Tabata Timer

How to run it

1. Warm up first — five to ten minutes. Tabata is a working set, not a workout, and going hard from cold is how people get hurt.
2. Pick one movement you can repeat at full effort without your form falling apart. One, not eight: rotating exercises means the first five seconds of every round go on working out what you are doing.
3. Press start. The countdown gives you ten seconds to get set, then the timer takes over — a cue at every switch, and a different tone for work and rest.
4. Finish, then walk it off for a couple of minutes. Do not go straight into another four.

What to do in the twenty seconds

Something cyclical and simple that you can drive hard without thinking about technique. On a bike or a rower, that is just watts. Without equipment, these hold up:

• High Knees
• Squats
• Mountain Climbers
• Jumping Jacks
• Burpees
• Jump Squats

Loaded, technical, or balance-heavy moves do not belong here. Twenty seconds of all-out effort is exactly when technique goes, and a move that punishes bad technique is a bad choice for the format.

Is this really Tabata?

The clock is. The intensity is up to you, and that is the part almost every class drops. The 1996 study this is named after ran the four minutes at roughly 170% of VO2max — a pace where subjects were expected to fail before round eight. If you finish all eight comfortably, you did a good interval circuit rather than Tabata.

That is not a reason to stop; a sustainable 20/10 × 8 is a genuinely useful four minutes. It is only a reason not to expect the study's results from it. The full story, including what the original protocol actually asked of people, is in what Tabata actually is.

Other ways to cut it up

Twenty on and ten off is a 2:1 work-to-rest ratio, which is aggressive. If it is too much, or the wrong shape for what you are training, the HIIT timer starts at a gentler 1:1 — and choosing your work-to-rest ratio explains what changes when you move the dial.

Frequently asked questions

What are the intervals on a Tabata timer?

Twenty seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest, repeated eight times — four minutes in total. This timer is set to exactly that, and you can change any of the three numbers before you start.

Is this Tabata timer free?

Yes. It runs in your browser, there is no signup, and nothing to install. The iPhone and Apple Watch app is free too, and adds voice cues and taps on the wrist.

Will the screen stay on during a Tabata?

Yes. While the timer runs it asks your browser to keep the screen awake, so a propped-up phone stays readable for the whole four minutes in most modern browsers.

How many Tabata rounds should I do?

Eight — that is the protocol, and at the intended intensity eight is genuinely all you will manage. If you are running it at a sustainable pace instead, two or three four-minute blocks with a few minutes of easy movement between them is a common way to build a longer session.

Does the Tabata timer beep between rounds?

Yes, with a different tone for the start of work and the start of rest, plus a tick over the last few seconds so a switch never surprises you. Sound can be muted with the speaker button.

Other timers

• 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.
• Circuit Training TimerForty-five seconds at a station, fifteen to get to the next one, twelve stations. One clock runs the whole room.
• Boxing Round TimerThree minutes on, one minute between, twelve rounds — the championship clock. Change it to whatever your gym runs.