A free workout timer with huge numbers, voice cues and beeps that you can keep open on your phone while you train. Pick intervals, Tabata, EMOM or a ready-made circuit with on-screen form cues, then tap Start.
Set up your timer
Tabata: 20 seconds hard, 10 seconds easy, 8 rounds. One block takes about 4 minutes. Add blocks for a longer session.
EMOM means every minute on the minute: start your reps when the minute begins and rest for whatever time is left.
How to use this workout timer
- Intervals: set your work and rest time in seconds and the number of rounds. Add sets for a longer session, with a longer rest between them.
- Tabata: 20 seconds hard, 10 seconds easy, 8 times (about 4 minutes). The original 1996 study used an all-out effort on an exercise bike; for most of us a safe, fast move such as cycling, fast marching or bodyweight squats works well.
- EMOM: every minute on the minute. Do a set number of reps at the start of each minute and rest for the time that is left. Add a second exercise to alternate minutes.
- Circuit: choose a ready-made routine or build your own. Each exercise shows its name and a one-line form cue, and during every rest the voice tells you what comes next. The hotel-room workout needs no equipment and has no jumping, so it stays quiet.
Tap Start once to switch on sound, because browsers block audio until you tap. The ring empties as each interval runs out: orange means work, green means rest. On a computer the space bar pauses the timer. If your phone still dims the screen, raise its auto-lock time for your workout.
Interval training after 35: do it the smart way
- Warm up first. Spend 5 to 10 minutes building up gradually, and warm up for longer before harder sessions (American Heart Association). The morning mobility and cricket warm-up routines above are good options.
- Progress gradually. The American College of Sports Medicine advises increasing how long, how often and how hard you train step by step. Start with shorter work periods, longer rests and fewer rounds, and change one thing at a time once the last session felt manageable.
- Use the talk test for cardio. At moderate intensity you can talk but not sing; at vigorous intensity you can only say a few words before you need a breath (CDC). Keep plenty of your weekly cardio easy and conversational; our zone 2 heart rate calculator shows you where that is.
- Cool down. Slow down for 5 to 10 minutes instead of stopping suddenly, which can make you dizzy.
- Count it toward your week. The World Health Organization recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity a week, plus muscle-strengthening work on 2 or more days.
Safety first
Stop straight away if you feel chest pain or pressure, dizziness or light-headedness, unusual shortness of breath, or a racing or irregular heartbeat, and get urgent medical help if chest pain does not settle quickly with rest. If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure or diabetes, take heart medication, have a joint injury, or have been inactive for a long time, check with your doctor before starting hard intervals.
Keep going: the dumbbell home workout, how to start working out after 40, how exercise helps stress and mood and cricket fitness after 35.
Sources
- World Health Organization: physical activity fact sheet and guidelines for adults
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: measuring physical activity intensity (the talk test)
- American Heart Association: warm up, cool down
- Garber et al. (2011), American College of Sports Medicine position stand: quantity and quality of exercise for adults, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
- Tabata et al. (1996), effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
This timer and the routines are general education, not medical advice. Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise plan, especially if you have a heart condition, take medication or have an injury.
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