Tabata Timer — free 20/10 interval timer for PE & gym classes

What a Tabata actually is

Tabata is not a synonym for "short intervals" — it is one specific protocol from Dr Izumi Tabata's 1996 study: eight rounds of 20 seconds at maximal effort with only 10 seconds of rest, four minutes in total. The 10-second rest is the point. It is long enough to reset your position and short enough that you never fully recover, which is what makes the last three rounds so brutally effective. This timer loads with exactly that protocol armed — 20/10 × 8 — so the only decision left is which exercise your class is doing.

Running a Tabata with a class

Demonstrate the movement first — burpees, squat jumps, mountain climbers, or shuttle runs — because nobody absorbs coaching mid-Tabata. Then put the timer on the projector, press START, and let the sounds run the room: a whistle opens each work interval, a rotate signal marks the rest, and the horn ends the session. If you want a Tabata circuit instead of one movement, add station names in the setup and the class rotates to a new exercise each round — the board shows where everyone is moving during the 10-second rest. The TABATA 20/10×8 chip re-arms the classic timings any time you change them.

Green means work — from anywhere in the gym

Ten seconds is too short to squint at a phone. That is why this timer changes the whole screen, not just a digit: green background while the class works, red while they rest. Even with music on and the horn lost in the noise, the colour flip is unmissable on a gym TV — the same trick wall-mounted LED interval hardware charges hundreds for, running in a browser tab.

Frequently asked questions

How long is a Tabata?

Four minutes: eight rounds of 30 seconds (20 work + 10 rest). With a warm-up, a demonstration and a cool-down it fills a tidy ten-minute block — or run two or three Tabatas with different movements and a couple of minutes between them for a full conditioning session.

Do I have to use exactly 20/10?

The protocol is 20/10, and that is what the timer arms by default. For beginners or younger students it is fine to soften it — edit the rest field to 20 seconds, or drop to six rounds — then tap the TABATA chip when the class is ready for the real thing.

What's the difference between Tabata and HIIT?

Tabata is one fixed HIIT protocol. For longer intervals like 30/30, 40/20 or 45/15 — and named circuit stations — use the HIIT & circuit timer version of this tool.