10 minute AMRAP
The Locomotive
Cardio capacity · Engine Room · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
- 10 Down-Ups
- 20 Air Squats
Overview
The Locomotive is 10 down-ups and 20 air squats. The work moves through the full body and the quads instead of sitting on one muscle.
Muscles worked
Full body
Quads
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
- Glycolytic: Moderate
- Oxidative: High
- Neuromuscular: Low
Training effect
Immediate demand
10 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is 20 air squats.
Intended stimulus
The same capacity work, with movements you can repeat for the whole clock. On this workout that is 10 down-ups and 20 air squats.
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 air squats is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.
Pacing
Find a breathing rhythm on the squats to recover from the floor transitions.
20 air squats is where the round gets long. That set is where a planned break belongs. If that set falls apart, shorten the down-ups on the next round rather than rushing it.
The movements
Down-Ups
This movement is all about hip-hinge efficiency. Minimize the time spent with your hands on the floor.
What not to do. Popping the chest up before the hips, so the body peels off the floor in sections.
Air Squats
Let gravity do the work on the way down. Pull yourself into the bottom quickly, then explode up. Use your arms for rhythm.
What not to do. Cutting the depth once the legs burn, so the hip crease stops above the knee.
Why these movements
The work moves through the full body and the quads instead of sitting on one muscle.
Scaling
Keep the round short enough to repeat. Drop reps so you can stay moving, rather than resting the round into a different workout.
Down-Ups
- Step the feet. Step back and step in instead of jumping. Same shape, no impact.
- Hands elevated. Hands on a bench or step so the floor never comes all the way up to you.
- No jump at the top. Stand tall and reach instead of leaving the floor.
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.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the down-ups at a sprint makes the air squats the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting 20 air squats fail before you break it is how the next round gets longer.
Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through Down-Ups, Air Squats.
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
- Aerobic Threshold
Same quads, longer clock
- Endurance Protocol
Same quads, longer clock
- Steady Altitude
Same quads, longer clock
Run it with friends
The Locomotive runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 10-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.