AMRAP With Friends

20 minute AMRAP

The Long Tow

Steady engine · Aerobic Matrix · intensity 2 of 5

The workout

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

Overview

The Long Tow is 12 t-press ups, 24 air squats, 15 v-ups, and 40 high knees. The air squats and the t-press ups trade the quads and the upper back. 40 high knees is the long piece, and it keeps the legs in the work, so the quads do not get a rest before the next round.

Muscles worked

Energy systems

These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.

  • Glycolytic: Low
  • Oxidative: High
  • Neuromuscular: Low

Training effect

Immediate demand

20 minutes, intensity 2 of 5. Today the limiter is the high knees.

Intended stimulus

The style is built so four movements keep you moving for the full clock. On this workout that is 12 t-press ups, 24 air squats, 15 v-ups, and 40 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

40 high knees is where the round gets hard. The other movements still have to be finished after it.

Pacing

Steady four-piece matrix with a rear-delt opener. Conversational pace; arms stay heavy on the T.

Keep the later rounds moving at the same size as the early ones. Do not drop the high knees to keep the other sets moving.

The movements

T-Press Ups

The range of motion on this is naturally very short. Do not force your chest higher by straining your neck. Focus entirely on the squeeze in the back of your shoulders.

What not to do. Craning the neck to force the chest higher than the rear delts can drive.

Air Squats

Let gravity do the work on the way down. Pull yourself into the bottom quickly, then explode up. Use your arms for rhythm.

What not to do. Cutting the depth once the legs burn, so the hip crease stops above the knee.

V-Ups

If you bend your knees to reach your toes, you are cheating the lower abdominals.

What not to do. Bending the knees to bring the feet closer to the hands.

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 air squats and the t-press ups trade the quads and the upper back. 40 high knees is the long piece, and it keeps the legs in the work, so the quads do not get a rest before the next round.

Scaling

Keep all four movements in the round. Drop reps so the round stays continuous.

T-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.

Air Squats

  • To a seat. Squat to a chair or box and stand back up. Lower the seat as you improve.
  • Hold a support. Hands on a doorframe or chair back to sit deeper than balance allows alone.
  • Shorter range. Go only as deep as you can control, and stop before the heels lift.

V-Ups

  • Knees bent. Bend the knees to shorten the lever. The shorter it is, the lighter it is.
  • Partial range. Move only through the range where you can keep the lower back on the floor.

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 t-press ups at a sprint makes the high knees the piece that falls apart.
  • Resting until you feel fresh between movements removes the point of keeping them in one round.
  • Spending the first minutes hard leaves the later rounds as a different, slower workout.

Suited to someone who wants 20 minutes through T-Press Ups, Air Squats, V-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

Run it with friends

The Long Tow runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 20-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.

Start this workoutMore 20 minute AMRAPs