Gym Lingo: AMRAP

AMRAP - As Many Rounds and/or Reps As Possible in the time limit.

This is a style of density training - how much work can you complete in the allotted time?

Let’s take the following workout as an example to understand this concept.

AMRAP 6 minutes, max reps of deadlifts @ 135.

You complete 50 reps.

Besides total reps, we can look at total pounds moved, which in this case would be 135 pounds x 50 reps = 6750 pounds moved.

To progress this workout after week 1 you could complete more than 50 reps, add load to the bar, or try to complete 50 reps in less time.

Any of those scenarios would increase this workout’s density, requiring you to do more work.

Here’s another example.

AMRAP 8

50ft sled march

10 mb slams

10 breath high plank hold

This one is a bit more complicated. There are multiple exercises to deal within the 8 minutes. The sled will make your legs burn and get your heart rate up, the slams will spike your heart rate even more, and the plank breaths will be challenging since you’ll be gasping for air.

In this scenario, pacing will have a huge effect on how much work you complete. Start out too fast and finish 3 rounds within 3 minutes, the remaining 5 minutes will be a suffer fest. After completing this workout once, we would track it by how many total rounds + partial rounds you completed. The following week, your fitness would improve just because you know how to pace it better, an important lesson AMRAPs can teach.

AMRAPS are a way to get you to cram as much work, whatever that is, in a time period. By doing this, you’ll learn about pacing and get a great conditioning stimulus.

When doing an AMRAP,  find a sustainable pace to complete the task and get to work!

Justin Miner

@justinminergain