10 minute AMRAP
Counterbalance
Local muscle burn · Localized Trap · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
Overview
Counterbalance is 10 pike push-ups and 20 glute bridges. The glute bridges and the pike push-ups trade the glutes and the shoulders.
Muscles worked
Glutes
Shoulders
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
- Glycolytic: High
- Oxidative: Low
- Neuromuscular: Moderate
Training effect
Immediate demand
10 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is 20 glute bridges.
Intended stimulus
The round spreads the work across more than one region. On this workout that is 10 pike push-ups and 20 glute bridges.
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 glute bridges is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.
Pacing
Heavy shoulder pressing directly paired with heavy hamstring/glute hinging.
20 glute bridges is where the round gets long. That set is where a planned break belongs. If that set falls apart, shorten the pike push-ups on the next round rather than rushing it.
The movements
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.
Glute Bridges
Keep your toes slightly elevated off the floor to force the drive exclusively through your heels and hamstrings.
What not to do. Driving through the toes rather than the heels, which brings the quads in.
Why these movements
The glute bridges and the pike push-ups trade the glutes and the shoulders.
Scaling
Keep every movement in the round. Drop reps on the hardest piece before you drop a movement.
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.
Glute Bridges
- 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.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the pike push-ups at a sprint makes the glute bridges the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting 20 glute bridges fail before you break it is how the next round gets longer.
Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through Pike Push-ups, Glute Bridges.
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
- The Stronghold
Same shoulders and glutes, longer clock
- Perimeter Defense
Same shoulders, longer clock
- Deltoid Demise
Same shoulders, shorter clock
Run it with friends
Counterbalance runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 10-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.