What is an AMRAP?

My workout program called for an AMRAP, what in the world is that??

An AMRAP is a workout term that can mean 2 different things. 

First, and most common, is "As many rounds as possible"

Second, "As many reps as possible" - to keep this brief, we will only be discussing the first meaning.

If AMRAP is used as a finisher or conditioning piece of a workout, it stands for "as many rounds as possible".  It is a specific structure for a circuit. You will see the word AMRAP along with a given amount of time ie 10 minutes. Following that, you will see a list of exercises with their given repetitions.

To perform an AMRAP, you perform each movement and it's given repetitions. Then, proceed to the next movement and complete all of its given repetitions. You repeat this until you've completed all of the repetitions for each movement. That is the conclusion of 1 full round. Repeat this process as many rounds as you can in the given time, which for our sake was 10 minutes.

How to Determine Your Score:

Be sure to pay attention to how many times you complete each round so you can record your score (if desired). Typically a score is reported as rounds + reps.

Let me show you an example:

AMRAP 10 minutes

10 Air squats

10 Burpees

10 Push-press

If you complete 4 full rounds, and then you make it through the 10 air squats and 5 of the burpees, then your score would be 4+15. The 15 comes from the total reps you completed in the last round you were on. You completed 10 squats and 5 burpees for a total of 15 reps. In this example, there were 30 reps possible per round. The + score should never be higher than the total number of reps possible in a round.

Why is there a score?

Having a score allows you to see progress. If you got 4+15 this time through, and then in 1 month after training, you repeat this exact workout and you get 5+20, then your fitness has improved, which is legit!

Having solid data reinforces that what you are doing is working.

As an athlete, I love having scores for almost all of my workouts, it really elevates the training experience.

Have fun, and stay safe!

Coach Lee

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