10-Minute AMRAP Workout To Torch Calories

The number one excuse I hear from people about why they don’t workout is that they don’t have the time. Luckily, intervals and circuits are great ways to shorten up the length of your workouts and increase the intensity. While you may have heard of High Intensity Interval Training or Tabata, I bet you haven’t heard of another fun, fast, and a challenging workout called an AMRAP.

What Does AMRAP Mean?

AMRAP is an acronym that stands for “as many rounds as possible” because it’s a type of circuit workout where—you guessed it—you perform as many rounds of a circuit as possible in a given amount of time. It likely originated in Crossfit classes as a fun circuit workout to perform in a group. AMRAP workouts string exercises together with no rest in between and they test your mental toughness, strength and stamina! AMRAP workouts are a class favorite for my group fitness classes—they “love to hate them!”—because they’re intense but burn MEGA calories.

Why are AMRAP Workouts Effective?

AMRAP workouts incorporate not only strength training but cardiovascular endurance as well. By pushing yourself as hard as you can (within the realms of safety, of course) for an allotted amount of time, you’re going to shred fat and torch more calories than you would, say, doing a steady-state cardio activity like jogging or cycling. AMRAPS can easily be modified to work with all fitness levels but in most cases, they aren’t for the total newbie. The most important thing is that you get your mind in the game and push through for the allotted amount of time. Most AMRAPS tend to be between 5-30 minutes long. And obviously you will be able to push a little harder in a 3 minute AMRAP than a 20 or 30 minute AMRAP, which will require some pacing and mental toughness.

Related: The Best 10-Minute Workouts For Busy Days 

How Do AMRAP Workouts Work?

An AMRAP workout goes like this: you have a certain number of reps of each exercise in the AMRAP. Once you have completed all the reps of the exercises, you go back to the start of the circuit and begin again. That counts as one round.

The aim is to perform as many rounds in the given time. AMRAPS are scored by the number of rounds you completed in the time frame. Due to the high intensity, these workouts are exhausting. So you want to remember to listen to your body and keep in mind that “good form trumps speed.” It’s better to do the exercises properly at a moderate pace at first instead of doing the exercises incorrectly at a fast pace.

Your 10-Minute AMRAP Workout

In the case of AMRAP workouts like this one, you’ll perform the entire circuit (4 exercises) for as many rounds as possible in the allotted time—10 minutes. This means you’ll want to go as quickly as you can without sacrificing form. The more fit you become, the more rounds you’ll be able to get in. You can use the same AMRAP workout as a benchmark for how far you’ve come on your fitness journey; maybe now you get 4 rounds done in 10 minutes, but a few months from now you do 5 or 6!

This workout requires stamina, agility, and focus—you’ll get your heart pumping and calories burning in no time. This AMRAP contains four moves. Perform the entire circuit as many times as possible in 10 minutes; if you’re up for more, rest a minute or two and then try another 10 minutes.

Regarding the weight of your dumbbells—you may want to have a few sets so if fatigue sets in you can still continue, using a lighter weight. Now start the clock, set your timer, hit that stopwatch—whatever you need to do—because 10 minutes are all you have to do this as many times as possible. Make it count!

Dumbbell Swings: 20 Reps

1. Start with feet slightly wider than hip distance and dumbbell in left hand.

2. Take a step out to the side with your left foot and sit back into a deep squat.

3. Let the dumbbell swing back under the legs then up to chest height; while jumping up switch the dumbbell to the other hand and come into a side squat on the other side.

Goblet Squats: 15 Reps

1. Hold the head of one dumbbell close to your chest with both hands as you go into a squat.

2. Come up to standing as you transfer your hands to the center of the dumbbell and bring it up over your head.

Overhead Shoulder Press: 10 Reps

1. Start with feet hip-distance apart. Bring elbows out to the side, creating a goal post position with arms, dumbbells at the side of the head, and abdominals tight.

2. Press dumbbells slowly up until arms are straight. Slowly return to starting position with control.

Burpee Push-Ups: 5 Reps

1. Start in plank position with body long and abs tight. Lower down into push-up.

2. Come back up into high plank.

3. Jump or walk both feet back together between your hands for a squat.

4. Release hands from ground as your explode into the air with a jump as high as you can, reaching arms up.

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