AMRAP With Friends

20 minute AMRAP

The Phalanx

Hold and surge · Armor Protocol · intensity 4 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

Overview

The Phalanx is a 20-second bottom squat hold, 10 hand-release push-ups, 15 strict sit-ups, and 20 jumping jacks. The round opens with a 20-second bottom squat hold. Doing the hand-release push-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 bottom squat hold before the hand-release push-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 bottom squat hold, 10 hand-release push-ups, 15 strict sit-ups, and 20 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

Pry the floor apart during the squat hold. Do not rest on your knee joints; keep the quads violently engaged.

Do not shorten the bottom squat hold to reach the hand-release push-ups. The hold is the start of the round. The next movement still has to be done after it.

The movements

Bottom Squat Hold

Lactic acid floods the legs rapidly here. Breathe deep into your diaphragm to delay the panic reflex.

What not to do. Sinking onto the joints and letting the chest fold toward the floor.

Hand-Release Push-ups

This enforces a dead-stop and prevents cheating the depth. Use this variation to humble users who claim they can do 50 push-ups unbroken.

What not to do. Resting the whole body on the floor instead of releasing and pressing straight away.

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.

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 bottom squat hold. Doing the hand-release push-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.

Bottom Squat Hold

  • 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.

Hand-Release 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.

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.

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 bottom squat hold at a sprint makes the bottom squat hold the piece that falls apart.
  • Cutting the bottom squat hold short to reach the hand-release push-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 Bottom Squat Hold, Hand-Release Push-ups, Strict Sit-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

The Phalanx 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