AMRAP With Friends

20 minute AMRAP

Posterior Vanguard

Full-body sequence · 4-Point Cascade · intensity 4 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

Overview

Posterior Vanguard is 15 down-ups, 15 supine floor scapular shrugs, 20 reverse lunges, and 20 double-tap jumps. The work moves through the full body, the upper back, and the quads 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: Moderate

Training effect

Immediate demand

20 minutes, intensity 4 of 5. Today the limiter is the sets being the same size.

Intended stimulus

The style is built so the effort moves through four positions instead of sitting on one. On this workout that is 15 down-ups, 15 supine floor scapular shrugs, 20 reverse lunges, and 20 double-tap jumps.

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

Down-ups spike the clock; shrugs force a floor-generated pull before lunges and taps finish the cascade.

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

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.

Supine Floor Scapular Shrugs

This is a micro-movement. Your torso will barely leave the floor. If your elbows bend, your triceps are taking over the work. Keep the arms locked and force the scapula to do the job.

What not to do. Bending the elbows so the triceps steal the work from the scapula.

Reverse Lunges

Keep your torso completely upright. Leaning forward shifts the load to the lower back and robs the quads of the intended tension.

What not to do. Stepping back too short, which forces the front shin to angle over the toe.

Double-Tap Jumps

This perfectly simulates the neurological timing of a double-under with a jump rope. Keep the torso completely hollow and rigid in the air.

What not to do. Bending forward to reach the thighs instead of jumping higher.

Why these movements

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

Scaling

Keep the four-movement order. Drop reps across the round so the sequence still visits each position.

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.

Supine Floor Scapular Shrugs

  • 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.

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.

Double-Tap Jumps

  • Step instead of jump. Same pattern, same range, no flight. Keeps the pace without the landing.
  • Lower and slower. Keep the jump but cut the height and take the landing softly.

Mistakes and who it is for

  • Opening the down-ups at a sprint makes the down-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 20 minutes through Down-Ups, Supine Floor Scapular Shrugs, Reverse Lunges, Double-Tap Jumps.

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

Posterior Vanguard 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