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Jim’s Lucky 13 Circuit

Looking for a full-body HIIT workout to do on active rest days? You're in "luck" with this 13-station routine.

lucky 13 circuit training HIIT cardio
By Jim Stoppani, PhD
Updated August 5, 2020

My #TrainWithJim full-body programs typically run five days a week, with weekends (or whatever two days of the week you choose) scheduled as off days.

But don’t think I just sit around on my ass on those two off days – not even close! I stay active EVERY day, either by going for a hike (or other similar activity) or doing a HIIT workout… or both. To me, there’s no such thing as an off day. There are training days and there are active rest days.

I recently took a group of JimStoppani.com Challenge winners through a weekend active rest day workout. It consisted of 13 exercises/stations performed as a circuit – one set of each exercise done consecutively without resting between exercises.

I call this workout my “Lucky 13 Circuit” (since 13 is my favorite number, and one I consider to be very lucky). Do this workout any time you’re looking for some HIIT training on an “off” day. Or, use it as a HIIT finisher to any lifting workout on days you want some extra fat-burning cardio (even though ALL of my lifting workouts are great for enhancing both fat-burning and cardio).

If you want to keep the workout short and sweet (and intense), stick to just one round of the circuit; it should take somewhere around 7-10 minutes to complete. But if you’re up for more, do 2-3 rounds of the circuit, resting anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes between circuits (depending on your current fitness level). I originally intended this workout to be an "AMRAP" – as many rounds as possible. So if you want to push yourself, do as many rounds of the circuit as you can.

Lucky 13 Circuit

I realize you may not have access to all of the equipment in this workout (i.e., a climbing rope, monkey bars, sled, tire, etc). But do your best to sub in comparable movements when needed.

In fact, as I mentioned in the Facebook Live video I did for this workout, the exercises done with specialized equipment are optional. If you need to skip them and do something else instead (like pull-ups instead of rope climbing and monkey bars; cable rows with a rope attachment in place of rope pulls; deadlifts in place of tire flips; etc.), that’s fine. Make do with what you’ve got.

  1. Rope Climb to Monkey Bars – 1 time up rope, 1 time across monkey bars (or pull-ups to failure)
  2. Sled Push – 2 x 10-15-second sprint
  3. Rope Pull – 5 reps (or Battle Ropes x 30 sec.)
  4. Depth Jump – 3 reps
  5. Tire Flip – 1 rep (or Tire Sledge Hammer Hits x 5 reps)
  6. Step-Up – 5 reps per leg)
  7. Overhead Medicine Ball Toss and Catch – 5 reps
  8. Ladder – 1 run through the ladder
  9. Sandbag Power Row – 3 reps per arm
  10. Medicine Ball Chest Throw – 5 reps
  11. Clean & Press or Curl/Dead/Press – 5 reps
  12. Reverse Hamstring Extension superset with Glute/Ham Raise – 5 reps per movement
  13. Bike Sprint – 30 seconds

Download Workout Here

 


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