Tabata Timer
A simple online timer for Tabata workouts, HIIT training and interval exercises.
Set Your Tabata Intervals
The timer is preloaded with the classic Tabata protocol: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, 8 rounds. Adjust any value to build your own interval workout.
How to Use the Tabata Timer
Set your intervals
Choose your work and rest periods.
Choose your rounds
Set the number of rounds for your workout.
Start your workout
Press Start and follow the audio cues.
What Is a Tabata Workout?
Tabata is a form of high-intensity interval training built on a very short, very demanding structure: 20 seconds of maximum-effort exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 8 rounds. The protocol takes its name from Dr. Izumi Tabata, whose research team studied this work-to-rest pattern with athletes in the 1990s.
What makes Tabata training distinctive is the intensity rather than the duration. Each 20-second work interval is meant to be performed at an all-out pace, and the 10-second rest is deliberately too short for full recovery. That imbalance is the point: fatigue accumulates round after round, so the last intervals demand far more than the first ones.
Because the format is fixed, a Tabata workout needs almost no planning. Pick one exercise — or alternate two — set the timer, and train. It suits bodyweight movements, cardio work and loaded exercises alike, which is why Tabata has become a staple of home workouts, gym conditioning and group fitness classes.
A Tabata timer handles the timing for you. Instead of counting seconds mid-burpee, you follow the countdown and the audio cues, and keep every interval exactly as long as it should be.
How Long Is a Tabata Workout?
A traditional Tabata workout consists of 8 rounds of 20 seconds of high-intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. The main interval sequence lasts 4 minutes.
| Work | Rest | Rounds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 sec | 10 sec | 8 | 4 min |
| 30 sec | 10 sec | 8 | 5 min 20 sec |
| 40 sec | 20 sec | 8 | 8 min |
Most sessions repeat the 4-minute block several times, with a longer rest between blocks and a different exercise each time.
Tabata vs. HIIT
Tabata is a specific interval training protocol: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, 8 rounds. The numbers are fixed, and that is what makes it Tabata.
HIIT is a much broader category. Any workout that alternates hard efforts with recovery counts as high-intensity interval training — 30/30, 40/20, 1 minute on and 1 minute off, sprint repeats. Every Tabata workout is HIIT, but most HIIT workouts are not Tabata.
Use this page when you want the classic 20/10 format. For longer intervals and more flexible work-to-rest ratios, open our HIIT Timer.
Tabata Exercises
Any movement you can perform safely at high intensity works with the Tabata format. These are the most common choices.
- Squats
- Push-ups
- Burpees
- Mountain climbers
- Jumping jacks
- High knees
- Lunges
- Kettlebell swings
Use our Tabata timer with bodyweight exercises, cardio movements or strength exercises.
Customize Your Tabata Timer
Every value on the timer is adjustable, so you can run the classic protocol or shape it around your own session.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Work duration | Sets the length of each high-intensity interval |
| Rest duration | Sets your recovery period between intervals |
| Number of rounds | Determines how many work and rest intervals you complete |
| Preparation time | Gives you a few seconds to get ready before the first round |
| Sound | Provides audio cues at every transition |
The classic Tabata format is 20 seconds of work + 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds, but you can customize the timer for different interval workouts. For fully open work and rest ratios, use our interval timer, go back to the general workout timer, or compare every format on all workout timers.
Tabata Timer FAQ
What the 1996 study actually ran, and why most gym Tabatas are something else, is set out in our guide to the Tabata protocol.
What is the standard Tabata timer?
The standard Tabata timer runs 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest, for 8 rounds. This page is preloaded with those settings.
How long is a Tabata workout?
The classic sequence lasts 4 minutes: 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Many sessions repeat that 4-minute block a few times with a longer rest in between.
How many rounds are in a Tabata workout?
Eight. Each round is one 20-second work interval plus one 10-second rest interval.
Is Tabata the same as HIIT?
Not quite. Tabata is one specific HIIT protocol with fixed 20/10 intervals and 8 rounds. HIIT covers any format that alternates intense effort with recovery, such as 30/30 or 40/20.
Can I customize the Tabata timer?
Yes. You can change the work and rest durations, the number of rounds and the preparation time, or load a preset like 30/10 or 40/20 with one click.
Can I use this Tabata timer on my phone?
Yes. It runs in any mobile browser on iPhone and Android, with no app to install, and fullscreen mode keeps the countdown readable during your workout.
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