WORKOUT DESCRIPTIONS

There are several types of workouts we do here at the 12 Minute Athlete. While you can do most of them using just your own bodyweight, the one thing you will need is an interval timer.

You can get the official 12 Minute Athlete app for your phone, or even just use this free online interval timer.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to do the workouts:

12 minute workouts:

These take exactly 12 minutes to complete. To do them, you’ll need to set your timer to either 18 rounds of 10 and 30 second intervals or 12 rounds of 10 and 50 seconds, depending on the specific workout. You’ll know which because it will say either 18 x :10 x :30 or 12 x :10 x :50 after the timer setting.

You’ll always be resting during the :10 interval, and always be working as hard as you possibly can during the :30 or :50 interval.

To know which exercises to do when, follow the order of the workout guys, or look at the full list of the exercises below the images. Then go through the prescribed exercises until the timer beeps.

16 minute workouts:

These take exactly 16 minutes to complete. To do them, you’ll need to set your timer to 24 rounds of 10 and 30 second intervals. You’ll see 24 x :10 x :30 after the timer setting.

Just like the 12 minute workouts, you’ll always be resting during the :10 interval and working hard during the :30 interval. Follow the order of the workout guys (or look at the list of exercises) until you complete all 24 rounds.

Challenge workouts:

During challenge workouts, you’ll need switch your timer to stopwatch mode, then do the list of exercises as fast as possible.

These workouts should take you no more than about 15 minutes. And remember, the harder you work, the sooner your workout will be over with.

We typically do challenge workouts on Fridays to get ready for the weekend ahead.

Note: If you’re a complete beginner, feel free to reduce the number of total rounds for a shorter workout.

AMRAP workouts

AMRAP stands for As Many Reps As Possible.

You’ll need to switch your timer to countdown mode (or a single interval) then do as many rounds of the listed exercises as possible within the allotted amount of time.

AMRAP workouts are typically no more than 10 or 12 minutes.

Tabata workouts:

This is a quick, 4-minute-long push consisting of 8 rounds of 10 and 20 seconds. The key is to work as hard as you possibly can during each of the work rounds.

For a detailed description on how to do Tabata workouts, check out Tabata Training: Your Ultimate Guide to 4-Minute Workouts.

That’s it! Work hard, be consistent, and you’ll soon be in the best shape of your life.

And if you’re wondering how to do any of the specific exercises in the workouts, check out these workout videos.