7 Minute Timer
A 7 minute timer counts down 420 seconds and sounds an alarm when it reaches zero. That is 0.12 decimal hours on a timesheet, or 11.67% of an hour.
A seven minute timer exists in the popular imagination almost entirely because of one workout published in a medical journal.
Paused at 7:00
What a 7 minute timer is used for
The scientific seven minute workout and short circuits.
- The seven minute workout
- Twelve bodyweight exercises held for thirty seconds each with ten seconds between them, published in the ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal in 2013.
- Steeping herbal tea
- Herbal and rooibos infusions want five to seven minutes, considerably longer than green or black tea.
- Short circuit rounds
- Seven minutes is a common AMRAP window in circuit training, short enough to hold intensity throughout.
Running the seven minute workout
The published routine is twelve exercises in a fixed order: jumping jacks, wall sit, push-ups, abdominal crunches, step-ups onto a chair, squats, triceps dips on a chair, plank, high knees running in place, lunges, push-ups with rotation and side plank. Each gets thirty seconds, with about ten seconds to change over, so one round takes a little under eight minutes in practice.
The order alternates between upper body, lower body and core, so one part of the body recovers while another works. Its authors, Brett Klika and Chris Jordan, suggested two or three rounds per session, so treat a single round as a starting point rather than the whole workout.
The 7 minute timer at a glance
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Length | 7 minutes |
| Seconds | 420 |
| Decimal hours | 0.12rounded |
| Clock format | 0:07 |
| Share of an hour | 11.67% |
| Blocks per hour | 8 |
| Blocks per 8 hour day | 68 |
| Pomodoros (25 min each) | 0.28 |
| Decimal hours are rounded to two places, as payroll does. Block counts are whole blocks with no breaks between them. | |
For other lengths, use the minutes to decimal hours converter or the hours calculator.
Your focus time, counted and kept
A countdown tells you when the block ends. PomoTodo records that the block happened, which task it went to and what the week added up to, so a month of 7 minute blocks becomes something you can actually look at.
Free plan tracks unlimited focus time across unlimited tasks. No card required.
Timers either side of 7 minutes
If 7 minutes is the wrong length, the two nearest are 6 minutes and 8 minutes.
Questions about the 7 minute timer
What is the seven minute workout?
Twelve bodyweight exercises, each performed for thirty seconds with ten seconds of rest between them. It was published in the ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal in 2013 and spread because it needs no equipment beyond a chair and a wall.
Is the seven minute workout enough exercise?
One round on its own falls short of the weekly activity the World Health Organization recommends for adults, which is 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. That is why its authors suggested two or three rounds per session. It is a good option for busy days rather than a complete plan.