How to use the Tabata timer
- Press Start, then Pause and Resume as needed. Reset returns to the start and Beeps turns the sound off.
- Under Options, Get ready (seconds) sets the countdown before round 1. Choose 0 to start straight away.
- Tabatas in a row: 1 to 8. Above 1, Rest between tabatas appears.
- Exercises: optional, one per line. One line repeats every round, two lines alternate, eight lines give a new move each round. The screen shows Now and Next.
How the timer works
One Tabata is 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest between rounds. The rest after round 8 is skipped, so a Tabata runs 3:50 even though 8 times 30 seconds is the 4 minutes usually quoted. The clock follows real elapsed time, and the beeps are queued on the audio clock in advance, so they stay on time in a slowed background tab. A high tone starts work, a low tone starts rest, ticks count down the last three seconds and three beeps mean you are done. The pattern comes from Tabata's 1996 cycling study: 7 to 8 sets at about 170% of VO2max, five days a week for six weeks, which raised VO2max by 7 ml per kg per minute and anaerobic capacity by 28%.
Worked example
With the defaults (Get ready 10, 1 Tabata) the summary reads Total time 4:00: 10 s get ready, then 8 rounds of 20 s work with 10 s rest between rounds. The display opens on Press Start with 20 and Round 1 of 8. After Start, Get ready runs 10 seconds, round 1 work begins at 0:10 and rest at 0:30. Round 8 starts at 3:40 and the screen turns green at 4:00 with Workout complete.
Limits and edge cases
- Options lock while a workout runs or is paused. Press Reset to change them. Your last choices are remembered in this browser, and exercise names are limited to 16 lines of 40 characters.
- Keep the page open. The screen stays awake where your browser allows it, but locking a phone may pause the sound.
- Real Tabata effort is very hard. Check with a doctor first if you have a heart or joint condition, are pregnant or are new to exercise.
- For your own work and rest times use the interval timer, to find your zones use the heart rate zones calculator, and to estimate energy use try the calorie burn calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Tabata protocol?
Tabata is a high intensity interval format: 20 seconds of all-out work and 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times. It is named after Izumi Tabata, whose 1996 study used 7 to 8 sets of 20 seconds at about 170% of VO2max on a bike.
Is a Tabata 4 minutes or 3 minutes 50 seconds?
Eight cycles of 20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest add up to 4 minutes, the usual quote. This timer skips the rest after the last round because nothing follows it, so the workout runs 3:50. With the default 10 second get ready, the total shows 4:00.
How many Tabatas should I do in one session?
One Tabata is a full workout if you really push. Many people chain two to four with a minute or two of rest between and a different exercise each time. Use Tabatas in a row and Rest between tabatas.
What exercises work for Tabata?
Pick movements you can repeat hard with good form for 20 seconds, such as squats, burpees, mountain climbers, jump rope, sprints, rowing or cycling. List them under Exercises and the timer shows what you are doing now and what comes next.
Can I change the 20 and 10 second times?
Not on this page, which keeps the classic protocol. For your own work time, rest time and number of rounds, use the interval timer.
Sources: Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, Hirai Y, Ogita F, Miyachi M, Yamamoto K (1996), Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 28(10):1327-1330; MDN, Screen Wake Lock API.