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WORKOUT TIMERS

Tabata timer

Eight rounds of 20 seconds hard and 10 seconds easy: the four-minute workout, and how to time it

A Tabata workout is 8 rounds of 20 seconds of very hard work, each followed by 10 seconds of rest: 4 minutes in all. It’s named after Izumi Tabata, whose 1996 study used this pattern on an exercise bike 1.

How to set it up in Cero

  1. Create a new simple timer, or start an advanced timer from the Tabata (20/10) template.
  2. Set high intensity to 20 seconds, low intensity to 10 seconds and sets to 8.
  3. Add a warm-up of a few minutes, and a cool down at the end.
  4. Save it, so it’s one tap away next time, on your iPhone or your Apple Watch.

What the original study found

Key study

Four minutes a day improved two kinds of fitness

  • Training study
  • Young male athletes
  • 6 weeks

Riders pedaled at about 170% of the effort that maxed out their oxygen uptake for 20 seconds, rested 10 seconds and repeated until they couldn’t hold the pace, usually after 7 or 8 bouts. Their VO2max rose by about 7 ml/kg/min and their anaerobic capacity by 28%. A group cycling at a moderate pace for an hour improved VO2max by about 5 ml/kg/min and didn’t change anaerobic capacity.

Source 1

Most Tabata classes today use bodyweight moves at a hard but sustainable pace, which is a different, gentler workout. It’s still good interval training: call it Tabata-style. Read more in the Tabata protocol.

Exercise ideas

  • Squats or jump squats
  • Burpees
  • Mountain climbers
  • Push-ups
  • Kettlebell swings
  • Sprints on an exercise bike or rower
Free toolTry a Tabata timer nowRun 20/10 × 8 in your browser, free.

Sources

  1. Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, et al. Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996;28(10):1327-1330. doi.org/10.1097/00005768-199610000-00018

YOUR NEXT SESSION STARTS HERE

Bring the effort.
We’ll keep the time.

Cero is free to download for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

Download Cero
Cero’s interval builder on iPhone 18 Pro, with the template picker, warm-up, work, recovery and cool-down intervals, and per-interval timing controls

Cero is a timer, not a medical device. If you’re new to hard exercise, are pregnant or have a health condition, check with your doctor first, and stop if you feel unwell.