What Is An AMRAP Workout?

As knowledge in the fitness world expands, so do your options in the gym. 

If you’ve ever felt bored with your routine (maybe so much so that it’s hard to get your peach to the gym at all), we’re pleased to tell you that shaking things up doesn’t have to be a journey. You don’t have to do anything too new, too hard, or too painful to get more out of your workouts. 

Today we’re going to introduce you to a new acronym: AMRAP. It hails from the gyms of CrossFit legends and will get your body moving and shift the way you look at working out. Don’t worry. If CrossFit isn’t in your wheelhouse, you can still safely incorporate AMRAP into your workouts in a less intense way. 

What Does AMRAP Mean?

AMRAP, meaning As Many Reps (or Rounds) As Possible, is a super-straightforward workout format. As you might have guessed, the whole idea is doing as many reps/rounds as you possibly can for an allotted amount of time. This is a dynamic approach to fitness and can be tailored to all needs and abilities. 

AMRAP is most often performed circuit-style with bodyweight exercises, which means you set up a handful of workouts, and then you complete as many rounds of that circuit workout as you can in the time you’ve allotted for the exercise. 

The purpose of AMRAP circuit training is focus and form by nature of switching through different exercises so quickly you are constantly forced to pay attention to what you’re doing. Keep in mind that the primary goal is to move as fast as you can while maintaining your form. Anyone can sloppily rush through a workout; gains are found in abundance in controlled movements. 

What Are The Benefits Of AMRAP Workouts?

Learning about AMRAP workouts has us very excited because it’s useful for anyone interested in this type of exercise. We’ve compiled just a few potential benefits of AMRAP to get you inspired to try it out:

Adaptability

What makes AMRAP so completely amazing is that you can apply any exercise you can think of to an AMRAP workout. Are you into kettlebells? Maybe burpees are your jam? Perhaps your preferred movement is sitting down in a chair and standing up with perfect form?

Whatever your movements of choice are, you can do them in a circuit for an AMRAP workout. 

Accessibility 

There’s nothing we love more than fitness that works for everybody, which is another reason to consider AMRAP. 

Whether you’re brand new in the gym, a seasoned athlete, or someone looking to get back into shape, AMRAP is for you. Because it is so adaptable, you can make adjustments that make this exercise work for you. 

Cardio

We put adaptability as the first benefit because it is connected to the rest of these benefits. AMRAP can be an excellent tool for those of you who want to work on cardio: a circuit of jumping jacks, burpees, and running is guaranteed to get your heart rate up. 

If you’re looking to do more traditional cardio, but you find yourself getting a little bored while you do it, AMRAP is a tool for shaking it up. You can do a circuit of walking for 2 minutes, jumping on an elliptical for 2 minutes, riding a stationary bike for 2 minutes, and rolling through 20 minutes of these. It’ll keep your heart rate up and your mind working nonstop. 

Strength 

Yes, you heard it here—AMRAP training can be used as a framework for strength training too. 

All you need to do is incorporate some weight. Whether that’s with kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, or a couple of makeshift weights like soup cans, AMRAP can be adapted to get you stronger. 

If you aren’t trained in an exercise, especially huge movements like power cleans and snatches, you should not try them in an AMRAP workout. When speed is a component, it’s easy to lose your form, which can get pretty dangerous when heavier weights are involved. Make sure you only train strength with movements you’re confident in and have worked through with the guidance of a coach, trainer, or other health professional. 

Endurance

Naturally, if you can use AMRAP workouts for cardio and strength training, you can also use them for endurance training. 

Endurance training improves your ability to sustain a certain level of energy expenditure. Simply making your AMRAP workouts longer and longer over time is a way to slowly push your endurance to new levels. 

Improvement

The last thing we’ll mention about AMRAP workouts is that they provide space for you to grow. 

AMRAP makes it super easy to track your progress. You shouldn’t do the same circuit every time you work out, but if you note how many reps or rounds you were able to get through the first time you try a new circuit, you can do the same circuit a few weeks or months later to see how many more you can do than the first time.

Effectively, AMRAP provides a trackable glimpse into your fitness. Whether you want to use AMRAP as an intro to working out or a new way to improve your fitness level, Chuze has all the equipment you could possibly need to get to work. Make this fitness format work for you, and come on down to get started.

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