AMRAP Workout

15 minute AMRAP

The Equalizer

Local muscle burn · Localized Trap · intensity 3 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:

Overview

The Equalizer is 10 down-ups, 20 alternating lunges, and 16 plank knee-to-elbows. The work moves through the full body, the quads, and the midline instead of sitting on one muscle.

Muscles worked

Energy systems

These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.

  • Glycolytic: Moderate
  • Oxidative: Moderate
  • Neuromuscular: High

Training effect

Immediate demand

15 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is the alternating lunges.

Intended stimulus

The round spreads the work across more than one region. On this workout that is 10 down-ups, 20 alternating lunges, and 16 plank knee-to-elbows.

Repeated practice

Repeat the same workout and compare the score. What can change over weeks is how long that pace lasts. One time through does not produce that change.

Body-composition context

Body weight changes with the rest of how you eat and train. This workout is one piece of work on one day.

Expected feel

20 alternating lunges is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.

Pacing

Getting off the floor is the tax here. Use the lunges to steady your breathing.

Keep the later rounds moving at the same size as the early ones. Do not drop the alternating lunges to keep the other sets moving.

The movements

Down-Ups

This movement is all about hip-hinge efficiency. Minimize the time spent with your hands on the floor.

What not to do. Popping the chest up before the hips, so the body peels off the floor in sections.

Alternating Lunges

Reverse lunges are superior for AMRAPs. They protect the deceleration forces on the knee and allow for a faster, springier return to the standing position.

What not to do. Letting the front knee travel past the toes as the torso pitches forward.

Plank Knee-to-Elbows

Keep hips completely level to avoid shifting the workload to the hip flexors.

What not to do. Dropping the hip toward the floor to help the knee travel.

Why these movements

The work moves through the full body, the quads, and the midline instead of sitting on one muscle.

Scaling

Keep every movement in the round. Drop reps on the hardest piece before you drop a movement.

Down-Ups

  • Step the feet. Step back and step in instead of jumping. Same shape, no impact.
  • Hands elevated. Hands on a bench or step so the floor never comes all the way up to you.
  • No jump at the top. Stand tall and reach instead of leaving the floor.

Alternating Lunges

  • Hold a support. One hand on a wall or chair for balance. The legs still do the work.
  • Shorter range. Drop only as far as you can stand back up from without pushing off your hands.

Plank Knee-to-Elbows

  • From the knees. Knees down, straight line from knees to shoulders.
  • Hands elevated. Hands on a bench or step. The higher the surface, the less you carry.

Mistakes and who it is for

  • Opening the down-ups at a sprint makes the alternating lunges the piece that falls apart.
  • Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
  • Spending the first minutes hard leaves the later rounds as a different, slower workout.

Suited to someone who wants 15 minutes through Down-Ups, Alternating Lunges, Plank Knee-to-Elbows.

Scoring and progression

Work through the movements in the order listed, then start the next round. Your score is the number of complete rounds plus any reps of the round you were partway through when the clock hit zero — written as rounds plus reps, so seven full rounds and twelve reps is7+12.

Progression is repeating this workout and comparing that score. The page does not promise a change from one time through.

Related workouts

Track every round. Sync with friends when you want to.

The Equalizer is a 15-minute clock with rounds and splits for you. Share a rally link when other people join, and the leaderboard updates as they log rounds.

Start this workoutMore 15 minute AMRAPs