It’s a deceptively brutal partner workout, but one we can’t not keep trying: TailPipe. The workout originated with the Gym Jones crew nearly a decade ago, and it’s named after the feeling one gets toward the end — “sucking on the end of a tailpipe,” fighting to catch your breath.
If you’ve never tried TailPipe, it doesn’t seem all that impressive or difficult at first glance. Check out the workout description from a recent video on the Gym Jones YouTube channel:
A look into the most classic of all Gym Jones partner style workouts: “TailPipe”. This is the workout we do to kick off each Fundamentals seminar. It is an eye-opener. The workout is a partner workout where one partner rows 250m for time while the other holds two 24kg Kettlebells in Rack position. Once the 250m is done the players switch position. That is one round. This is three rounds for time so by the end each partner will have rowed three times and held three times.
Word to the wise: Get ready to experience some of the roughest breathing of your fitness life.
An additional rule, judging from the videos we’ve seen out of Gym Jones: You can have a third party helping to reset the monitor/computer on your rower and help you strap in your feet, which could save a few precious seconds off the entire workout.
As Bobby Maximus of Gym Jones explains, the workout record is 4:24, and a great time is anywhere below 5 minutes. (The average they see in their Utah facility is between 5:30 and 6 minutes.) Maximus runs some visitors to the gym through the workout, and while they do a great job, it’d be tough to imagine them getting below the 4:24 mark.
Video of their performance is embedded below. Now, the only question that remains is: Who are you going to try this with?
Featured image: Gym Jones’ YouTube Channel
