Interval Training Timer (Tabata, HIIT, EMOM)
Pick a workout or set up your own, then hit start: the timer switches between work and rest with a big color-coded display, beeps and, if you like, a voice.
- Free
- Tabata, HIIT, EMOM
- Beeps and voice
- Readable from across the room
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How to use the Tabata timer
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Pick a workout
Tabata, HIIT 30/15, 40/20, 45/15, EMOM, or a custom workout with your own times and rounds.
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Start the session
Put your device where you can see it: after a 10-second countdown, work and rest intervals run on their own.
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Follow the cues
Beeps in the last 3 seconds and optional "work" or "rest" voice cues. Pause or skip to the next step at any time.
A workout timer built for training
Ready-made workouts
Tabata (20 s / 10 s × 8), HIIT 30/15, 40/20 and 45/15, and EMOM: one exercise at the start of every minute.
Custom workout
Set the work time, rest time, number of rounds, number of sets and rest between sets.
Readable from across the room
Big display, different colors for work and rest, total time, full screen. The screen stays on during your session.
Sound cues
Beeps in the last 3 seconds of each step and "work" and "rest" voice cues if you turn them on.
What is Tabata?
Tabata is a very short interval training format: 20 seconds of all-out effort, 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times, for 4 minutes in total. It's named after Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata, who studied this protocol in the 1990s. The effort has to be truly intense: if you can hold a conversation, it's no longer Tabata. For a fuller workout, string together several 4-minute blocks with a minute of rest between each one, using the custom workout. No exercise is imposed: burpees, squats, push-ups, high knees, jump rope or cycling, you choose based on your fitness level and equipment.
HIIT 30/15, 40/20, 45/15 or EMOM: which one to choose?
The first number is the work time and the second is the rest time, in seconds. With 30/15, rest is half the work time: a good format to get started with interval training. 40/20 keeps the same 2-to-1 ratio over longer blocks, and 45/15 cuts recovery to a third of the work time: it's the toughest of the three. EMOM ("every minute on the minute") works differently: at the start of each minute, you do a set number of reps, for example 10 squats, and rest for whatever time is left before the next minute. The faster you go, the more you rest.
Setting up a custom workout
An example: 40 s of work, 20 s of rest, 8 rounds, 3 sets and 1 minute of rest between sets. Each set lasts 8 minutes and the whole session about 26 minutes, countdown included; the total time is shown before you start. Plan a 5 to 10-minute warm-up before and a cool-down after. Place your phone 2 or 3 meters (6 to 10 feet) away, in full screen: the colors are enough to tell whether it's time to work or rest, without reading the numbers. If you have a heart condition, an injury or are getting back into exercise, ask a doctor before starting high-intensity interval training.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a Tabata workout?
One Tabata block lasts 4 minutes: 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Many people do 2 to 4 blocks with a minute of rest between each one.
What's the difference between Tabata and HIIT?
HIIT refers to any high-intensity interval training. Tabata is one specific format of it: 20 s of work, 10 s of rest, 8 times.
What is an EMOM workout?
"Every minute on the minute": at the start of each minute, you do a set number of reps, then rest until the next minute begins.
Does the screen stay on during the workout?
Yes, the tool keeps your screen from going to sleep during the session, so you can follow the timer from a distance. Keep the page open in the foreground.
What exercises can I do for Tabata?
Whatever you like: the timer doesn't impose anything. Burpees, jump squats, push-ups, lunges, high knees or planks all work well; adapt them to your level.