Training guide
The 7-minute workout is 12 bodyweight exercises, 30 seconds each with 10 seconds to switch, described in 2013 in ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, a magazine for fitness professionals from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). It needs only a wall, a chair and a step, and the moves alternate so one part of the body rests while another works. What most people miss: its authors suggested doing it 2 or 3 times through.
In small trials, one round a few times a week mainly made push-ups easier; aerobic fitness improved more with longer sessions. It's a good start, not the whole answer.
This guide covers the 12 moves and an easier version of each, how hard the circuit really is, what the studies show, how to build up, and who should change it, with a follow-along workout that times every move.
Twelve bodyweight moves, 30 seconds each with 10 seconds to switch: jumping jacks, a wall sit, push-ups, crunches, step-ups onto a chair, squats, triceps dips on a chair, a plank, high knees or running on the spot, lunges, the push-up and rotation, and a side plank. It comes from a 2013 article for fitness professionals, which described the circuit but didn't test it.
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The authors suggested 2 or 3 rounds. Because few people can work much above their aerobic limit, they recommended at least 20 minutes of hard exercise, which may take several rounds.
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In 14 active adults it averaged 141 heartbeats a minute and used about a fifth less oxygen than a bike interval session of the same length. In bodyweight circuits, heart rate runs well ahead of the work your heart and lungs are actually doing, so judge your effort by your breathing.
In short trials, one round a few times a week mainly built push-up endurance, and men gained some strength. Aerobic fitness improved more when people did more: across 19 trials of whole-body bodyweight interval training, the gains grew with total training time.
The authors advised caution for people with obesity, people who are out of condition, injured or older, and anyone with other health conditions, and advised people with high blood pressure or heart disease to swap the wall sit and planks for moving exercises. If you're inactive and have heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms when active, check with your GP first.
Brett Klika and Chris Jordan of the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Florida, wrote it for clients who were busy professionals and often travelled, so it had to work anywhere without equipment. Their article drew on earlier research into interval and circuit training, including the 1996 Tabata study, but none of that research tested this circuit.
Source 1
The authors' design rules, given as their practice rather than as tested findings:
Source 1
Because the circuit is hard, they advised caution for people who are overweight or have obesity, are out of condition, have had injuries, are older, or have other health conditions. For people with high blood pressure or heart disease, they advised against the wall sit, plank and side plank, which can be swapped for moving exercises. They warned everyone against holding their breath, recommended a doctor's clearance before starting, as with any exercise programme, and noted the circuit may be less effective than traditional training for maximal strength and power.
Source 1
By 2017 a popular smartphone app called the 7-Minute Workout had 10 million downloads and claimed to be scientifically proven to promote weight loss and improve the heart and circulation. The lab study that reported this found the circuit lighter than bike intervals (see the evidence below).
Source 2
Thirty seconds each with 10 seconds to switch, in the original order: a brisk march stands in for high knees (move 9), and the push-up also stands in for move 11, the push-up and rotation, until we have demos.
3D demoJumping jackBeginner · No equipment
3D demoWall sitBeginner · A wall
3D demoPush-upIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoCrunchBeginner · No equipment
3D demoStep-upBeginner · A step
3D demoBodyweight squatBeginner · No equipment
3D demoBent-knee bench dipBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoForearm plankIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoStanding marchBeginner · No equipment
3D demoReverse lungeIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoSide plankIntermediate · No equipmentIn a randomised crossover study of 14 active adults, the circuit averaged 141 heartbeats a minute and 1.44 litres of oxygen a minute, against 159 beats and 1.83 litres for a bike interval session of the same length. Bursts approached 90% of maximum heart rate and lactate rose, so it counts as vigorous exercise, but the authors placed it at the low end of interval training.
In 45 adults doing a 15-minute bodyweight circuit, heart rate averaged 89% of maximum but oxygen use only 59% of VO2 max (the most oxygen your body can use, a measure of aerobic fitness). In circuits, heart rate overstates the aerobic work.
In the trial, 96 recreationally active students did the circuit 3 times a week for 8 weeks: one group did one round throughout, and another did two rounds in the second 4 weeks. Push-ups improved in both groups and men gained some strength, but aerobic capacity improved only in the women doing two rounds. It was one small trial.
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In 24 untrained young adults, a 6-minute circuit once or twice a day for 4 weeks, at about 71 to 74% of maximum heart rate, improved push-ups, burpees, single-leg squats and how healthy people felt, but not peak oxygen uptake, body fat or muscle.
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Across 19 randomised trials of whole-body bodyweight interval training (657 people), training improved aerobic fitness, muscular fitness and body composition against no exercise. It improved aerobic fitness a little less than running or cycling training, and muscular fitness more, and the gains grew with total training time. The trials were small and rarely checked how hard people worked.
In 19 inactive young adults, an 11-minute routine of five 60-second bodyweight moves, 3 times a week for 6 weeks, raised peak oxygen uptake compared with no training.
