Tabata timer 30/30 x 8
30 sec work, 30 sec rest, 8 rounds. 7 min 40 sec total. Starts with a 10 sec get-ready count.
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30 sec work, 30 sec rest, 8 rounds. 7 min 40 sec total. Starts with a 10 sec get-ready count.
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What this one is for
Equal work and rest is the most forgiving interval shape there is, and it happens to be a well-worn format in endurance training. Thirty seconds hard, thirty easy, repeated: cyclists and runners have used 30/30 for decades because you can hold a genuinely high intensity across all the reps instead of fading.
Eight rounds is eight minutes and sits comfortably in a session as a standalone block. The half-minute of rest is long enough to get your breath back part way and short enough that round eight still costs something. If it feels easy, the honest answer is that round one was too slow.
It works outdoors as much as indoors: hard-run thirty seconds, jog thirty, no measuring distance and no looking at a watch. The rising tone starts the effort, the falling tone releases you.
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Good for
- Classic 30/30 running or cycling intervals
- Rowing at a hard but repeatable split
- Kettlebell or dumbbell work where 10 seconds of rest is not enough
- A first proper HIIT block for someone who already trains
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How it runs
30 sec work, 30 sec rest, 8 rounds. 7 min 40 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
- How hard should the 30 seconds be?
- Hard enough that eight rounds is the most you would want and no harder. If round two already feels unsustainable you have picked a sprint pace for an interval workout.
- Is 1:1 enough rest to call it recovery?
- Partly. You will start each round a little less fresh than the last, which is the intended effect. For full recovery between efforts you want 1:2 or 1:3, which is what the sprint preset on the interval timer is for.
- Can I run it for longer than eight rounds?
- Yes, 30/30 scales well. Twelve rounds is twelve minutes, twenty is twenty. Change Rounds in the settings and it is remembered in your browser.