10 minute AMRAP
The Fulcrum
Local muscle burn · Localized Trap · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
Overview
The Fulcrum is 12 wide push-ups and 16 alternating bird-dogs. The work moves through the chest and the midline instead of sitting on one muscle.
Muscles worked
Chest
Midline
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 the alternating bird-dogs.
Intended stimulus
The round spreads the work across more than one region. On this workout that is 12 wide push-ups and 16 alternating bird-dogs.
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
16 alternating bird-dogs is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.
Pacing
A heavy chest press followed by slow, deliberate posterior anti-rotation.
Keep each round about the same length. Do not drop the alternating bird-dogs to keep the other sets moving.
The movements
Wide Push-ups
This angle completely isolates the chest and removes the triceps from the equation. When pectoral failure hits, it hits instantly. Break your sets into 3s or 4s before the muscle completely shuts down.
What not to do. Setting the hands so wide that the elbows cannot reach a right angle.
Alternating Bird-Dogs
Reach long, not high. Hyperextending the back to get your leg higher defeats the core stabilization purpose entirely.
What not to do. Lifting the arm and leg above the line of the back, which arches the spine.
Why these movements
The work moves through the chest and the midline instead of sitting on one muscle.
Scaling
Keep every movement in the round. Drop reps on the hardest piece before you drop a movement.
Wide 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.
Alternating Bird-Dogs
- 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 wide push-ups at a sprint makes the alternating bird-dogs the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting the alternating bird-dogs shrink so the rest of the round can speed up changes the workout on the page.
Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through Wide Push-ups, Alternating Bird-Dogs.
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
The Fulcrum runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 10-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.