In 29 young adults doing the 7-minute workout every day for 6 weeks, BMI (body mass index) fell slightly, from 24.4 to 24.0, and waists by about 4 cm, compared with 29 who didn't. But the study didn't report randomisation, and it estimated body fat with bioimpedance scales.
In 24 sedentary women with obesity, a 12-station circuit 3 times a week for 8 weeks, starting with one round and adding a round every 2 weeks, cut body fat mass by about 3%, more than in a control group. Their VO2 max rose by about a third, but it was estimated from a submaximal test, not measured, and the abstract doesn't say the groups were randomised. In 33 inactive women, 5 weeks of bodyweight circuits improved insulin sensitivity, but clearly only in the middle-aged and those with insulin resistance. All small studies.
In 54 women aged about 68 (41 finished), high-intensity interval circuits for an hour twice a week for 18 weeks raised estimated VO2 max as much as moderate continuous training, with no adverse events during sessions. One trial; use the easier versions and hold a wall for balance.
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In a randomised crossover trial of 66 inactive UK adults, posted as a preprint and not yet peer reviewed, 2 weeks with a 7-minute workout app or a Couch to 5K app didn't change activity measured by a movement sensor on average, though people reported doing more. The two apps did about the same.
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The circuit's authors advised people with high blood pressure or heart disease not to do the wall sit, plank and side plank, and to swap them for moving exercises. Since then, a review of 270 trials found that isometric training programmes (regular sessions of static holds, for 2 weeks or more) lowered resting blood pressure more than any other type of exercise, by about 8/4 mmHg, with the wall squat ranked best for the top number. But those were programmes of holds on their own: nobody has studied 30-second holds inside a fast circuit.
So follow the article's advice: swap the holds for moving exercises, or ask your doctor first. If you do them, keep breathing throughout, never hold your breath, and stop if you feel dizzy (our suggestion). Our wall sit workout for blood pressure follows the routine from the blood pressure trials.
Timings from the 2013 article; adding a round every 2 weeks from an 8-week trial (Ajjimaporn 2023); 3 days a week from the 8-week trial of the circuit (Schmidt 2016). The warm-up, the march between rounds and the harder versions are our editorial starting point.
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The movement on the figure: Jumping jack
Starting points, not prescriptions. Each names its source, or says it's our suggestion.
Vigorous: you can't say more than a few words without pausing for breath (the NHS description). Go by your breathing rather than a heart rate number, which reads high in circuits.
Our editorial starting point: one round in week 1, then add a round about every 2 weeks, as an 8-week trial did, up to the 2 or 3 rounds the authors intended.
Three days a week with a day between, as in the 8-week trial. Two small studies used daily sessions; if you go daily, keep most days at a moderate effort (our suggestion, in line with our guide to high-intensity interval training, or HIIT).
The NHS suggests 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week, or 150 of moderate, plus strengthening on at least 2 days. One round 3 times a week is 21 minutes. UK guidance says short spells of very vigorous activity count, and bodyweight moves such as push-ups count as strengthening when you work until you need a short rest, so the circuit can cover your strength days. Most people will still want walking or other cardio as well.
The same order and timing with easier moves: step jacks, a shallow wall sit, incline push-ups, dead bugs instead of crunches, a low step, sit-to-stands, a bent-knee dip (or skip it), a knee plank, a steady march, split squats holding a wall, wall push-ups and a knee side plank.
3D demoStep jack (low-impact jumping jack)Beginner · No equipment3D demoWall sitBeginner · A wall
3D demoIncline push-upBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoDead bugBeginner · No equipment
3D demoLow step-upBeginner · A step
3D demoSit to stand from a chairBeginner · A bench or box3D demoBent-knee bench dipBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoKnee plankBeginner · No equipment3D demoStanding marchBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSplit squatIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoWall push-upBeginner · A wall
3D demoKnee side plankBeginner · No equipmentOnce 3 rounds feel easy, swap in these harder versions rather than adding rounds, landing jumps quietly (our suggestion).
3D demoStar jumpIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoFeet-elevated push-upAdvanced · A bench or box
3D demoJump squatIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoBench dipBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoPlank walk-upAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoWalking lungeIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoSide plank with leg liftAdvanced · No equipmentOur 7-minute workout times every move and gives an easier swap for each. New to exercise? Start with the 10-minute starter workout. No jumping: the low-impact cardio workout. The wall sit workout is the blood pressure routine from trials.
The 12-move circuit from a 2013 fitness journal article: 30 seconds per move and 10 to switch, with a short warm-up and an easier swap for every move.
12 minIntermediate13 movesA wall, A stepA 10-minute session for low-energy days: marching, sit-to-stands, wall push-ups, step-ups and bridges, then a short walk. Doing a little counts.
10 minBeginner7 movesA bench or box, A wallA 25-minute standing cardio circuit with no jumping: marching, step jacks, sit-to-stands, punches, step-ups and wall push-ups, with a seated option for most moves.
