10 minute AMRAP
The Regulator
Upper-lower switch · Blood Shunt · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
Overview
The Regulator is 20 glute bridges, 10 standard push-ups, and 20 high knees. The glute bridges and the standard push-ups trade the glutes and the chest.
Muscles worked
Chest
Full body
Glutes
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
- Glycolytic: Moderate
- Oxidative: High
- Neuromuscular: Moderate
Training effect
Immediate demand
10 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is the sets being the same size.
Intended stimulus
The same upper-lower switch, held long enough that the work keeps moving while the heart rate stays up. On this workout that is 20 glute bridges, 10 standard push-ups, and 20 high knees.
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
The sets are the same size. The round gets hard when one of them breaks.
Pacing
Transitions smoothly from supine to prone to standing. Explode on the high knees.
Keep each round about the same length. Do not drop the glute bridges to keep the other sets moving.
The movements
Glute Bridges
Keep your toes slightly elevated off the floor to force the drive exclusively through your heels and hamstrings.
What not to do. Driving through the toes rather than the heels, which brings the quads in.
Standard Push-ups
Breathe in on the descent, aggressively exhale on the press. Do not hold your breath, or your heart rate will redline instantly.
What not to do. Letting the hips sag so the chest reaches the floor before the shoulders do.
High Knees
Land lightly on the balls of your feet. If you are stomping flat-footed, you are destroying your momentum and your knees.
What not to do. Leaning back to swing the knees higher instead of keeping the torso stacked.
Why these movements
The glute bridges and the standard push-ups trade the glutes and the chest.
Scaling
Keep an upper-body movement and a lower-body movement in the same round. Drop reps on both before you drop one of them.
Glute Bridges
- Shorter range. Lift only as high as you can hold the position without arching the back.
- Both legs. Drive through both feet instead of one.
Standard Push-ups
- Hands elevated. Hands on a bench, chair or step. The higher the surface, the easier the rep.
- From the knees. Knees down, hips in line with the shoulders — do not let the hips pike up.
- Partial range. Lower as far as you can control and press back. Depth grows as you do.
High Knees
- 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 glute bridges at a sprint makes the glute bridges the piece that falls apart.
- Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
- Letting the glute bridges shrink so the rest of the round can speed up changes the workout on the page.
Suited to someone who wants 10 minutes through Glute Bridges, Standard Push-ups, High Knees.
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
- The Metronome
Same glutes and chest, longer clock
- The Piston Grind
Same glutes and chest, longer clock
- The Apex
Same glutes and chest, longer clock
Run it with friends
The Regulator runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 10-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.