AMRAP With Friends

10 minute AMRAP

Arterial Shift

Upper-lower switch · Blood Shunt · intensity 3 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:

Overview

Arterial Shift is 20 alternating lunges, 10 pike push-ups, and 30 jumping jacks. The alternating lunges and the pike push-ups trade the quads and the shoulders. 30 jumping jacks is the long piece, and it keeps the legs in the work, so the quads do not get a rest before the next round.

Muscles worked

Energy systems

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

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

Training effect

Immediate demand

10 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is the jumping jacks.

Intended stimulus

The same upper-lower switch, held long enough that the work keeps moving while the heart rate stays up. On this workout that is 20 alternating lunges, 10 pike push-ups, and 30 jumping jacks.

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

30 jumping jacks is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.

Pacing

Heavy leg volume followed by shoulder isolation. The jacks are pure active recovery.

Keep each round about the same length. Do not drop the jumping jacks to keep the other sets moving.

The movements

Alternating Lunges (Total)

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.

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.

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.

Why these movements

The alternating lunges and the pike push-ups trade the quads and the shoulders. 30 jumping jacks is the long piece, and it keeps the legs in the work, so the quads do not get a rest before the next round.

Scaling

Keep an upper-body movement and a lower-body movement in the same round. Drop reps on both before you drop one of them.

Alternating Lunges (Total)

  • 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.

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.

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.

Mistakes and who it is for

  • Opening the alternating lunges 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.
  • Letting the jumping jacks shrink so the rest of the round can speed up changes the workout on the page.

Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through Alternating Lunges (Total), Pike Push-ups, Jumping Jacks.

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

Run it with friends

Arterial Shift runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 10-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.

Start this workoutMore 10 minute AMRAPs