Skip to the timer
minute·timer

20 on · 10 off · ×8

Tabata timer

The protocol, already loaded: twenty seconds of maximum effort, ten seconds of rest, eight times through. Four minutes from start to alarm.

00:20

Shortcuts: space start or pause · R reset · F fullscreen. The alarm rings even if you switch tabs.

In short

The Tabata protocol is 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times — four minutes in total. It comes from a 1996 study by Izumi Tabata and colleagues in which speed skaters cycled at roughly 170% of VO₂ max; that group raised anaerobic capacity by about 28% and VO₂ max by around 14% over six weeks, while a group training 60 minutes a day at moderate intensity improved aerobic capacity only.

Work
20 seconds
Rest
10 seconds
Rounds
8
Total time
4 minutes
Original intensity
≈170% of VO₂ max — genuinely all-out
Reported gains
+28% anaerobic capacity, +14% VO₂ max over 6 weeks

Where the numbers come from

The format is named after Izumi Tabata, whose team at Japan's National Institute of Fitness and Sports published a study in 1996 comparing training protocols on competitive speed skaters. The high-intensity group did 20 seconds of all-out cycling followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated seven to eight times, and improved both aerobic and anaerobic capacity more than a moderate group training far longer.

The detail usually left out of gym posters: the work intervals were at around 170% of VO₂ max. Genuinely all-out. Tabata done at a comfortable pace is a fine four minute workout, but it is not the protocol from the study.

Running a real Tabata

  1. Warm up for at least five minutes. This is not optional at this intensity.
  2. Pick one movement you can do safely at full speed — bike, rower, squats, burpees.
  3. Press start and go absolutely flat out for each 20 second block.
  4. Ten seconds of rest is enough to breathe, not enough to recover. That is the point.
  5. Cool down and walk it off afterwards.

If four minutes is not enough

Two or three Tabata blocks with a few minutes between them, using different movements, is a common class structure. If you want longer work phases with more recovery, the HIIT timer starts at 40/20 and takes any numbers you like.

Questions about the Tabata timer

Is Tabata really only four minutes?

The protocol is, yes — eight rounds of 30 seconds. In practice you add a warm-up and cool-down, so the session is closer to fifteen.

Can beginners do Tabata?

Not as the first thing you try. Build a few weeks of steadier interval work first, then bring the intensity up. Bodyweight movements are safer than loaded ones at this speed.

Can I keep working in another window while it runs?

Yes, and the tab title shows the remaining time, so a glance at the tab bar tells you where you are without switching back. The alarm plays whether or not the tab is in front.

Is it really free?

Yes. Every timer here is free, needs no account, and never asks for an email address.

Sources

  1. Tabata, I., Nishimura, K., Kouzaki, M., Hirai, Y., Ogita, F., Miyachi, M. & Yamamoto, K. (1996). Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO₂ max. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 28(10), 1327–1330.