Tabata timer 10/20 x 8
10 sec work, 20 sec rest, 8 rounds. 3 min 50 sec total. Starts with a 10 sec get-ready count.
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10 sec work, 20 sec rest, 8 rounds. 3 min 50 sec total. Starts with a 10 sec get-ready count.
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What this one is for
This flips the classic ratio: ten seconds of work, twenty of rest, 1:2 instead of 2:1. Four minutes total, same as the original, but the work only accounts for eighty seconds of it. That makes it the version to start with if a full 20/10 has you slowing down by round three.
It is also the right shape for movements where ten seconds is all the good reps you have. Box jumps, heavy swings, broad jumps, sprint starts: quality drops off a cliff once fatigue arrives, and the long rest keeps every round looking like the first.
The double rest means you should be going harder per round, not coasting. If you finish eight rounds without needing the whole twenty seconds, move up to 20/20 or straight to 20/10.
02
Good for
- A first week of interval training with real recovery
- Explosive movements: box jumps, broad jumps, sprint starts
- Returning to conditioning after time off
- Older or deconditioned clients who need the rest to be longer than the work
03
How it runs
10 sec work, 20 sec rest, 8 rounds. 3 min 50 sec total. Starts with a 10 sec get-ready count. Press Start, or hit Space. The digits turn green while a work block runs and grey on rest.
Sound is on by default: a rising pair for work, a falling pair for rest, a tick for the last three seconds and a three-note finish. Mute with the speaker button. The screen stays on while the timer runs and the tab title shows the time left.
Change anything in Settings under the timer. The last setup you used on this page is remembered in your browser.
Questions people ask
- Is this really a Tabata?
- No, and it is fine not to be. Tabata is 20/10 x 8 at an intensity most people never reach. This keeps the four-minute frame and the eight rounds while making the work-to-rest ratio survivable.
- What is the next step up from 10/20?
- Either lengthen the work to 20 seconds and keep the 20 of rest, or keep 10 seconds of work and cut rest to 10. The first builds capacity, the second builds tolerance for short rest. Both are one field in the settings.
- Ten seconds is very short. How many reps is that?
- Three to five of most loaded movements, two or three box jumps, maybe eight mountain climbers per side. Count what you get in round one and try to match it in round eight.