10 minute AMRAP
The Tug-of-War
Local muscle burn · Localized Trap · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
Overview
The Tug-of-War is 8 burpees and 16 strict reverse lunges. The work moves through the full body and the quads instead of sitting on one muscle.
Muscles worked
Full body
Glutes
Quads
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 16 strict reverse lunges.
Intended stimulus
The round spreads the work across more than one region. On this workout that is 8 burpees and 16 strict reverse lunges.
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 strict reverse lunges is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.
Pacing
Explosive anterior chain movement followed by strict, controlled posterior deceleration.
16 strict reverse lunges is where the round gets long. That set is where a planned break belongs. If that set falls apart, shorten the burpees on the next round rather than rushing it.
The movements
Burpees
Find a breathing cadence. Exhale on the drop, inhale on the floor, exhale on the jump. If you hold your breath on burpees, you will redline in 45 seconds.
What not to do. Sagging hips in the plank position.
Strict Reverse Lunges
Do not push off the back toe to stand up. Pull yourself up by driving through the heel of the front foot.
What not to do. Rushing the descent so the back knee crashes down rather than taps.
Why these movements
The work moves through the full body and the quads instead of sitting on one muscle.
Scaling
Keep every movement in the round. Drop reps on the hardest piece before you drop a movement.
Burpees
- 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.
Strict Reverse Lunges
- Hold a support. One hand on a wall or chair for balance. The legs still do the work.
- Shorter range. Drop only as far as you can stand back up from without pushing off your hands.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the burpees at a sprint makes the strict reverse lunges the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting 16 strict reverse lunges fail before you break it is how the next round gets longer.
Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through Burpees, Strict Reverse Lunges.
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 Acid Bath
Same quads, shorter clock
- Aerobic Threshold
Same quads, longer clock
- Endurance Protocol
Same quads, longer clock
Run it with friends
The Tug-of-War runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 10-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.