5 minute AMRAP
Cross-Current
Cardio capacity · Engine Room · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 5 minutes of:
Overview
Cross-Current is 20 cross-body mountain climbers and 10 sprawls. The work moves through the midline and the full body instead of sitting on one muscle.
Muscles worked
Full body
Midline
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
- Glycolytic: High
- Oxidative: Moderate
- Neuromuscular: Low
Training effect
Immediate demand
5 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is 20 cross-body mountain climbers.
Intended stimulus
The style is built so breathing and rhythm, not one muscle, are what the round keeps asking for. On this workout that is 20 cross-body mountain climbers and 10 sprawls.
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
20 cross-body mountain climbers is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.
Pacing
Drives rotational heart rate. Drive the right knee to the left elbow. Keep the hips low.
20 cross-body mountain climbers is where the round gets long. That set is where a planned break belongs. If that set falls apart, shorten the sprawls on the next round rather than rushing it.
The movements
Cross-Body Mountain Climbers
Because of the rotation, these are slightly slower than standard mountain climbers. Focus on the hard muscular contraction rather than pure foot speed.
What not to do. Reaching the elbow down to the knee instead of driving the knee across.
Sprawls
Keep a wide stance. Landing with your feet outside your hands reduces the distance your hips have to travel and speeds up the transition to standing.
What not to do. Landing the plank with the hips high instead of level with the shoulders.
Why these movements
The work moves through the midline and the full body instead of sitting on one muscle.
Scaling
Keep the round short enough to repeat. Drop reps so you can stay moving, rather than resting the round into a different workout.
Cross-Body Mountain Climbers
- 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.
Sprawls
- 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.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the cross-body mountain climbers at a sprint makes the cross-body mountain climbers the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting 20 cross-body mountain climbers fail before you break it is how the next round gets longer.
Suited to someone who wants 5 minutes through Cross-Body Mountain Climbers, Sprawls.
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
- High Tide
Same midline, longer clock
- Tension Grid
Same midline, longer clock
- Overwatch
Same midline, longer clock
Run it with friends
Cross-Current runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 5-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.