Twenty minutes, as many rounds as you can complete. Unlike every workout in this library so far, there’s no fixed rep count on the pull-ups here — the run is constant, but how many pull-ups you do each round is entirely your call, round after round, for twenty straight minutes.
AMRAP stands for “As Many Rounds (or Reps) As Possible.” Instead of racing a fixed amount of work for time, you work for a set time cap and your score is how much you got done — total rounds, total reps, or both, depending on the workout. Nicole is a rounds-based AMRAP with a twist: the run each round is a fixed 400m, but the pull-ups are max effort, meaning you choose how many to do before starting the next run.
Your score for Nicole is your total number of pull-ups completed across all rounds in 20 minutes — not a time, and not a fixed rep count. This changes the entire pacing calculation compared to a for-time workout: going to absolute failure in round 1 might feel productive, but it usually costs you more total reps by the end than a controlled, repeatable effort would.
Nicole is a variant worth calling out specifically: because the pull-up count is max-effort and different every round by design, there’s no “full round” unit to score the way a fixed-movement AMRAP like Cindy is scored (rounds completed, plus reps into an unfinished round). Instead, touching the ground ends your pull-up set and starts the next run — your score is simply the cumulative pull-up total across all rounds, governed by that rule.
Score: your total number of pull-ups completed across all rounds within 20 minutes — not a finishing time. Touching the ground (or your assist point, if scaled) ends that pull-up set immediately and starts the next run — there’s no resting on the bar mid-set. Only completed reps count if the clock runs out mid-set.
Most benchmark WODs tell you exactly how much work to do — Nicole doesn’t. Every round, you have to decide how many pull-ups to attempt, knowing there’s another 400m run and another round coming after it. Athletes who go to true failure on the pull-ups early usually see their per-round totals collapse later, while athletes who hold back too much leave reps on the table they could have safely banked.
On top of that pacing puzzle, Nicole combines running fatigue with grip and pulling endurance sustained across a full 20 minutes — a different demand than any short, fixed-rep benchmark in this library.
Nicole scales per movement. Choose the row below that lets you complete full rounds consistently within the 20-minute cap.
| Level | Pull-Up | Run |
|---|---|---|
| Rx | Full ROM, chin over bar | 400m |
| Scaled | Banded or jumping pull-ups | 400m or 200m |
| Beginner | Ring rows | 200m |
Scaling the run distance down (rather than just the pull-up movement) lets beginners complete more full rounds within the 20-minute cap, which matters for a workout scored by total reps across rounds.
Pick a sustainable number of pull-ups per round from the very first one — not your true max. A common approach is choosing a rep count you know you can repeat unbroken every round (5–8 reps, for example) rather than going to failure and getting fewer, less consistent reps as rounds go on.
Because dropping off the bar ends your round, there’s a real cost to coming off early to “rest and reset.” A short pause hanging on the bar between reps is free; stepping off is not.
Total reps across 20 minutes almost always beats a single impressive round followed by a steep decline. Track your reps each round so you know whether your pacing is holding — a sudden drop in reps per round is the clearest sign you went out too hard.
Nicole is a running-and-pulling workout by design, but both movements survive straightforward substitutions.
| Equipment | Substitution | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| No pull-up bar | Ring rows | 1:1 reps |
| No rings | Towel or doorframe rows | 1:1 reps |
| Limited pull-up capacity | Banded or jumping pull-ups | 1:1 reps |
| No running space | Row or bike erg for equivalent time/distance | — |
FITL scales this automatically based on the equipment and experience level in your profile.
AMRAP means “As Many Rounds (or Reps) As Possible” — you work for a fixed time cap, and your score is the total work completed, rather than racing a fixed amount of work for time.
Scores are measured in total pull-ups completed across all rounds in 20 minutes. This varies widely by pull-up capacity and run speed, so the more useful benchmark is your own consistency — a strong result shows steady rep counts per round rather than a fast decline.
Yes. Use a row or bike erg for an equivalent time or distance if you don’t have running space.
With scaling, yes — shorten the run and use an assisted pull-up variation. The pacing lesson (don’t go to failure early) applies at every fitness level, which makes this a useful workout for beginners to learn from as much as to complete.
Get Nicole — and every benchmark WOD — automatically scaled to your equipment and experience level.