AMRAP workout: meaning, scoring and no-equipment examples.

• In an AMRAP the time is fixed and the amount of work you fit in is what varies.
• You score full rounds plus the reps of the round in progress.
• Only finished reps count: a half-done rep when the clock ends adds nothing.
• It can be round-based (a set you repeat) or a single movement.
• To compare an AMRAP with another day, repeat the time, the set, the order and the version.

AMRAP stands for "as many rounds as possible". You will also see "as many reps as possible" when the work is a single movement. Either way, the clock tells you how long you have, and you decide the pace at which to fill it.

It is the mirror image of a For Time. In a For Time the work is fixed and you measure how long it takes; in an AMRAP the time is fixed and you measure how much work fits into it. That is why the timer counts down, and the end arrives when it arrives, whether or not your round is finished.

The score has two numbers: the rounds you completed and the reps you did of the next one. You log "6 + 10" or "6 rounds and 10 reps". This example is made up, just to show the arithmetic:

The set

4 burpees, 8 air squats and 12 jump-rope skips. One round is 24 reps.

The score

"6 + 10": six full rounds (6 × 24 = 144 reps) and ten more reps of the seventh: the 4 burpees and 6 squats.

The total

144 + 10 = 154 reps. It is useful for comparing only if the set does not change; if it does, compare the "6 + 10" instead.

Only finished reps count. If the clock ends with a squat half done, that rep adds nothing, and loose reps are counted in the order of the set: you cannot skip a movement to get ahead.

Round-based

A set of several movements that you repeat. It is the case in the example above: score in rounds plus reps.

Single movement

One exercise, as many reps as you can. There are no rounds: the score is the total number of reps.

Growing rounds

The set changes each lap, for example by adding one rep. Because the rounds are not equal, you log the round you reached plus the reps of the next one.

Named AMRAPs that you repeat to measure progress are covered in the benchmark WODs guide. If the AMRAP is long and what you want is to hold a pace, see the endurance WOD guide; the other formats are in the WOD formats glossary.

These three examples are our own and are illustrative: they show how an AMRAP is written, not how much or how long you should train. Swap the numbers for ones that suit your level.

Three-movement AMRAP

5 minutes of: 5 push-ups, 10 air squats and 15 jump-rope skips. Score in rounds plus reps.

Two-movement AMRAP

6 minutes of: 8 lunges per leg and 6 burpees. Score in rounds plus reps.

Single-movement AMRAP

4 minutes of air squats. Score: total reps.

If one of them is too much, the guide to scaling a WOD explains what to change first.

1. Choose the movements in the set and how many reps of each.
2. Fix the total time before you start.
3. Decide how you will count rounds: one mark after each.
4. Start the clock and repeat the set in the same order until it ends.
5. Add up the full rounds and the reps of the round in progress.
6. Log the score, the set and the version you did.

The point is to have everything decided before the clock starts: during the AMRAP all you do is move and count.

Two scores are comparable only if four things match: the time, the set, the order of the movements and the version (as written or scaled). If one changes, today's "7 + 3" and last week's "6 + 10" no longer say the same thing.

That is why it helps to log the full set and the version you did next to the score. To repeat the same WOD and measure improvement over time, see the benchmark WODs guide.

• Losing count of the rounds. A tally mark on paper or on your phone after each round is enough.
• Changing the set halfway through without logging it: the score then belongs to no WOD at all.
• Counting reps without full range of motion to add more. The number goes up, but the score stops meaning anything.
• Skipping a movement in the set because it is hard, and counting the round as complete.
• Logging only the rounds and forgetting the loose reps, which are part of the score.
• Comparing with someone else without checking their set, their time and their version.

Zoku Athletics brings together a multimodal timer (For Time, AMRAP, EMOM, Tabata and mixed) that times the AMRAP so you do not have to watch the clock while you move. How to set it up step by step is in the WOD timer guide.

If you only need the clock, the online WOD timer runs in the browser, no sign-up.

You can create your Free account on the website, no card needed; how the account and the subscription are managed is covered in account and subscription on the Zoku site.

The app is not public on the stores yet. It is in testing and there is no launch date.

The Free plan is free, with no card and no expiry. Pro and Elite are paid; what each includes is shown in the plans section of the home page.

Who is behind the website and the app: About Zoku Athletics.

• What is a WOD? Formats and meaning: What a WOD is and how to read one: AMRAP, EMOM, For Time and Tabata, what Rx and scaled mean and how to log the result to compare it.
• WOD timer: AMRAP, EMOM, For Time and Tabata: What a WOD timer is and how to use it: AMRAP, EMOM, For Time and Tabata formats, how to choose one, set it up and log the result.
• EMOM workout: meaning and how to build one: What an EMOM workout is and how to build one: how it works minute by minute, how to score it, variations and no-equipment examples.