AMRAP With Friends

15 minute AMRAP

Dorsal Span

Core under fatigue · Midline Tension · intensity 3 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:

Overview

Dorsal Span is 15 strict sit-ups, 12 back widow, and 15 combat sprawls. The work moves through the midline, the upper back, 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

15 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is the sets being the same size.

Intended stimulus

The style is built so a trunk position has to survive the moving reps. On this workout that is 15 strict sit-ups, 12 back widow, and 15 combat sprawls.

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 sets are the same size. The round gets hard when one of them breaks.

Pacing

Flex, floor-press, then sprawl without momentum. Roll up clean on the sit-ups; punch the floor on the widows.

Keep the later rounds moving at the same size as the early ones. Do not drop the strict sit-ups to keep the other sets moving.

The movements

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.

Back Widow

Do not turn this into a core crunch. Your lower back and glutes must stay anchored to the floor. The only reason your torso lifts is because your lats and rhomboids are pressing the earth away.

What not to do. Turning the lift into a crunch so the lower back and hips leave the floor.

Combat Sprawls

You must land with your entire foot completely flat on the mat when returning from the plank. Landing on your toes in this wide stance places severe shearing force on the knee capsule and kills your ability to rebound.

What not to do. Landing the feet inside the hands, leaving no room to lift the chest.

Why these movements

The work moves through the midline, the upper back, 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.

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.

Back Widow

  • 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.

Combat Sprawls

  • 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.

Mistakes and who it is for

  • Opening the strict sit-ups at a sprint makes the strict sit-ups the piece that falls apart.
  • Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
  • Spending the first minutes hard leaves the later rounds as a different, slower workout.

Suited to someone who wants 15 minutes through Strict Sit-Ups, Back Widow, Combat Sprawls.

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

Dorsal Span runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 15-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.

Start this workoutMore 15 minute AMRAPs