5 minute AMRAP
Shock & Awe
Upper-lower switch · Blood Shunt · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 5 minutes of:
Overview
Shock & Awe is 10 jump squats and 20 plank shoulder taps. The jump squats and the plank shoulder taps trade the quads and the shoulders.
Muscles worked
Quads
Shoulders
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 20 plank shoulder taps.
Intended stimulus
The style is built to switch the upper body and the lower body inside one round. On this workout that is 10 jump squats and 20 plank shoulder taps.
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 plank shoulder taps is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.
Pacing
Spikes the heart rate immediately. Widen the feet on the shoulder taps to prevent hip sway.
20 plank shoulder taps is where the round gets long. That set is where a planned break belongs. If that set falls apart, shorten the jump squats on the next round rather than rushing it.
The movements
Jump Squats
You only need an inch of air to make it plyometric. Don't waste energy jumping for the ceiling.
What not to do. Landing with straight legs instead of absorbing the impact into a bend.
Plank Shoulder Taps
Widen your feet. A wider base of support kills the rotation in the hips, making the core work harder but the movement faster.
What not to do. Widening the feet to steady the hips instead of holding them still.
Why these movements
The jump squats and the plank shoulder taps trade the quads and the shoulders.
Scaling
Keep an upper-body movement and a lower-body movement in the same round. Drop reps on both before you drop one of them.
Jump Squats
- 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.
Plank Shoulder Taps
- From the knees. Knees down, straight line from knees to shoulders.
- Hands elevated. Hands on a bench or step. The higher the surface, the less you carry.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the jump squats at a sprint makes the plank shoulder taps the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting 20 plank shoulder taps fail before you break it is how the next round gets longer.
Suited to someone who wants 5 minutes through Jump Squats, Plank Shoulder Taps.
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
- Arterial Shift
Same quads and shoulders, longer clock
- Vascular Drive
Same quads and shoulders, longer clock
- Anti-Rotation
Same quads and shoulders, longer clock
Run it with friends
Shock & Awe runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 5-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.