20 minute AMRAP
The Stronghold
Hold and surge · Armor Protocol · intensity 4 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
Overview
The Stronghold is a 20-second glute bridge hold, 10 pike push-ups, 15 down-ups, and 20 lateral line hops. The round opens with a 20-second glute bridge hold. Doing the pike push-ups still comes after it, not as a rest earned by the hold.
Muscles worked
Full body
Glutes
Quads
Shoulders
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
20 minutes, intensity 4 of 5. Today the limiter is the glute bridge hold before the pike push-ups.
Intended stimulus
The style is built so every round starts with a hold and then moves. On this workout that is a 20-second glute bridge hold, 10 pike push-ups, 15 down-ups, and 20 lateral line hops.
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 hold is the start of the round. The next movement still has to be done after it, not as a rest earned by the hold.
Pacing
Squeeze the glutes at absolute maximum tension during the hold to protect the lower back on the down-ups.
Do not shorten the glute bridge hold to reach the pike push-ups. The hold is the start of the round. The next movement still has to be done after it.
The movements
Glute Bridge Hold
Drive through your heels, not your toes. Pressing through the toes shifts the load to the quads.
What not to do. Letting the hips drift down over the hold without noticing.
Pike Push-ups
Keep your legs straight. If your hamstrings are tight, widen your foot stance to maintain the high hip position.
What not to do. Walking the feet out until the hips drop and it becomes an ordinary push-up.
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.
Lateral Line Hops
Keep your eyes up. Looking down at the line naturally rounds the shoulders and constricts the airway.
What not to do. Letting the feet come apart in the air and landing one at a time.
Why these movements
The round opens with a 20-second glute bridge hold. Doing the pike push-ups still comes after it, not as a rest earned by the hold.
Scaling
Keep the hold and the moving piece together. Shorten the hold and the reps together so the round is still a hold followed by work.
Glute Bridge Hold
- Shorter range. Lift only as high as you can hold the position without arching the back.
- Both legs. Drive through both feet instead of one.
Pike 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.
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.
Lateral Line Hops
- Step instead of jump. Same pattern, same range, no flight. Keeps the pace without the landing.
- Lower and slower. Keep the jump but cut the height and take the landing softly.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the glute bridge hold at a sprint makes the glute bridge hold the piece that falls apart.
- Cutting the glute bridge hold short to reach the pike push-ups removes the hold the round starts with.
- Spending the first minutes hard leaves the later rounds as a different, slower workout.
Suited to someone who wants 20 minutes through Glute Bridge Hold, Pike Push-ups, Down-Ups, Lateral Line Hops.
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
- Dorsal Barricade
Same hold, different moving piece
- Perimeter Defense
Same shoulders and quads, shorter clock
- Rotational Lock
Same shoulders and quads, shorter clock
Track every round. Sync with friends when you want to.
The Stronghold 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.