You don’t need heavy weights — this ‘12 Days of Christmas’ workout strengthens and torches your body in 35 minutes

Get ready for yet another instalment of the 12 Days of Christmas workout; if you have previously missed them popping up on Tom’s Guide (find our previous versions below), it’s never too late to join in.

This one is CrossFit-inspired and beginner-friendly, and I provide modifications depending on your fitness level, so anyone and everyone can get stuck in for some festive workout fun.

Some of the best CrossFit workouts that have truly cooked my muscles over the years haven’t required heavy weights — not even close — and neither does this one. Still, get ready to test your engine, as the 12 Days of Christmas workout pushes your muscles and endurance to the edge. It’s always a masterclass in mental and physical strength and fortitude — this year is no different.

What is the '12 Days of Christmas' workout?

Inspired by CrossFit, the workout changes every year and follows the infamous Christmas song with 12 different exercises. You’ll start with one exercise, then add a new one each round, running them back down to the start with reps increasing with each exercise.

There’s no partridge in a pear tree here, though, just some muscle-torching moves that will ramp up your heart rate and sweat output. Your time cap is 35 minutes, so choose when you rest if you want to finish in time.

While the official CrossFit workout is always worth a try, I have taken inspiration from it using my experience as a trainer to spin up my own challenge for you to try. You just need some kit, which I list below.

Here it is:

Image 1 of 12

Thruster

Barbell squat

Burpee

Pike push-up

Chin up

Push-up

Calorie machine

Box jumpovers

V-up

1. Barbell thruster
2. Barbell squats
3. Barbell burpees
4. Pike push-ups (or handstand push-ups)
5. Shuttle runs
6. Chin-ups
7. Push-ups
8. Calories
9. Box jumpovers
10. V-ups
11. Ball slams
12. Calories

Start with your barbell racked at your front, perform one thruster, then move into two barbell squats (you can position the bar behind or in front of you), then back to the thruster for one rep. Next, perform three burpees over your barbell (jumping or stepping sideways over the bar), then move back through your squats to the thruster.

Continue up the list, descending back down each time until you hit the last exercise. Finally, complete 12 calories on a machine of your choice (ski erg, rowing machine, air bike, for example), then descend all the way down to the final thruster.

If you are familiar with handstand push-ups, choose these; otherwise, opt for pike push-ups with your feet on the ground or raised on a box or bench. Shuttle runs are simple to lay out — place two markers down about 10 to 20 meters apart and run between them — with one shuttle meaning you run out to the first cone and back.

You can choose any machine or machines you like for your calories, but I would choose something you know you can clock up quick reps on, like the rower. The air bike is the ultimate test of power and endurance, but it could also slow you down considerably.

Box jumpovers mean stepping down to the other side of your box after every jump. Finally, ball slams. You’ll only do this twice, so go for a challenging weight and aim to lift high and throw down hard with all the power you can muster through your core.

Modifications

The game aims to kill with volume, with 364 reps up for grabs if you finish. This isn’t about lifting very heavy weights, as you will revisit the exercises in quick succession, but if the reps still feel too much, consider working you-go-I-go with a friend.

There are other ways to scale. For example, you can step over the barbell during your burpee reps if you prefer not to jump, and you can tie a resistance band to the bar for assisted chin-ups.

Other ways to modify include using your knees for push-ups and stepping on and off the box instead of performing box jumps. Aim for a lighter weight for ball slams if necessary, and V-ups can simply be scaled back to any of these crunch variations or alternating one arm and one leg at a time.

Whichever machine you use for calories, remember to set your machine to show you how many you're doing. Move with speed and consistency to rack up the calories quickly.

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