10 minute AMRAP
Steady Traction
Cardio capacity · Engine Room · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
Overview
Steady Traction is 10 combat sprawls, 12 w-press ups, and 30 butt kicks. The work moves through the full body and the upper back instead of sitting on one muscle.
Muscles worked
Full body
Upper back
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
- Glycolytic: Moderate
- Oxidative: High
- Neuromuscular: Low
Training effect
Immediate demand
10 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is 30 butt kicks.
Intended stimulus
The same capacity work, with movements you can repeat for the whole clock. On this workout that is 10 combat sprawls, 12 w-press ups, and 30 butt kicks.
Repeated practice
Repeat the same workout and compare the score. What can change over weeks is how long that pace lasts. One time through does not produce that change.
Body-composition context
Body weight changes with the rest of how you eat and train. This workout is one piece of work on one day.
Expected feel
30 butt kicks is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.
Pacing
Sprawls and butt kicks hold the engine; the W is the structural pull. Elbows glued to the ribs on every press.
30 butt kicks is where the round gets long. That set is where a planned break belongs. If that set falls apart, shorten the combat sprawls on the next round rather than rushing it.
The movements
Combat Sprawls
You must land with your entire foot completely flat on the mat when returning from the plank. Landing on your toes in this wide stance places severe shearing force on the knee capsule and kills your ability to rebound.
What not to do. Landing the feet inside the hands, leaving no room to lift the chest.
W-Press Ups
Avoid excessively arching your lower back to cheat the range of motion. If your hips pop off the floor, you are losing the isolation in your mid-back. Keep your neck relaxed and look straight up.
What not to do. Arching the lower back until the hips leave the floor to fake extra range.
Butt Kicks (Total)
Lean slightly forward from the ankles (not the waist) to maintain an aggressive, forward-driving posture even while stationary.
What not to do. Kicking the heels out behind rather than straight up to the glutes.
Why these movements
The work moves through the full body and the upper back instead of sitting on one muscle.
Scaling
Keep the round short enough to repeat. Drop reps so you can stay moving, rather than resting the round into a different workout.
Combat Sprawls
- Step the feet. Step back and step in instead of jumping. Same shape, no impact.
- Hands elevated. Hands on a bench or step so the floor never comes all the way up to you.
- No jump at the top. Stand tall and reach instead of leaving the floor.
W-Press Ups
- Shorter lift. Drive into the floor but only lift as high as you can control without the hips or neck cheating.
- Hold the squeeze. Reach the top and freeze for a count instead of cycling reps. Same drive, less fatigue management.
Butt Kicks (Total)
- Low impact. Keep one foot down throughout — march the pattern instead of running it.
- Slower cadence. Same movement, fewer beats per minute. Cadence is the dial, not the shape.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the combat sprawls at a sprint makes the butt kicks the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting 30 butt kicks fail before you break it is how the next round gets longer.
Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through Combat Sprawls, W-Press Ups, Butt Kicks (Total).
Scoring and progression
Work through the movements in the order listed, then start the next round. Your score is the number of complete rounds plus any reps of the round you were partway through when the clock hit zero — written as rounds plus reps, so seven full rounds and twelve reps is7+12.
Progression is repeating this workout and comparing that score. The page does not promise a change from one time through.
Related workouts
- Endurance Tow
Same upper back, longer clock
- Flash Point
Same upper back, shorter clock
- Shock Front
Same upper back, longer clock
Run it with friends
Steady Traction runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 10-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.