F45 Special Ops Workout [Everything You Need to Know]

F45 has been rising in popularity these last couple of years since it provides a unique training experience for its members that seems to be working for a lot of them. Instead of the typical and somewhat boring gym routine where you have to come up with your own workouts, F45 does that for you so you don’t have to worry about it. With over 50 different workouts that are all different and unique, you’ll never feel bored or demotivated to train since you’ll constantly be experiencing something new. One of these workouts is called the F45 Special Ops, what is it about? How is it performed? And is it worth it?

The F45 Special Ops workout is a 6-minute hybrid-style routine that’s heavily inspired by military training and that’s loaded with movements typically used during combat readiness. At the end of each pod, you’ll have to do an AMRAP finisher that will put your body to the test.

In this article, we’ll talk about what an F45 Special Ops workout is all about, if it’s hard, and some examples of how it’s performed. 

What is the F45 Special Ops Workout?

F45 Special Ops

Do you know what’s the greatest thing about F45 Training? Not the fact that they have dozens of extremely fun and innovative workouts (that’s great too!), but how they actually name them.

They always manage to come up with the best names for their workouts. According to them, they want something that has meaning, is eye-catching, and that looks cool. And that’s the case for the majority of their workouts. 

There is probably a workout for any cool name that you can think of (well, not really but you get my point!).

You have things like Renegade, Varsity, Empire, Wingman, Triple Threat, Quarterbacks, Redline, Pipeline, and of course, Special Ops.

And although in some instances, these names are selected randomly just because they appear cool like the Moon Hopper workout, or give homage to a city name like Noho (North Hollywood), SoCal (Southern California), Docklands, Miami Nights, and so on, the majority of the time, these names give a slight hint of what the workout is actually gonna be about.

In the case of the F45 Special Ops workout, it definitely falls into the latter category since it’s a routine that’s heavily based on what the military does during their training. It’s a 60-minute hybrid-style session that consists of 12 stations with 2 pods. Member will do 2 sets at each station in lap 1 then 1 set at each station for laps 2 and 3. Keep in mind that the timing increases at each lap.

  • Lap 1 will have 20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest and with 2 sets at each station.
  • Lap 2 will have 40 seconds of work with 20 seconds of rest and with 1 set at each station.
  • Lap 3 will have 60 seconds of work with 30 seconds of rest and with 1 set at each station.

What’s unique about this workout is that members will have to finish their pods by completing a 4-minute AMRAP (meaning As Many Reps As Possible) by staying whenever they are in the pod and following the exercises on the screen.

The AMRAP will usually have 3 exercises in total.

Here is everything you need to know about this workout broken down:

Stations: 12

Pods: 2

Laps: 3 per pod

Sets: Lap 1-2, Laps 2&3-1

Timing: 20/10 on Lap 1, 40/20 on Lap 2, 60/30 on Lap 3

Miscellaneous: 4 minutes of AMRAP between 3 bodyweight exercises after each pod and there is one 60-second water break

F45 Special Ops Workout Example:

Here are two examples of what an F45 Special Ops workout will look like (keep in mind that this may look different depending on your studio).

Workout Example 1:

Format:

  • Ultimate timing: 2 x 20/10, 40/20, 60/30, plus 4 mins AMRAP at end of each pod
  • Normal timing: lap 1 – 20/10/2, lap 2 – 40/20/1, lap 3 – 60/30/1 + 4 minutes of AMRAP

Exercises:

  1. Yogy Push-Up
  2. 10 X Frog Squats + 2 X Plyo Lunges
  3. Revo Leg Raises
  4. Box Jump + Burpee
  5. Bike Erg Seated
  6. 10 X Mountain Climbers + 2 X Shoot Throughs
  7. Burpee + 180 Jump
  8. Jump Squat
  9. Bicycle Ab Crunch
  10. Dumbbell Renegade Row
  11. Barbell Squat Press
  12. Plate Jackknives
  13. Dumbbell Manmaker
  14. Ski Erg Standing
  15. Bear Crawls Back And Forward Short
  16. Burpee + 180 Jump
  17. Jump Squat
  18. Bicycle Ab Crunch

Workout Example 2:

Format:

  • Same format as before

Exercises:

  1. kettlebell single arm swing into high pulls
  2. 10 x speed squats + 2 x shoot ups
  3. balance trainer 10 x mountain climber and overhead press
  4. 5 x Deadball squat clean + 2 x inchworm
  5. bike erg seated
  6. 10 x a-steps + 2 x plyo lunges
  7. burpee + 180 jump
  8. jump squat
  9. bicycle ab crunch
  10. dumbbell bench incline chest press 1 and a half pulses
  11. dumbbell bent over row alternate arm
  12. Revo squat press
  13. slides track run 2 x squat jump
  14. lateral line hop
  15. 10 x high knees + 2 x inchworms
  16. burpee + 180 jump
  17. jump squat
  18. bicycle ab crunch

Is the F45 Special Ops Workout Hard?

As I mentioned in the beginning, this workout is heavily inspired by the training used by the military. 

And if there is one thing that’s known about a military workout, it’s the fact that they’re extremely hard. And the F45 Special Ops workout is no exception.

In the beginning, the routine is pretty average in terms of intensity, but what makes it really challenging is the 4-minute AMRAP that you have to do at the end of each pod.

These 4 minutes will put your body to the test since you’ll have to do as many repetitions as possible.

Conclusion:

If you’ve never done an F45 Special Ops workout before and are not sure what to expect, then I hope this article made it more clear for you. Just remember that if you find it too difficult or too easy, you have full flexibility to go lighter or heavier depending on your physical ability. And if you’re not sure how an exercise is done, just ask the trainers there and they’ll be glad to help.

All that matters is that you have a solid workout and push your body to its fullest potential. 

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