10 minute AMRAP
Core Suspension
Core under fatigue · Midline Tension · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
Overview
Core Suspension is 12 dead bugs, 15 fast air squats, and 30 mountain climbers. The work moves through the midline and the quads instead of sitting on one muscle.
Muscles worked
Full body
Midline
Quads
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
- Glycolytic: Moderate
- Oxidative: Moderate
- Neuromuscular: Moderate
Training effect
Immediate demand
10 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is 30 mountain climbers.
Intended stimulus
The style is built so a trunk position has to survive the moving reps. On this workout that is 12 dead bugs, 15 fast air squats, and 30 mountain climbers.
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 mountain climbers is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.
Pacing
Move with agonizing slowness on the dead bugs to maximize time under tension.
30 mountain climbers is where the round gets long. That set is where a planned break belongs. If that set falls apart, shorten the dead bugs on the next round rather than rushing it.
The movements
Dead Bugs
Speed is your enemy here. Move deliberately to maximize time under tension.
What not to do. Letting the extended arm and leg drop fast rather than lowering slowly.
Fast Air Squats
Speed often ruins depth. The moment your squats become "half-squats," your round time is invalid.
What not to do. Trading depth for turnover, so the reps get quicker and shallower together.
Mountain Climbers
Keep your shoulders stacked directly over your wrists. If you drift backward, you lose leverage and the movement slows down completely.
What not to do. Landing the driving foot short, so the knee never gets near the chest.
Why these movements
The work moves through the midline and the quads instead of sitting on one muscle.
Scaling
Keep a brace or a hollow position in every round. Drop the moving reps before you drop the position that makes the trunk work.
Dead Bugs
- 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.
Fast 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.
Mountain Climbers
- 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 dead bugs at a sprint makes the mountain climbers the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting 30 mountain climbers fail before you break it is how the next round gets longer.
Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through Dead Bugs, Fast Air Squats, Mountain Climbers.
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
- Iron Spine
Same midline and quads, longer clock
- Static Equilibrium
Same midline and quads, longer clock
- The Brace
Same midline and quads, longer clock
Run it with friends
Core Suspension runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 10-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.