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This unconventional session will work every fibre in your body. Below are 6 10-minute AMRAPs which include a mix of cardiovascular, muscular endurance and muscular strength exercises. Thus, the primary components of fitness will be put to the test – and so will your grit and determination.
AMRAP, if you didn’t already know, is an abbreviation for the training methodology of completing As Many Repetitions As Possible in a given time period. Of all the training methodologies available to us – EMOM, HIIT, Tabata, etc., etc. – AMRAP is by far the simplest. However, don’t let its low IQ dampen your desire to get more AMRAP in your regime, for what it lacks in sophistication it more than makes up in physical might.
You can complete the session on your own or, if you know 5 sadomasochists, as a group. Though it works perfectly fine individually it is much better to complete with others as you can get a bit of healthy competition going.
When I completed this session as part of a group, we had to write our individual AMRAP achievements on a whiteboard for all to see. This provided a target to aim for which made the session all the more horrible . . . I mean physically stimulating.
How it works
This session couldn’t be simpler. After the warm-up you are to start on the first AMRAP: punches on the heavy bag. Your objective: punch the bag as many times as you can in 10-minutes. Once you’ve unleashed blind fury for 600 seconds you can treat yourself to a 2-miunte rest. During the rest ensure to make a note of how many punches you achieved. The moment the 2-minutes are up progress on to the second AMRAP: power bag bastods into overhead throws. Same objective as before: try to rack-up as many reps as possible. Rest. Repeat. Rest. Repeat. Rest. Repeat. Rest. Repeat. Finish!
Key points
Warm-up! And don’t just go through the motions either. A comprehensive, progressive warm-up can both reduce injury susceptibility and improve physical performance.
Begin at the first 10-minute AMRAP: punches on the heavy bag.
Your objective for this session is to achieve as many repetitions/metres/rotations as possible in 10-minutes. (To give you a benchmark to aim for I have included my efforts next to each AMRAP.)
You are entitled to 2-minutes rest between each AMRAP.
Methods of modification
There’s a million and one ways this session could be modified. For example, depending on equipment availability, any one of the exercises could be replaced without impacting on the dynamics of the session. Also, depending on time constraints and/or current fitness levels, the length of each AMRAP could be reduced to, say, 5-minutes. This would still be a tough cookie of a session even if the AMRAP durations were slashed by half. Alternatively, you could work through each 10-minute AMRAP as a pair taking it in turns 1-minute working/1-minute resting. And, finally, the weights for the resistance exercises can of course be increased/decreased accordingly.
Equipment
Warm-up
10-minutes cardio (rowing/skipping)
Session (times to beat in red)
10-minute AMRAP: Punches on a heavy bag (1464 punches)
2-minute rest
10-minute AMRAP: Power bag (30kg) bastods into overhead throws (68reps)
2-minute rest
10-minute AMRAP: Kettlebell swing (40kg) (300r)
2-minute rest
10-minute AMRAP: Rowing (ergo row) (2712m (1:50/500 av))
2-minute rest
10-minute AMRAP: Farmer’s Walk (2 x 34kg) (440m)
2-minute rest
10-minute AMRAP: Skipping (1268 turns)
Cool-down
5/10-minute relaxed cardio
Total distance at speed = 2712m
Total KG lifted = 43,840
Total reps = 3100
(Let me know what time you achieved: www.hungry4fitness.co.uk)
General advice/rules
When punching ensure to extend the arms fully and loose the punch from the chin – none of those pathetic half punches please!
Maintain strict form throughout the power bag bastods into overhead throws. This is a challenging exercise for two reason. The first: it works pretty much every muscle in your body. Second: it’s technically complicated. On completion of the bastod (which is a burpee followed by a press-up if you didn’t know) you are to pop the feet up to the power bag and, keeping that back nice and straight, perform a deadlift, followed by a hang-clean, followed by an over-head throw. Told you it was complicated. The exercise should be executed in one smooth movement. Good luck!
There are a couple of kettlebell swing variations. For this circuit you are only required to get that bell above your belly button.
For the numerically challenged counting the skips will present a mental feat in itself. I advise, after every 50 or 100 rotations, stopping and tallying each set. That way you’re less likely to miscount. And if Sod has anything to do with it you’ll forget the number of rotations achieved after 9:30.
Prior to embarking on the Farmer’s Walk, mark out a runway ensuring to measure the distance. When I completed the circuit I marked out with a couple of colourful cones a 10-metre path and, like a demented pigeon, paced back and forth for 10-minutes. I counted the laps and, once the timer sounded, multiplied the number of laps by 10-metres.
Enjoyed this circuit? Has it left you hungry for more? Click on the image below and get your copy of the Hungry4Fitness Book of Circuits Vol. 1.
Circuit training is one of the best forms of physical exercise for maintaining and increasing overall-fitness. A well designed circuit will provide a great cardiovascular workout, strengthening the heart and lungs in the process, whilst also improving muscle endurance and developing functional strength. This unique combination, of fat burning and muscle building, which singular exercises, such as running, cycling, swimming or weights cannot give, will help to sculpt a lean defined physique.
(As we are very interested in user feedback at Hungry4Fitness, I would be very grateful if you could take a few seconds out of your day to leave a comment. Thanks in advance!)
Blog Author
Adam Priest, former Royal Marines Commando, is a personal trainer, lecturer, boxing and Thai boxing enthusiast.
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