Gym Timer
Free gym timer for your workout. Set work and rest intervals, rounds and workout duration with a simple online gym timer. No app or signup required.
Set Your Gym Workout
The gym timer is preloaded with 45 seconds of work, 15 seconds of rest and 8 rounds. Adjust your work interval, rest period and number of rounds, then start the timer.
Gym Timer is a free online timer built for the way people actually train in a gym: work intervals, rest between sets, timed circuits and conditioning finishers. Set your work time, your rest time and the number of rounds, press start, and the timer runs the whole session on its own. It opens with a short preparation countdown, switches between work and rest automatically and signals every change with a sound, so you never have to unrack a bar or drop a dumbbell to look at a clock.
A Free Gym Timer for Every Part of Your Session
Most gym sessions are already built on time, whether or not anyone is measuring it: sixty seconds between sets, forty-five seconds on a station, twenty minutes on the rower. Measuring it is what makes the session repeatable. When the rest period is the same every week, the load on the bar becomes an honest comparison instead of a guess.
Rest Between Sets
Rest is the setting most lifters get wrong, usually by letting it drift. A set of squats that should be followed by three minutes of recovery turns into ninety seconds when the gym is busy, and into five minutes when your phone comes out. Set the rest period once and let the timer hold you to it: the countdown starts when the set ends, and the alert tells you to get back under the bar.
Timed Circuits and Supersets
For circuits, set a work interval, a short rest and one round per station. The timer moves you from exercise to exercise on its own, which keeps a group of people working in sequence without a coach calling the changes. Supersets work the same way, with a very short rest between the two movements and a longer one at the end of the pair.
Cardio and Conditioning
On a bike, a rower or a treadmill, intervals are easier to hold than a fixed distance because the effort is bounded. Thirty seconds hard, thirty seconds easy, repeated eight times, is a complete conditioning block that fits in the last ten minutes of a session. Use the presets on the timer above to load one instantly.
How to Use the Gym Timer
Set your workout time
Choose your work interval, rest period and number of rounds.
Start the timer
Press start and follow the countdown during your workout.
Follow the intervals
The timer automatically switches between work and rest periods.
Repeat your rounds
Complete your workout without having to watch the clock.
What Can You Use a Gym Timer For?
One gym timer, every kind of training session.
Strength Training
Use timed rest periods between sets to keep your workout consistent.
Circuit Training
Set work and rest intervals and repeat multiple exercises for several rounds.
HIIT Workouts
Create high-intensity work intervals followed by controlled recovery periods.
Cardio
Use timed intervals for running, cycling, rowing, jumping rope and other cardio exercises.
Bodyweight Workouts
Build timed workouts using exercises such as push-ups, squats, lunges and burpees.
Home Workouts
Use the same gym timer for workouts at home without needing additional equipment.
Gym Timer Features
- Work and rest intervals
- Custom workout duration
- Multiple rounds
- Countdown timer
- Automatic interval switching
- Audio alerts
- Pause and resume
- Fullscreen mode
- Mobile-friendly design
- No app required
- No account required
Gym Timer Workout Examples
Five ready-made gym workouts. Load one into the timer and start training.
| Workout | Work | Rest | Rounds | Load |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner Circuit | 30 sec | 30 sec | 5 | |
| HIIT | 40 sec | 20 sec | 10 | |
| Bodyweight | 45 sec | 15 sec | 8 | |
| Strength | 60 sec | 60 sec | 6 | |
| Cardio | 90 sec | 30 sec | 8 |
How Long Should You Rest Between Sets?
Rest length follows the goal of the set, not how tired you feel.
| Training goal | Typical rest | Why | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 2–3 min | Heavy sets need close to full recovery to keep the load high. | |
| Hypertrophy | 60–90 sec | Enough recovery to repeat the reps, short enough to keep the muscle working. | |
| Endurance | 30–45 sec | Short rest keeps the heart rate up across a high-rep set. | |
| Circuits | 15–30 sec | Just enough to change station and set up the next exercise. | |
| Conditioning | Equal to the work | A 1:1 ratio makes the session repeatable and easy to progress. |
Why Use a Gym Timer Instead of a Stopwatch?
A stopwatch measures one thing and then waits for you. Every set means unlocking your phone, finding the app, starting it, watching it and stopping it — five interactions where a gym timer needs none. The countdown here is set once for the whole session and runs to the end on its own.
It also removes the part of rest timing you are worst at judging: the moment the rest actually ended. A timer that signals the end of the interval out loud keeps a strength session honest and a circuit moving, and it lets you leave your phone on the bench instead of in your hand. If you want the same behaviour built around named interval formats, the interval timer and the Tabata timer use the same engine.
Gym Timer FAQ
How long each training goal actually needs between sets is covered in our guide to rest between sets.
What is a gym timer?
A gym timer is built around the weight room: protecting the rest between strength sets, timing circuits and supersets, and running conditioning finishers, rather than timing a single movement or a cardio pace.
How do I use a gym timer?
Set your work time, rest time and number of rounds, then start the timer. The timer automatically guides you through each interval.
Can I use a gym timer for strength training?
Yes. A gym timer can be used to control rest periods between sets and create consistent training intervals.
Can I use this gym timer for HIIT?
Yes. Set a work interval, a rest interval and the number of rounds to create a HIIT workout. You can also use our dedicated HIIT timer.
Can I use a gym timer at home?
Yes. The timer works online and can be used for home workouts, bodyweight training and other timed exercises.
How long should I rest between sets?
It depends on the goal of the set. Strength work usually takes 2 to 3 minutes of rest, hypertrophy work 60 to 90 seconds, endurance and circuit work 15 to 45 seconds. The table above lists the common ranges and loads each one into the timer.
Does the gym timer keep running when my screen locks?
The timer asks your browser to keep the screen awake while a session is running, so a long workout will not go dark on a phone left on the bench. If your browser does not support that, keep the tab open in fullscreen mode and leave the device unlocked.
Can I use the gym timer without sound?
Yes. Use the sound button on the timer to mute the alerts. The dial still changes colour at every transition, so you can follow the workout visually in a loud gym or with headphones in.
Is the gym timer free?
Yes. The online gym timer can be used for free without creating an account.
Related Timers
Workout Timer
Work, rest, rounds and sets.
Open workout timer →Training Timer
Structured training sessions from warm-up to cool-down.
Open training timer →Fitness Timer
Cardio, running, cycling and class-style conditioning.
Open fitness timer →Exercise Timer
Timed exercises, sets and rest periods.
Open exercise timer →Interval Timer
Custom work and rest intervals.
Open interval timer →HIIT Timer
High-intensity work and recovery intervals.
Open HIIT timer →Tabata Timer
20-second work / 10-second rest.
Open Tabata timer →EMOM Timer
Every Minute On the Minute workouts.
Open EMOM timer →AMRAP Timer
Maximum rounds or reps in a fixed time.
Open AMRAP timer →Circuit Timer
Multiple exercises performed in sequence.
Open circuit timer →