25 minBeginner9 movesA bench or box, A stepA 20-minute no-equipment HIIT workout: jumping jacks, jump squats, mountain climbers, burpees, skips and bear crawls.
20 minIntermediate10 movesNo equipmentA 20-minute full-body workout with no equipment: squats, knee push-ups, bridges, lunges and planks.
20 minBeginner10 movesNo equipmentThe isometric routine from blood pressure trials: four 2-minute wall sits with 2 minutes' rest, three days a week, with a warm-up and an unhurried cool-down.
22 minBeginner6 movesA bench or box, A wallUse the 7-minute workout on busy days, or as a short home session within one of these plans (our suggestion).
Your first four weeks: two, then three short strength sessions a week at home plus walks, building gently to a full routine.
2 training days20 minBeginner3 days a weekThree full-body home workouts a week with dumbbells or no equipment at all, plus walks and an 8-week plan to keep progressing.
3 training days35 minBeginner7 days a weekA full week that mixes intensities: three strength days, two cardio days, a mobility day and an easy day, never seven hard days.
3 training days45 minBeginnerStop and call 999 (don't drive yourself to A&E) for:
Get advice the same day for:
Stop a hold the moment you notice you're holding your breath, and stop if you feel dizzy (our suggestion; the authors warned against breath-holding). Stop a move for sharp or increasing joint pain and use its easier version; see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening. Some muscle soreness for a day or two after a new routine is normal.
Source 1
The authors themselves suggested 2 or 3 rounds and at least 20 minutes of hard exercise. In trials, one round a few times a week mainly built push-up endurance; aerobic fitness needed more time.
The 2013 article said the metabolic benefits can last up to 72 hours, but the extra energy you use after any session (the afterburn) is about 6 to 15% of the session's own cost, and a review called its role in weight loss generally unfounded.
The article described a circuit built on other studies, and an app later called it scientifically proven. The one randomised trial of the circuit found modest gains, mostly in muscular endurance.
Against a bike interval session of the same length, it used about a fifth less oxygen at a lower heart rate, and circuit heart rates overstate the aerobic work. It's vigorous, at the gentle end of HIIT (high-intensity interval training).
Six weeks of abdominal exercises didn't reduce belly fat in a small trial, and exercise on its own takes off about 2 to 3 kg on average. Whole-body activity and eating less do the work; our weight-loss guide has the detail.
A circuit of 12 bodyweight exercises, each done for 30 seconds with 10 seconds to switch, published in 2013 in ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal by Brett Klika and Chris Jordan, who designed it for busy clients who travel often. The moves alternate between whole body, legs, upper body and core, so one area rests while another works. The authors suggested doing it 2 or 3 times through.
Jumping jacks, wall sit, push-up, abdominal crunch, step-up onto a chair, squat, triceps dip on a chair, plank, high knees or running on the spot, lunge, push-up and rotation, and side plank, in that order. Our follow-along version uses a fast march for the high knees and a plain push-up for the push-up and rotation, with an easier swap for every move.
For muscular endurance, yes: in an 8-week trial, push-ups improved and men gained some strength. For aerobic fitness, one round did little in trials, and more rounds, more weeks or harder efforts did more. The studies are small and short.
It's a good start and it counts, but one round a day adds up to 49 minutes a week, below the 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week the NHS suggests. Building up to 2 or 3 rounds, as the authors intended, and walking on other days gets you there.
It's interval-style circuit training and counts as vigorous exercise, but in a lab comparison it used about a fifth less oxygen than bike intervals of the same length. Heart rate in circuits reads higher than the aerobic effort really is, so judge it by your breathing.
The lab study of the circuit measured oxygen use rather than calories, and found it about a fifth lower than a bike interval session of the same length. How much you burn depends on your size and effort, and the extra burn afterwards is small: about 6 to 15% of the session's own cost. Our calories burned calculator gives a rough estimate.
A little, alongside eating less: small studies found slightly smaller waists and less body fat after 6 to 8 weeks, but they had weaknesses. You can't target belly fat with ab exercises, and exercise on its own takes off about 2 to 3 kg on average.
Yes, if you start with one round and the easier versions: trials included sedentary and untrained adults. If you're inactive and have heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms when you're active, check with your GP first.
Two small studies used daily sessions, for 4 and 6 weeks. Hard sessions are best kept to a few a week with easier days between, so on most days keep it at a moderate effort.
Its authors advised people with high blood pressure or heart disease to swap the wall sit and planks for moving exercises, or check with their doctor first. Programmes of static holds such as wall sits lower blood pressure in trials, but short holds inside a fast circuit haven't been studied. If you do them, keep breathing throughout and stop if you feel dizzy.
Interval circuits have been tested in women around 68, with no problems during sessions. Use the easier versions, hold a wall for balance, and add balance exercises, which the World Health Organization recommends for older adults.
No. The 7-minute workout is 12 different moves for 30 seconds each; the original Tabata protocol was 20-second efforts on a lab bike with 10 seconds' rest, about 8 times, to exhaustion. Our Tabata guide explains the difference.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
