AMRAP Workout

20 minute AMRAP

The Baseline

Full-body sequence · 4-Point Cascade · intensity 4 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

Overview

The Baseline is 20 jumping jacks, 10 hand-release push-ups, 20 air squats, and 10 v-ups. The air squats and the hand-release push-ups trade the quads and the chest.

Muscles worked

Energy systems

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

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

Training effect

Immediate demand

20 minutes, intensity 4 of 5. Today the limiter is the sets being the same size.

Intended stimulus

The style is built so the effort moves through four positions instead of sitting on one. On this workout that is 20 jumping jacks, 10 hand-release push-ups, 20 air squats, and 10 v-ups.

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

The sets are the same size. The round gets hard when one of them breaks.

Pacing

The gold standard of global distribution. Breathe easily on the jacks, brace hard on the V-Ups.

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

The movements

Jumping Jacks

Use this movement for active recovery. When paired with burpees or mountain climbers, the jumping jack is your opportunity to catch your breath.

What not to do. Bending the elbows so the hands never meet overhead.

Hand-Release Push-ups

This enforces a dead-stop and prevents cheating the depth. Use this variation to humble users who claim they can do 50 push-ups unbroken.

What not to do. Resting the whole body on the floor instead of releasing and pressing straight away.

Air Squats

Let gravity do the work on the way down. Pull yourself into the bottom quickly, then explode up. Use your arms for rhythm.

What not to do. Cutting the depth once the legs burn, so the hip crease stops above the knee.

V-Ups

If you bend your knees to reach your toes, you are cheating the lower abdominals.

What not to do. Bending the knees to bring the feet closer to the hands.

Why these movements

The air squats and the hand-release push-ups trade the quads and the chest.

Scaling

Keep the four-movement order. Drop reps across the round so the sequence still visits each position.

Jumping Jacks

  • Low impact. Keep one foot down throughout — march the pattern instead of running it.
  • Slower cadence. Same movement, fewer beats per minute. Cadence is the dial, not the shape.

Hand-Release Push-ups

  • Hands elevated. Hands on a bench, chair or step. The higher the surface, the easier the rep.
  • From the knees. Knees down, hips in line with the shoulders — do not let the hips pike up.
  • Partial range. Lower as far as you can control and press back. Depth grows as you do.

Air Squats

  • To a seat. Squat to a chair or box and stand back up. Lower the seat as you improve.
  • Hold a support. Hands on a doorframe or chair back to sit deeper than balance allows alone.
  • Shorter range. Go only as deep as you can control, and stop before the heels lift.

V-Ups

  • Knees bent. Bend the knees to shorten the lever. The shorter it is, the lighter it is.
  • Partial range. Move only through the range where you can keep the lower back on the floor.

Mistakes and who it is for

  • Opening the jumping jacks at a sprint makes the jumping jacks 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 20 minutes through Jumping Jacks, Hand-Release Push-ups, Air Squats, V-Ups.

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 Baseline is a 20-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 20 minute AMRAPs