Circuit Training Timer

What the fifteen seconds is for

A circuit is not an interval workout that happens to have several exercises in it. The difference is the transition: the short gap between stations is travel time, not recovery. Fifteen seconds is enough to walk to the next mat, read what is on it, and get into position — and not much else.

That is why circuits use a shorter rest than a comparable HIIT session. You are not trying to recover between stations; you are trying to keep moving while the muscle group changes. Recovery, if the circuit needs any, goes between full laps.

Building the circuit

1. Order the stations so consecutive ones ask different things — upper, lower, core, cardio, and back round. Two leg stations in a row and the second one is wasted.
2. Put the most technical movement early, while people are fresh and can still be corrected.
3. Match the station count to the lap you want. Twelve stations at 45/15 is a single twelve-minute lap; six stations run twice is the same twelve minutes with a familiar second half.
4. Finish on something that does not require a mat, so the room can be cleared while the last station runs.

A dozen stations that need no equipment and cover the whole body:

• Squats
• Push-Ups
• Jumping Jacks
• Plank
• Lunges
• Mountain Climbers
• Tricep Dips
• Crunches
• High Knees
• Wall Sit
• Russian Twists
• Burpees

Common timings

• 45/15 — the default. Enough work to be worth setting up, enough transition to be civilised.
• 40/20 — for a group, a room with equipment, or a circuit with any floor-to-standing changes in it.
• 30/10 × 12 — the shape the classic seven-minute workout uses. Fast, tight, and best with movements everyone already knows.
• 60/15 — strength-leaning stations where a minute is the point and the reps are slow.

Related clocks

A circuit with real rest built in is just HIIT with more variety. A circuit you repeat against a countdown instead of a station clock is an AMRAP. And if you want the transitions called out by name rather than by a tone, that is what the app does — every move illustrated, announced, and timed.

Frequently asked questions

How long should each station in a circuit be?

Forty-five seconds suits most bodyweight stations — long enough to accumulate real work, short enough to hold form. Drop to thirty for high-intensity stations and stretch to sixty for slow strength work.

How much rest between circuit stations?

Fifteen seconds is the standard transition, and it is travel time rather than recovery. Use twenty if the group is large or equipment has to be reset.

How many stations should a circuit have?

Eight to twelve. Fewer than eight and muscle groups repeat too soon; more than twelve and people stop remembering what is coming next.

Is this circuit training timer free?

Yes, with no signup and nothing to install. It runs in a browser tab and keeps the screen awake, so one laptop or phone can clock a whole room.

Can I run several laps of the same circuit?

Yes — set the station count to the number of stations multiplied by the laps. Six stations run three times is eighteen rounds on the timer.

Other timers

• Tabata TimerTwenty seconds of work, ten seconds of rest, eight times. Four minutes. Press start — the timer calls every switch so you never look at the clock.
• HIIT TimerSet your work, your rest, and how many rounds. The timer calls every switch out loud so you can keep your eyes off the clock and on the round.
• EMOM TimerEvery minute on the minute: the bell goes, you work, and whatever time you have left is your rest. Then it goes again.
• AMRAP TimerOne clock, counting down. You pick a circuit and get through it as many times as you can before it runs out. Nothing to decide once it starts.
• Boxing Round TimerThree minutes on, one minute between, twelve rounds — the championship clock. Change it to whatever your gym runs.