Set your work and rest with a Tabata timer

Set up the standard timing pattern

1. Choose Tabata on the home screen.
2. Check that work is 0:20 and rest is 0:10.
3. Set 8 rounds.
4. Check the count-in and audio settings.
5. Start and follow the current phase.

How long does the clock run?

Eight work/rest pairs of 30 seconds total 4 minutes, excluding your count-in. The work totals 2 minutes 40 seconds and the recovery periods total 1 minute 20 seconds.

This describes the clock pattern, not a promise about training results. Your movements, intensity and suitability depend on your training programme.

Adjust the pattern to your session

You can change the work, rest and rounds in GRIT. A modified pattern is a custom interval session; it need not be described as the original Tabata protocol. For a broader guide to repeated efforts, see work/rest intervals.

Make transitions easy to follow

Use the distinct work and rest colours and test your audio level before starting. On a small device, landscape can make the clock easier to read at a distance. Coaches can use the gym display guide to check a connected screen before the class arrives.

Follow the first two rounds

Once the count-in ends, the first work phase runs from 0:00 to 0:20, followed by rest to 0:30. The second work phase runs from 0:30 to 0:50, followed by rest to 1:00. Continue for eight rounds; GRIT includes the final ten-second recovery in the four-minute pattern.

For two separate four-minute blocks with an additional 1:00 Rest block between them, add a Tabata block, a 1:00 Rest block and another Tabata block in Build a WOD. Check both Tabata blocks are set to 0:20 work, 0:10 rest and 8 rounds. The blocks total nine minutes before any configured count-in. Because the first Tabata block already ends with ten seconds of rest, the gap between its final work phase and the next block’s first work phase is 1:10, plus any count-in.