5 minute AMRAP
Spinal Coil
Core under fatigue · Midline Tension · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 5 minutes of:
Overview
Spinal Coil is 20 bicycle crunches and 10 back widow. The work moves through the midline and the upper back instead of sitting on one muscle.
Muscles worked
Midline
Upper back
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
- Glycolytic: Moderate
- Oxidative: Moderate
- Neuromuscular: Moderate
Training effect
Immediate demand
5 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is 20 bicycle crunches.
Intended stimulus
The style is built so a trunk position has to survive the moving reps. On this workout that is 20 bicycle crunches and 10 back widow.
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 bicycle crunches is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.
Pacing
Rotate from the sternum on the bicycles, then flip to a floor press for the posterior. Do not turn the widows into sit-ups.
20 bicycle crunches is where the round gets long. That set is where a planned break belongs. If that set falls apart, shorten the back widow on the next round rather than rushing it.
The movements
Bicycle Crunches
Keep elbows pinned wide; pulling on the back of your head is a fake rep.
What not to do. Pulling on the back of the head to bring the elbow across.
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.
Why these movements
The work moves through the midline and the upper back instead of sitting on one muscle.
Scaling
Keep a brace or a hollow position in every round. Drop the moving reps before you drop the position that makes the trunk work.
Bicycle Crunches
- 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.
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.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the bicycle crunches at a sprint makes the bicycle crunches the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting 20 bicycle crunches fail before you break it is how the next round gets longer.
Suited to someone who wants 5 minutes through Bicycle Crunches, Back Widow.
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
- Active Sonar
Same midline and upper back, longer clock
- Iron Scapula
Same midline and upper back, longer clock
- Spinal Lock
Same midline and upper back, longer clock
Run it with friends
Spinal Coil runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 5-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.