10 minute AMRAP
Spinal Lock
Core under fatigue · Midline Tension · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
- 20s Hollow Hold
- 10 T-Press Ups
- 15 Glute Bridges
Overview
Spinal Lock is a 20-second hollow hold, 10 t-press ups, and 15 glute bridges. The round opens with a 20-second hollow hold. Doing the t-press ups still comes after it, not as a rest earned by the hold.
Muscles worked
Glutes
Midline
Upper back
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
This workout departs from its style on the profile below.
- Glycolytic: Moderate
- Oxidative: Moderate
- Neuromuscular: High
Training effect
Immediate demand
10 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is the hollow hold before the t-press ups.
Intended stimulus
The style is built so a trunk position has to survive the moving reps. On this workout that is a 20-second hollow hold, 10 t-press ups, and 15 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
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
Anterior hollow into rear-delt press into a hinge. Pin the lumbar on the hollow; squeeze the glutes hard at the top of every bridge.
Do not shorten the hollow hold to reach the t-press ups. The hold is the start of the round. The next movement still has to be done after it.
The movements
Hollow Hold
Fatigue causes the back to arch. Regress the movement immediately by tucking your knees toward your chest when this happens.
What not to do. Letting the lower back arch away from the floor as the legs tire.
T-Press Ups
The range of motion on this is naturally very short. Do not force your chest higher by straining your neck. Focus entirely on the squeeze in the back of your shoulders.
What not to do. Craning the neck to force the chest higher than the rear delts can drive.
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 round opens with a 20-second hollow hold. Doing the t-press ups still comes after it, not as a rest earned by the hold.
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.
Hollow Hold
- 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.
T-Press Ups
- Shorter lift. Drive into the floor but only lift as high as you can control without the hips or neck cheating.
- Hold the squeeze. Reach the top and freeze for a count instead of cycling reps. Same drive, less fatigue management.
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 hollow hold at a sprint makes the hollow hold the piece that falls apart.
- Cutting the hollow hold short to reach the t-press ups removes the hold the round starts with.
- Letting the hollow hold shrink so the rest of the round can speed up changes the workout on the page.
Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through Hollow Hold, T-Press 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
- Iron Scapula Grind
Same hold, different moving piece
- The Suspended Yoke
Same midline and upper back, longer clock
- The Iron Yoke
Same hold, different moving piece
Run it with friends
Spinal Lock runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 10-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.