5 minute AMRAP
Rhomboid Ruin
Local muscle burn · Localized Trap · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 5 minutes of:
- 10 Back Widow
- 15 Supermans
- 10 W-Press Ups
Overview
Rhomboid Ruin is 10 back widow, 15 supermans, and 10 w-press ups. Every piece stays on the upper back. Later rounds slow because the work never leaves the upper back.
Muscles worked
Upper back
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
- Glycolytic: High
- Oxidative: Low
- Neuromuscular: Moderate
Training effect
Immediate demand
5 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is the supermans.
Intended stimulus
The style is built to tire one region before breathing is what stops the round. On this workout that is 10 back widow, 15 supermans, and 10 w-press ups.
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
Later rounds slow because the work never leaves the upper back.
Pacing
Three angles on the same mid-back burn. Pause at the top of every Superman; punch the floor on the widows.
Build across the clock. Do not open the back widow so hard that the later sets shrink. Do not rest the upper back back to fresh between rounds.
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.
Supermans
The pause at the top of every rep is mandatory to ensure muscular contraction, not momentum.
What not to do. Bending the knees to get the thighs higher.
W-Press Ups
Avoid excessively arching your lower back to cheat the range of motion. If your hips pop off the floor, you are losing the isolation in your mid-back. Keep your neck relaxed and look straight up.
What not to do. Arching the lower back until the hips leave the floor to fake extra range.
Why these movements
Every piece stays on the upper back. Later rounds slow because the work never leaves the upper back.
Scaling
Keep the work on the same muscle region. Drop reps on the hardest movement before you swap in a different pattern.
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.
Supermans
- Shorter range. Lift only as high as you can hold the position without arching the back.
- Both legs. Drive through both feet instead of one.
W-Press Ups
- 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.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the back widow at a sprint makes the supermans the piece that falls apart.
- Resting the upper back back to fresh between rounds turns this into a different workout.
- Letting the supermans shrink so the rest of the round can speed up changes the workout on the page.
Suited to someone who wants 5 minutes on the upper back and can already do Back Widow, Supermans, W-Press Ups.
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
- Iron Scapula
Same upper back, longer clock
- Dorsal Demise
Same upper back, same clock
- The Scapular Trap
Same upper back, same clock
Run it with friends
Rhomboid Ruin runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 5-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.