AMRAP With Friends

20 minute AMRAP

Dorsal Engine

Steady engine · Aerobic Matrix · intensity 2 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

Overview

Dorsal Engine is 12 back widow, 20 alternating lunges, 10 push-ups, and 30 jumping jacks. The work moves through the upper back, the quads, the chest, 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: Low
  • Oxidative: High
  • Neuromuscular: Low

Training effect

Immediate demand

20 minutes, intensity 2 of 5. Today the limiter is the jumping jacks.

Intended stimulus

The style is built so four movements keep you moving for the full clock. On this workout that is 12 back widow, 20 alternating lunges, 10 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

30 jumping jacks is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.

Pacing

Floor-press into lunges, push, and jacks for a balanced metabolic draw. Punch the floor — do not crunch the widows.

Keep the later rounds moving at the same size as the early ones. Do not drop the jumping jacks to keep the other sets moving.

The movements

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.

Alternating Lunges

Reverse lunges are superior for AMRAPs. They protect the deceleration forces on the knee and allow for a faster, springier return to the standing position.

What not to do. Letting the front knee travel past the toes as the torso pitches forward.

Push-ups

Do not let your hips sag to touch the floor before your chest does.

What not to do. Bouncing the chest off the floor to get out of the bottom.

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 work moves through the upper back, the quads, the chest, and the full body instead of sitting on one muscle.

Scaling

Keep all four movements in the round. Drop reps so the round stays continuous.

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.

Alternating 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.

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 back widow at a sprint makes the jumping jacks 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 20 minutes through Back Widow, Alternating Lunges, 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 Engine runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 20-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.

Start this workoutMore 20 minute AMRAPs