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20 minute AMRAP

Dorsal Barricade

Hold and surge · Armor Protocol · intensity 4 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

Overview

Dorsal Barricade is a 20-second glute bridge hold, 12 w-press ups, 10 diamond push-ups, and 30 jumping jacks. The round opens with a 20-second glute bridge hold. Doing the w-press ups still comes after it, not as a rest earned by the hold.

Muscles worked

Energy systems

These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.

  • Glycolytic: Moderate
  • Oxidative: Moderate
  • Neuromuscular: High

Training effect

Immediate demand

20 minutes, intensity 4 of 5. Today the limiter is the glute bridge hold before the w-press ups.

Intended stimulus

The style is built so every round starts with a hold and then moves. On this workout that is a 20-second glute bridge hold, 12 w-press ups, 10 diamond push-ups, and 30 jumping jacks.

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 hold is the start of the round. The next movement still has to be done after it, not as a rest earned by the hold.

Pacing

Bridge hold opens the round; W-press and diamonds load the upper back before the jacks reopen the engine.

Do not shorten the glute bridge hold to reach the w-press ups. The hold is the start of the round. The next movement still has to be done after it.

The movements

Glute Bridge Hold

Drive through your heels, not your toes. Pressing through the toes shifts the load to the quads.

What not to do. Letting the hips drift down over the hold without noticing.

W-Press Ups

Avoid excessively arching your lower back to cheat the range of motion. If your hips pop off the floor, you are losing the isolation in your mid-back. Keep your neck relaxed and look straight up.

What not to do. Arching the lower back until the hips leave the floor to fake extra range.

Diamond Push-ups

Muscular failure happens suddenly here. Break your sets earlier than you think you need to.

What not to do. Letting the elbows drift outward as the set gets hard.

Jumping Jacks

Use this movement for active recovery. When paired with burpees or mountain climbers, the jumping jack is your opportunity to catch your breath.

What not to do. Bending the elbows so the hands never meet overhead.

Why these movements

The round opens with a 20-second glute bridge hold. Doing the w-press ups still comes after it, not as a rest earned by the hold.

Scaling

Keep the hold and the moving piece together. Shorten the hold and the reps together so the round is still a hold followed by work.

Glute Bridge Hold

  • 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.

W-Press Ups

  • 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.

Diamond 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.

Jumping Jacks

  • 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 glute bridge hold at a sprint makes the glute bridge hold the piece that falls apart.
  • Cutting the glute bridge hold short to reach the w-press ups removes the hold the round starts with.
  • Spending the first minutes hard leaves the later rounds as a different, slower workout.

Suited to someone who wants 20 minutes through Glute Bridge Hold, W-Press Ups, Diamond Push-ups, Jumping Jacks.

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 Barricade runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 20-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.

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