5 minute AMRAP
Tactical Down-Regulate
Core under fatigue · Midline Tension · intensity 2 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 5 minutes of:
Overview
Tactical Down-Regulate is 15 slow air squats, 15 supine floor scapular shrugs, and 15 glute bridges. The work moves through the quads, the upper back, and the glutes instead of sitting on one muscle.
Muscles worked
Glutes
Quads
Upper back
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
This workout departs from its style on the profile below.
- Glycolytic: Low
- Oxidative: High
- Neuromuscular: Moderate
Training effect
Immediate demand
5 minutes, intensity 2 of 5. Today the limiter is the sets being the same size.
Intended stimulus
The style is built so a trunk position has to survive the moving reps. On this workout that is 15 slow air squats, 15 supine floor scapular shrugs, and 15 glute bridges.
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 sets are the same size. The round gets hard when one of them breaks.
Pacing
Active recovery — controlled breathing and strict contractions, no heart-rate spike. Arms locked on the shrugs; squeeze the bridges at the top.
Keep each round about the same length. Do not drop the slow air squats to keep the other sets moving.
The movements
Air Squats (Slow)
Let gravity do the work on the way down. Pull yourself into the bottom quickly, then explode up. Use your arms for rhythm.
What not to do. Cutting the depth once the legs burn, so the hip crease stops above the knee.
Supine Floor Scapular Shrugs
This is a micro-movement. Your torso will barely leave the floor. If your elbows bend, your triceps are taking over the work. Keep the arms locked and force the scapula to do the job.
What not to do. Bending the elbows so the triceps steal the work from the scapula.
Glute Bridges
Keep your toes slightly elevated off the floor to force the drive exclusively through your heels and hamstrings.
What not to do. Driving through the toes rather than the heels, which brings the quads in.
Why these movements
The work moves through the quads, the upper back, and the glutes 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.
Air Squats (Slow)
- 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.
Supine Floor Scapular Shrugs
- 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.
Glute Bridges
- 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.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the slow air squats at a sprint makes the slow air squats the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting the slow air squats shrink so the rest of the round can speed up changes the workout on the page.
Suited to someone who wants 5 minutes through Air Squats (Slow), Supine Floor Scapular Shrugs, Glute Bridges.
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
- Backdraft
Same quads and upper back, longer clock
- Spinal Lock
Same upper back and glutes, longer clock
- The Truss
Same quads and upper back, longer clock
Run it with friends
Tactical Down-Regulate runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 5-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.