5 minute AMRAP
The Scapular Trap
Local muscle burn · Localized Trap · intensity 3 of 5
The workout
As many rounds as possible in 5 minutes of:
Overview
The Scapular Trap is 12 t-press ups and 15 supine floor scapular shrugs. Every piece stays on the upper back. Later rounds slow because the work never leaves the upper back.
Muscles worked
Upper back
Energy systems
These are overlapping contributions. This workout is not assigned to one energy system.
- Glycolytic: High
- Oxidative: Low
- Neuromuscular: Moderate
Training effect
Immediate demand
5 minutes, intensity 3 of 5. Today the limiter is the supine floor scapular shrugs.
Intended stimulus
The style is built to tire one region before breathing is what stops the round. On this workout that is 12 t-press ups and 15 supine floor scapular shrugs.
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
Later rounds slow because the work never leaves the upper back.
Pacing
Short-range presses into micro-shrugs. Keep the arms locked — if the elbows bend, the triceps stole the work.
Build across the clock. Do not open the t-press ups so hard that the later sets shrink. Do not rest the upper back back to fresh between rounds.
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.
Supine Floor Scapular Shrugs
This is a micro-movement. Your torso will barely leave the floor. If your elbows bend, your triceps are taking over the work. Keep the arms locked and force the scapula to do the job.
What not to do. Bending the elbows so the triceps steal the work from the scapula.
Why these movements
Every piece stays on the upper back. Later rounds slow because the work never leaves the upper back.
Scaling
Keep the work on the same muscle region. Drop reps on the hardest movement before you swap in a different pattern.
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.
Supine Floor Scapular Shrugs
- 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.
Mistakes and who it is for
- Opening the t-press ups at a sprint makes the supine floor scapular shrugs the piece that falls apart.
- Resting the upper back back to fresh between rounds turns this into a different workout.
- Letting the supine floor scapular shrugs shrink so the rest of the round can speed up changes the workout on the page.
Suited to someone who wants 5 minutes on the upper back and can already do T-Press Ups, Supine Floor Scapular Shrugs.
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
- Rhomboid Ruin
Same upper back, same clock
- Iron Scapula
Same upper back, longer clock
- Dorsal Demise
Same upper back, same clock
Run it with friends
The Scapular Trap runs on a shared countdown: share a rally link, everyone gets the same 5-minute clock, and the leaderboard updates as people log rounds.