AMRAP With Friends

20 minute AMRAP

The Four Horsemen

Steady engine · Aerobic Matrix · intensity 2 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

Overview

The Four Horsemen is 10 push-ups, 15 v-ups, 20 air squats, and 30 jumping jacks. The air squats and the push-ups trade the quads and the chest. 30 jumping jacks is the long piece, and it keeps the legs in the work, so the quads do not get a rest before the next round.

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 10 push-ups, 15 v-ups, 20 air squats, 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

The baseline standard. Distributes fatigue perfectly across chest, core, legs, and lungs.

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

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.

V-Ups

If you bend your knees to reach your toes, you are cheating the lower abdominals.

What not to do. Bending the knees to bring the feet closer to the hands.

Air Squats

Let gravity do the work on the way down. Pull yourself into the bottom quickly, then explode up. Use your arms for rhythm.

What not to do. Cutting the depth once the legs burn, so the hip crease stops above the knee.

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 air squats and the push-ups trade the quads and the chest. 30 jumping jacks is the long piece, and it keeps the legs in the work, so the quads do not get a rest before the next round.

Scaling

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

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.

V-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.

Air Squats

  • To a seat. Squat to a chair or box and stand back up. Lower the seat as you improve.
  • Hold a support. Hands on a doorframe or chair back to sit deeper than balance allows alone.
  • Shorter range. Go only as deep as you can control, and stop before the heels lift.

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 push-ups 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 Push-ups, V-Ups, Air Squats, 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

The Four Horsemen 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