The best online fitness resource you'll ever need. We filter out the BS to ensure you meet your health and fitness goals!
AMRAP
What does AMRAP mean in CrossFit?
What is AMRAP?
AMRAP is an abbreviation for As Many Repetitions/Rounds As Possible and is a common style of workout found in CrossFit programming. It will be included in the title/heading of the workout and always includes a specified length of time for that WOD. For example:
AMRAP 8 minutes
or…
12 min. AMRAP
or…
AMRAP 20 minutes
AMRAP also relates to the athlete’s score at completion of the workout as described below.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- AMRAP stands for As Many Repetitions/Rounds As Possible.
- AMRAP indicates the workout instructions and always has a specified time attached to it.
- AMRAP workouts are ‘time priority’ workouts.
- An AMRAP score can be either rounds + reps or total reps.
- Cindy is the most popular AMRAP workout in CrossFit.
Understanding ‘AMRAP’
During an AMRAP workout, the athlete performs the indicated exercises as fast as possible in the hopes of completing as many rounds and repetitions as they can in the allotted time frame.
This is called a ‘time priority’ (rather than ‘task priority’) workout because the clock dictates when the workout is over, regardless of how much work is completed.
The ‘R’ simultaneously stands for both rounds and repetitions because every repetition counts, even in a workout that has clearly established rounds.
A round is a set of exercises that gets repeated. Take this workout, for example:
AMRAP 10 minutes 5 pull-ups 10 push-ups 15 squats
One round would be completed as soon as the athlete finishes the 15th squat. He/she would then begin the second round by doing a pull-up (or scaled version of a pull-up).
How to score an AMRAP
Keeping track of scores can be confusing when first learning about AMRAP workouts. Since rounds and repetitions are tracked, scoring can be done two ways, depending on the preference of the coaches and athletes.
Rounds + Reps – ie: 5 rounds + 10 reps, commonly written on scoreboards as 5+10.
Using the workout above, 5 +10 would mean the athlete completed 5 total rounds of the pull-ups, push-ups and squats, and had completed all 5 pull-ups and 5 of the push-ups when the timer beeped at 10 minutes.
Total Reps – ie: 160 reps
Rather than consolidate into rounds, this score simply shows every rep. Using the example above, 160 reps is the same as 5 rounds + 10 reps. One round of this workout equals 30 total repetitions (5+10+15). The athlete then multiplies the reps per round by the number of rounds completed – in this case 30 x 5 = 150. The extra 10 reps from the unfinished round are then added to the total score. 150 + 10 = 160 total score.
Popular AMRAP Workout
Arguably the most popular AMRAP WOD in CrossFit is Cindy. Cindy is used for beginners (usually scaled to 10 minutes) and is a great benchmark WOD.
Cindy AMRAP 20 Minutes 5 pull-ups 10 push-ups 15 squats
