Eight stations, three laps, zero queues — the circuit class every hall in the country was built for
The Classic Circuit
- Bootcamp
- All levels
- 45 min
- Works for 8–24
- 1 instructor
- Effort 4/5
- Sports hall or big studio
- circuit
- stations
- full-body
- classic
- scalable
Kit: 8 station cards, mats, a few dumbbells and kettlebells, skipping ropes, a box or bench. Every station lists a bodyweight swap, so run it with whatever you own.
Pulse Up & Walk the Loop
Setup: Eight stations round the room perimeter before anyone arrives, numbered cards visible from the middle: 1 squats, 2 push-ups, 3 skipping, 4 kettlebell deadlifts, 5 mountain climbers, 6 box step-ups, 7 dumbbell rows, 8 plank shoulder taps. You coach from the centre all night — the circle is your stage.
How it works: Three minutes of centre-room pulse raising: marching, arm swings, half squats, side steps that get wider each round. Then the walking tour — lead the whole group round the loop, demoing each station for ten seconds with its easier version in the same breath. New faces pick their starting station on the way round; spread them so no station starts with more than three.
What to say
- “The loop only works if you move on the beep — the station you leave matters more than the one you're at.”
- “Every card has an easier line on it — using it is playing the game, not losing it.”
- “Pick a starting station away from your mates if you actually want to train tonight.”
Easier
Tour first, pulse raiser second, and keep it to marching for anyone in off the couch.
Harder
Finish the pulse raiser with 20 seconds of fast feet before the tour.
Lap One — Learn the Loop
Setup: Everyone standing at their starting number, timer set to 45 seconds work, 15 seconds to move on. One full lap is exactly eight minutes; the spare two are yours for a false start and a reset breath.
How it works: Lap one is deliberately at seven-tenths: the job is learning the loop, not emptying the tank. Call the move-on with the station names, not just the beep — 'leaving squats, finding push-ups' — so nobody is lost by station three. Coach from the centre and travel your eyes one station ahead of the clock; fix form with names across the room, kindly and specifically.
What to say
- “Seven out of ten this lap — I want you nosey about the stations, not destroyed by them.”
- “Fifteen seconds is for walking and breathing, not standing and dreading.”
- “Squats: heels heavy, chest proud. Climbers: hips low, steps small. That's the whole sermon.”
Easier
30 seconds work, 30 to move for anyone new — tell them to treat lap one as a guided tour.
Harder
None yet — lap one is capped at seven-tenths for everybody, including the show-offs.
Lap Two — Own It
Setup: Same loop, same 45/15 timer. During the two-minute breather before this lap, invite upgrades station by station: heavier bell at the hinge, feet-elevated push-ups, double-unders for the rope-confident.
How it works: Lap two is the working lap — same stations now driven at nine-tenths. Your coaching shifts from teaching to fuelling: count down the last ten seconds of every station, name one person doing something right each interval, and hold the room to honest reps when fatigue starts editing them. Anyone who blew up on lap one quietly drops to 35 seconds of work — offer it before they need it.
What to say
- “Same loop, new intent — the reps you counted last lap, you finish this lap.”
- “When tired reps get short, make them slower, not shorter.”
- “Last ten seconds of every station belong to you — that's where the lap is won.”
- “Rows: drag the elbow back, no swinging — the weight is not on a swingboat.”
Easier
35 seconds work with 25 to move; skip stations 3 and 5 to a march for anyone protecting knees.
Harder
Add load or range at any station where lap one looked easy; no extra time — earn it inside the 45.
Lap Three — The Sprint Lap
Setup: Timer down to 30 seconds work, 10 to move. Music up. Tell them the maths out loud: the whole lap is five minutes twenty, and then the hard part of their day is over.
How it works: One final lap, short and loud. Half-time efforts are not on the menu — the intervals are short enough that everyone can visit their top gear once per station. Call the room's energy up before each beep and keep your eyes on the two stations where tired form gets expensive: the hinge and the step-ups. Anyone wobbling on the box switches to floor step-taps without ceremony.
What to say
- “Thirty seconds — you can hold your best for thirty seconds, that's the whole trick.”
- “Tired is fine, sloppy is not — hinge with a long flat back or put the bell down.”
- “Whole box, whole foot on the step — no toes-on-the-edge heroics this late in the night.”
Easier
20 seconds work, 20 to move; bodyweight versions everywhere.
Harder
The 10-second moves become jogs; front-runners take the heavier bell for the full lap.
The Plank-Off
Setup: Mats dragged into two facing lines down the middle of the hall, everyone opposite a partner of roughly matched mischief.
How it works: One round, all in: the pairs plank-off. Both partners hold a plank; when one rests, they mark a tally and get straight back up — lowest tallies win nothing but the glory. Cap it at two minutes, then thirty seconds of laughing recovery, then one last all-room hold: everybody planks for a final 30 seconds together, and the class officially ends when the last elbow touches down.
Rounds: 1 × 2min pairs + 1 × 30s all-in
What to say
- “Long line, squeeze your fists — a plank is an argument you win with your whole body.”
- “Resting is allowed and counted — lying about it is between you and your partner.”
- “Final thirty together — nobody's watching your wobble, everybody's having their own.”
Easier
Knees-down planks count at full value; cap at 60 seconds.
Harder
Feet-elevated plank on the box for the certified show-offs.
Loop Down
Setup: Mats stay where the plank-off left them; music down to background.
How it works: Walk one slow lap of the loop as a group while the heart rates land, collecting station cards as you pass — the tidy-up is disguised as the cooldown and nobody has ever noticed. Then to the mats: quads, hamstrings, a chest opener and 30 seconds of slow breathing. Send them off with next week's teaser: same loop, two new stations.
What to say
- “Walk it off — the lap that started your night now finishes it.”
- “Long exhales — leave your heart rate in the hall, not in the car.”
- “Same time next week — two stations are getting swapped and I'm not saying which.”
Easier
Skip the walking lap and go straight to the mats.
Harder
Hold each stretch 15 seconds longer — the tin man impression tomorrow is optional.
Music: Any driving ~130bpm playlist. The timer runs the class, so the music only needs relentless energy — drop the volume during station demos and push it back up for lap three.
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