diff --git a/db/iterator.go b/db/iterator.go
index 6fa3f0e1..338aac38 100644
--- a/db/iterator.go
+++ b/db/iterator.go
@@ -232,14 +232,16 @@ func (i *iterator) checkState(ctx context.Context) bool {
 
 func (i *iterator) setupWorkers(ctx context.Context) {
 
+	count := ints.Between(1, maxWorkers, workerCount)
+
 	if i.checkState(ctx) {
 		switch {
 		case i.tasks == 0:
-			for w := 1; w <= workerCount; w++ {
+			for w := 1; w <= count; w++ {
 				go i.setupWorker(ctx, i.jobs, i.vals)
 			}
 		default:
-			for w := 1; w <= ints.Between(1, workerCount, i.tasks); w++ {
+			for w := 1; w <= ints.Between(1, count, i.tasks); w++ {
 				go i.setupWorker(ctx, i.jobs, i.vals)
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/db/vars.go b/db/vars.go
index 5b2f1a85..efd33505 100644
--- a/db/vars.go
+++ b/db/vars.go
@@ -63,6 +63,10 @@ const (
 )
 
 var (
+	// maxWorkers enables limiting the maximum number of
+	// workers to start, regardless of the CPU count.
+	maxWorkers = 1
+
 	// workerCount specifies how many workers should be used
 	// to process each query statement concurrently.
 	workerCount = runtime.NumCPU() * 2