gizmobench

Tabata Timer

The timer above is already set to the tabata pattern: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, 8 rounds, with the warm up and the cool down at zero. Press Start and the first work interval begins, with no setting up first. All 16 intervals appear as a strip under the clock, so the eighth rest is visible sitting at the end before you begin, and the total reads 4:00 rather than 3:50 because that last rest is counted like every other one. The time left is read off your system clock rather than added up tick by tick, which matters because a hidden tab has its timers slowed to about one a minute and a counting timer quietly comes back short. Every number stays an ordinary editable field, so 20 and 10 can become 30 and 15, or a minute of warm up can go in front, and the strip and the total are worked out again as you type. Tabata here is the name of a timing pattern and nothing more: the page states intervals and rounds, and never says what to do inside one.

Work, round 1 of 800:208 rounds of 20 s work and 10 s rest. Total 4:00, the last rest counted.
s
s
s
s
Total
4:00

Ready. Press Start to begin the first interval.

  • Tabata pattern20 on, 10 off, 8 rounds
    4:00
  • 45 on, 15 off8 rounds with a minute either side
    11:00
  • One minute rounds60 on, no rest, 10 rounds
    10:00

A round is one work interval followed by one rest interval, and the last rest is counted like every other one, which is why eight rounds of 20 and 10 come to 4:00 rather than 3:50. Type seconds, or minutes and seconds as 1:30. Skip moves to the next interval and any interval in the strip can be jumped to. Tabata is the name of a timing pattern, 20 seconds on and 10 off for eight rounds, and that is all this page means by it.

Exact about elapsed time. Exact to the timestamps your browser reports, so it does not drift while the tab is in the background. It is a timer and nothing else: the tabata pattern is a named timing pattern, not an exercise prescription.

Common questions

What is this tabata timer set to when the page opens?
20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, 8 rounds, warm up 0 and cool down 0. The clock reads 00:20 against the label Work, round 1 of 8 before you have touched anything, the line under it says 8 rounds of 20 s work and 10 s rest, total 4:00, and the strip shows all 16 intervals in order. Those five numbers are the fields directly below, so any of them can be changed on the spot.
Why does a tabata set come to 4:00 and not 3:50?
Because the eighth rest is part of the pattern and this page counts it. Eight work intervals of 20 seconds plus eight rests of 10 seconds is 240 seconds, which is 4:00. Timers that stop the moment the eighth work interval ends show 3:50 and disagree with every stopwatch in the room. Here the final rest is a step in the strip like the other fifteen, so you can see it before you start and jump to it while you run.
Can I change the 20 and 10, or add a warm up and a cool down?
Yes. Every timing is a plain field: type 30 and 15 for a longer round, or put 60 in the warm up and it becomes the first interval of the sequence. Seconds are typed as a number, or as minutes and seconds like 1:30. A warm up or a cool down of 0 is left out of the sequence rather than shown as an empty step, and a rest of 0 gives back to back work intervals. The strip and the total are recomputed as you type, and a value that cannot be read is refused with a message naming the field.
Does the timer keep time if I switch tabs or lock my phone?
The count does. The moment you press Start is kept as an anchor and the interval you are in is worked out by subtraction, so nothing is ever accumulated and nothing is lost when the browser stops drawing a hidden tab: leave for two minutes and the first reading when you come back is right. The sound is the part that cannot be promised, because a throttled tab can deliver a cue late and a sleeping device may not deliver it until you wake it. Closing the tab ends the session, since nothing here runs outside the page.
Is there a beep between the work and rest intervals?
Yes, and it is optional. The page synthesises a short two note cue with Web Audio rather than downloading a sound file, so it works with no network: rising into a work interval, falling into a rest, and three falling notes when the session ends. The Cue button turns it off and on. One browser rule applies to every site: a click on the page is needed before any sound can play, and pressing Start is that click.
Does opening this page change the timings I saved on the interval timer?
Opening it does not. This page sets the five timings to the tabata pattern whatever your browser last used, which is the point of having it, and nothing is written back until you change something yourself. Your cue setting still restores. Change a number here and that change is remembered in this browser, exactly as it is on the main tool, and the Start over button at the top of the page forgets it again.
How do I move around the eight rounds while it is running?
Skip jumps to the start of the next interval, Restart goes back to the beginning of round 1, and any of the 16 chips in the strip can be clicked or tabbed to in order to jump straight there. Moving changes the elapsed time rather than a counter, so the reading stays exact wherever you land. Copy plan puts the whole session on the clipboard as text, one line per interval with the time it starts and the time it ends.

Exact to the timestamps your browser reports, so it does not drift while the tab is in the background. It is a timer and nothing else: the tabata pattern is a named timing pattern, not an exercise prescription.