Tabata Timer
Set to 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off for 8 rounds. Add sets if you want more than four minutes.
Film a round with this timer running and get it reviewed free.
Tabata presets
Classic Tabata: 0:20 work, 0:10 rest, 8 rounds
Two Tabatas: 8 rounds, 1:00 between sets
Four Tabatas: 8 rounds, 1:00 between sets
Longer work: 0:30 work, 0:10 rest, 8 rounds
| Preset | Work | Rest | Rounds | Load |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Tabata: 0:20 work, 0:10 rest, 8 rounds | 0:20 | 0:10 | 8 | |
| Two Tabatas: 8 rounds, 1:00 between sets | 0:20 | 0:10 | 8 | |
| Four Tabatas: 8 rounds, 1:00 between sets | 0:20 | 0:10 | 8 | |
| Longer work: 0:30 work, 0:10 rest, 8 rounds | 0:30 | 0:10 | 8 |
How to use the Tabata timer.
A Tabata is four minutes long and it is meant to hurt. Eight rounds of 20 seconds of near-maximum work, with 10 seconds of rest that is not really enough to recover. That short rest is the whole design. You start the second round before your breathing has settled, and by round five your output is being held up by will rather than freshness.
Pick one movement and stay on it for the four minutes. For combat athletes the honest options are straight punches on a bag, knees on a bag, shadow boxing at full output, sprawls, shots on a dummy, or bike and rower sprints. Avoid anything technical enough that form collapses badly under that pace, because you will be practising the collapsed version for 160 seconds.
Use the sets field when you want a real conditioning block. Two Tabatas with a minute between them is about nine minutes and enough for most people three times a week. Four Tabatas is a session on its own. Change the movement between sets so the local fatigue moves around.
One more thing worth doing: film the last round. Tabata is where technique honestly falls apart, which makes it the most useful footage you own. Upload it to mmaGPT and you get timestamped notes on what broke plus a drill to fix it. First session free, no card needed.
FAQ
Tabata questions.
- A Tabata workout is eight rounds of 20 seconds of hard work and 10 seconds of rest, four minutes in total. It comes from Dr Izumi Tabata's research on Japanese speed skaters, and the point is that the work periods are close to your maximum, not comfortable.
- One Tabata is four minutes: eight rounds of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off. Most people stack two to four Tabatas with a minute of rest between them, which gives an 8 to 16 minute conditioning block.
- Yes, Tabata works well as a supplement to fight conditioning, not a replacement for it. Twenty seconds on and ten off builds the ability to go hard in short bursts and recover fast, which is what a scramble or a flurry demands. You still need round-length work at fight pace, so use the interval timer for that.
Film the round where it falls apart.
Run a Tabata, film the last round from the side with your whole body in frame, and upload it. mmaGPT marks what broke down under fatigue and gives you one drill for it. First review free, no card needed.