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5 minute AMRAP

The See-Saw

Upper-lower switch · Blood Shunt · intensity 3 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 5 minutes of:

Overview

The See-Saw is 10 surrenders and 15 plank jacks. The work moves through the quads and the midline instead of sitting on one muscle.

Muscles worked

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 plank jacks.

Intended stimulus

The style is built to switch the upper body and the lower body inside one round. On this workout that is 10 surrenders and 15 plank jacks.

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

15 plank jacks is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.

Pacing

Burns the quads and the core simultaneously. Keep the chest proud on the surrenders.

The clock is short enough to start near the pace you can hold. Do not spend the first minute looking for a rhythm, and do not let the plank jacks be the set that collapses.

The movements

Surrenders (Kneel-to-Stand)

Alternate your lead leg every round, not every rep, so you don't have to waste mental energy remembering which leg goes first.

What not to do. Letting the hands come off the head to help you stand.

Plank Jacks

Keep the jumps small and fast. A massive lateral jump slows down the transition and compromises the spine.

What not to do. Shuffling the feet out rather than jumping them.

Why these movements

The work moves through the quads and the midline instead of sitting on one muscle.

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.

Surrenders (Kneel-to-Stand)

  • Hold a support. One hand on a wall or chair for balance. The legs still do the work.
  • Shorter range. Drop only as far as you can stand back up from without pushing off your hands.

Plank Jacks

  • 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 surrenders at a sprint makes the plank jacks the piece that falls apart.
  • Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
  • Letting the plank jacks shrink so the rest of the round can speed up changes the workout on the page.

Suited to someone who wants 5 minutes through Surrenders (Kneel-to-Stand), Plank Jacks.

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

Run it with friends

The See-Saw runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 5-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.

Start this workoutMore 5 minute AMRAPs