AMRAP With Friends

10 minute AMRAP

Tension Grid

Core under fatigue · Midline Tension · intensity 3 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:

Overview

Tension Grid is 10 t-push-ups, 12 strict sit-ups, and 20 high knees. The work moves through the chest, the midline, and the full body instead of sitting on one muscle.

Muscles worked

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 the high knees.

Intended stimulus

The style is built so a trunk position has to survive the moving reps. On this workout that is 10 t-push-ups, 12 strict sit-ups, and 20 high knees.

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 high knees is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.

Pacing

Rotational pressing into strict flexion, followed immediately by an upright cardio flush.

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

The movements

T-Push-ups

Widen your foot stance slightly to provide a more stable base during the rotational phase.

What not to do. Rotating from the arm alone while the hips stay flat to the floor.

Strict Sit-ups

Do not throw your arms forward to generate momentum; force the core to pull the weight.

What not to do. Anchoring the feet under something to pull yourself up.

High Knees

Land lightly on the balls of your feet. If you are stomping flat-footed, you are destroying your momentum and your knees.

What not to do. Leaning back to swing the knees higher instead of keeping the torso stacked.

Why these movements

The work moves through the chest, the midline, and the full body 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.

T-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.

Strict Sit-ups

  • 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.

High Knees

  • 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 t-push-ups at a sprint makes the high knees the piece that falls apart.
  • Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
  • Letting the high knees shrink so the rest of the round can speed up changes the workout on the page.

Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through T-Push-ups, Strict Sit-ups, High Knees.

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

Tension Grid 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