A free interval timer for every timed workout.

Why timed workouts need a dedicated timer

Most people doing interval training reach for their phone between rounds and tap through a generic countdown app, a YouTube video with a background track, or — worst of all — a manual clock check. None of these work well in a gym. Your hands are sweaty, the screen is small, and your focus should be on breathing, not navigating an interface.

A dedicated interval timer solves three things at once: it structures your work and rest periods so you do not have to think about them mid-effort, it tells you when to go and when to stop through sound and vibration (not just a visual countdown), and it keeps the clock readable from a distance — across a room, from a squat rack, or from the top of a pull-up bar.

The problem is that almost every standalone interval timer app charges for the features that actually matter — customisable formats, unlimited rounds, beep controls, or simply no ads interrupting your Tabata. SammaGym includes these timers as part of a free workout tracker, so you get the full-featured clock alongside your training log, with nothing locked behind a paywall.

The four main timed-workout formats explained

If you are new to timed workouts, or you have heard the terms but want to understand the differences, here is a plain-language breakdown of the four formats SammaGym supports — plus a note on who each one suits.

Tabata

Tabata is the most precisely defined of the four formats. The original protocol — published by Dr. Izumi Tabata and colleagues in 1996 — consists of eight rounds of 20 seconds of maximum-effort work followed by 10 seconds of rest, for a total of four minutes. The research showed that this specific structure produced significant improvements in both aerobic and anaerobic capacity in trained athletes.

In practice, Tabata has become a shorthand for any 20/10 interval workout, whether you do the original 8 rounds or extend it. It suits bodyweight exercises (burpees, squat jumps, push-ups), cardio machines, or any movement you can perform at close to maximum effort for 20 seconds. The 10-second rest is genuinely short — the timer must be audible and visible, because you have almost no time to look at your phone.

EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute)

EMOM means you perform a set number of reps at the start of each minute. Whatever time remains in that minute after finishing your reps is your rest. If you complete 10 kettlebell swings in 30 seconds, you rest for the remaining 30. If you slow down and take 50 seconds, you only get 10 seconds of rest.

This format builds pacing discipline. It is widely used in CrossFit-style conditioning, Olympic lifting practice, and strength-endurance work. An EMOM timer needs to beep clearly at the top of every minute — the cue to start your next set — even if you are mid-rest with the phone face-down.

AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)

AMRAP gives you a fixed time window — typically 10 to 20 minutes — and a list of movements with rep counts. You cycle through them continuously, counting how many full rounds you complete before the timer ends. Your score is your round count, giving you a benchmark to beat in future sessions.

AMRAP is a test of pacing and aerobic capacity as much as strength. You need a simple countdown timer that stays visible and sounds clearly when time expires. There are no intervals during the workout — the timer runs straight to zero.

For Time

For Time is the inverse of AMRAP: you are given a fixed list of work (for example, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats — the Murph workout is the canonical example), and your score is how long it takes to complete it. The clock counts up from zero and you stop it when the last rep is done.

For Time workouts are used as benchmark tests in CrossFit and similar training frameworks. The timer here is a stopwatch — simple, but it needs to be running and visible so you can pace yourself against your previous time.

How SammaGym's built-in timer works

The timer in SammaGym is accessed directly from the workout screen — no separate app to open, no context switch. Select your workout format, configure the parameters, and start. Here is what the experience looks like for each format.

• Tabata. Set your work interval (default 20 s), rest interval (default 10 s), and number of rounds (default 8). The timer displays the current phase (Work / Rest), remaining time in that phase, and your round progress. A loud beep signals every phase transition.
• EMOM. Set your minute duration and total duration. The timer counts down within the current minute and beeps at the top of each new minute — your cue to begin the next set.
• AMRAP. Set your total time window. A clean countdown runs from your chosen duration to zero. A final beep and vibration signals the end.
• For Time. A stopwatch counts up from zero. Tap to stop when you complete the work. The elapsed time is saved to your session log alongside your set data.
• Custom intervals. Set work time, rest time, number of rounds, and an optional preparation countdown before the first round begins.

Beeps are loud enough to hear over most gym environments. Vibration runs alongside the beep for situations where audio is not practical — earbuds in, noisy environment, or a shared space where you do not want to disturb others. Both can be toggled independently.

Every timed session is saved to your training log. You can review how many rounds you completed, note the movements you did, and track whether your pacing improves across sessions. This is what separates a timer built into a workout tracker from a standalone timer app — the data does not disappear when you close the clock.

Full-screen mode and lock-screen visibility

One of the most common complaints about timer apps is that the numbers are too small to read mid-workout. If you are doing a Tabata and your phone is sitting on the floor two metres away, a small countdown in a standard app layout is useless.

SammaGym's timer uses a full-screen layout during active intervals. The remaining time is displayed in a large, high-contrast format designed to be readable from across a room — from a pull-up bar, from the other side of a bench, or while running on a treadmill facing away from where your phone sits.

The timer also stays visible on the lock screen. If your phone auto-locks between rounds — which it will, unless you have disabled auto-lock — you do not need to unlock it to see the countdown or the current phase. The relevant information stays on screen. This is the same behaviour as the rest timer for strength sets, which also runs on the lock screen so you can track your rest between sets without keeping the phone unlocked.

SammaGym is a Progressive Web App (PWA) available at app.sammagym.com. Install it from your browser to get the full lock-screen and home-screen experience.

Combining timed workouts with strength tracking

Most people who do timed conditioning workouts also lift. The problem with keeping a separate timer app is that your conditioning sessions live in one place and your strength sessions live somewhere else. You cannot see the full picture of what you are doing — and that matters for programming.

When you log both inside SammaGym, your timeline shows everything: a heavy lower-body session on Monday, an AMRAP on Tuesday, a rest day on Wednesday, an upper-body push session on Thursday. You can see whether a hard conditioning day before a strength session is affecting your performance, whether you are recovering enough, and whether your overall volume is sustainable.

• Timed workouts log to your session history alongside strength sessions — same date view, same weekly summary.
• Round counts and elapsed times are saved so you can benchmark the same workout in future sessions and see improvement.
• GPS cardio (runs, rides, walks) also logs to the same history — see the full picture of your training week in one place.
• Auto-regulated progression on the strength side uses your full session history, including conditioning volume, to flag when you may be accumulating fatigue across training types.

For athletes programming hybrid training — combining strength work with conditioning — having a single log is significantly more useful than separate apps. Our calculators include tools for estimating training load and recovery that work best when all your sessions are in one place.

Why free matters for a tool you use daily

A workout timer is a tool you reach for every single training session. A subscription for something that basic adds up quickly — and the mental friction of a paywall on a daily-use utility is real. You start wondering whether you should open the app or find a workaround.

SammaGym's timers are free forever, as is the rest of the app. There is no tier where Tabata costs extra, no ad interrupting the countdown between rounds, and no prompt asking you to upgrade when you try to add a custom interval.

The reason this is possible is that SammaGym is built as a complete training tool — the timer is one component of a tracker that also handles strength logging, auto-regulated progression, GPS cardio, progress photos, and a coaching toolkit. The value is in the whole package, not in charging separately for each piece.

If you want to see everything SammaGym includes, the features overview covers the full list. And if you are comparing options more broadly, the guide to the best free workout tracker lays out the field honestly.