity high! Missing one of the 15 burpees
machines? Do an extra set of burpees or sub
in for 60 seconds of max DUs or SUs,
or 200M Run.

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 L O S E T H E W E I G H T N O T E S F R O M S A M

1 mile wearing 20/30lb ruck or vest
1 mile wearing 14/20lb ruck or vest
1 mile un-weighted
This is continuous effort for total
time so be quick in changing the
weight!
I first did this workout in 2014 when I was helping a team
prepare for the CrossFit Games. I don’t think they enjoyed it too
much at the time. We often see weighted runs popping up in
competitions so it’s a good one to use to prepare. Since then
I’ve done it a handful of times and given it to athletes who I
program for whenever they have been preparing for a big
competition like the Games.
If you haven’t done much running or weighted running in the
past I would start with half the distance and build up to the full
3 miles. For example, the first time you would do 800m with
each weight, if that felt good next time 1200m with each weight,
then if all went well, go for the full 1 mile at each weight. Once
you've got the distances covered then you can start working on
building the pace up!

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M

This workout is a long one! With rest included you'll be P Y R A M I D O F P A I N

looking at around 80-90 minutes. The aim here is 1. 400M run

sustained effort. You should be picking a pace you can 2. 30 burpees
hold for the entire workout. 1-2 minute rest will seem like 3. 500/400M row
a lot in the first couple of rounds when you're only doing
4. 25/30 cal ski
one or two pieces but in the middle when you're
performing all 6 those 2 minutes won’t feel like much at 5. 100 DUs
all. So don’t go crazy at the beginning, knuckle down, work 6. 1km/800M bike
hard but be in it for the long run. Think 5-10km paces on
the machines not 500m pb pace!
1-2 minute rest between rounds
:
D AS

1+2+3+4+5+6,
ME

1+2+3+4+5,

2+3+4+5+6,
O R

1+2+3+4,

3+4+5+6,
E RF

1+2+3,

4+5+6,
P
1+2,

5+6,
1,

6
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 M I K K O ' S T R I A N G L E N O T E S F R O M S A M

40 min alternating EMOM I’ve saved this workout for last as it's probably the daddy of
all CrossFit cardio workouts. Once upon a time in a dark,
M1. cal row cold warehouse a man was working out in silence,
M2. cal bike hammering out 20 cals on each machine for the full 40
M3. cal ski minutes (which at the time was unheard of)  and didn’t lay
M4. Rest down when he finished! Word got out of this feat of
incredible fitness and many have mimicked it since. That
man was Mikko Salo (2009 CrossFit Games Fittest Man on
Pick a number of calories to hold Earth), and hence the Mikko Triangle was born.
across for the full time.

Score is the total calories.

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C O N T . N O T E S M I K K O ' S T R I A N G L E

As soon as a variety of machines became more common in boxes this was the first multi machine cardio session I did. Since that day I
have done it more times than I can count, and now 20 calories on each machine is the rx’d target for men, with Games level athletes
now holding 23+ calories, 18+ for the females. 

For me personally I’m a lot weaker on the ski so to get the most out of the workout I would hold 18 for the row and the bike and then
15 for the ski. The aim is to increase my capacity on the ski so I could eventually hold 18 calories across all three machines for the 40
minutes. So when doing this workout for the first time I would aim for maximal calories in :50 on each machine giving you a :10
transition window. At the end, you can see the average number of calories you hit for each machine. Then the next time you hit it you
can use that average +1 calorie as your aim for the 40 minutes, or work on increasing one of the machines until you are able to work
for the full time hitting the same number of calories across the machines.

The feel for this workout should be sub maximal. You have to work hard each minute to get the calories but if needed you could
squeeze out a couple more in the first half of the workout. As you are approaching the last few rounds and the lactic acid is building up
these efforts will feel more like maximal and it’s no longer fun and games! This is where we have to dig deep and find that inner self
that still wants to go on and hit that calorie target!

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 N O T E S F R O M S A M R U N T H E I N V E R S E
For this workout your focus is on the machines and holding 50-40-30-20-10 cal row
good paces throughout. As one machine decreases in work the
other will increase. In between each effort you have a 200m
200m run
run.  This is meant as a recovery run before hitting the machine 10-20-30-40-50 cal bike
hard again. This shouldn't be you walking 200m! It should still 200m run
be work but you're allowing your heart rate and breathing to
settle down a little.

The flow of the workout is 50 cal row 200m run 10 cal bike
200m run 40 cal row 200m run 20 cal bike 200m run etc.This
workout should be around the 30-40 minute mark. Those good
on the machines should be aiming for sub 30.

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S A M B R I G G S

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