You’re mid-burpee, dying, and you glance at the clock.

23 seconds left.

That glance just cost you. Your form slipped. Your intensity dropped. Your brain started negotiating with your body.

“Maybe I can slow down a bit…”

Looking at the timer breaks your focus. Every single time.

The problem with interval training

Intervals work. The science is clear. Short bursts of high intensity beat steady-state cardio for fat loss, conditioning, and time efficiency.

But executing intervals properly is hard.

You need to track work periods, rest periods, and rounds. You need to know when to go hard and when to recover. You need to maintain intensity without watching the clock.

That’s a lot of cognitive load when you’re gasping for air.

Most timers make it worse

I tried generic interval timers. Problems:

  • Ugly interfaces. Hard to read when you’re sweating and your vision is blurry.
  • Confusing setups. I just want Tabata. Don’t make me enter 8 fields.
  • Weak audio cues. A quiet beep doesn’t cut it when you’re breathing heavy.
  • No presets. I have to rebuild my workout every time.

The ideal workout timer

Should be:

  1. Visible from across the room. Big numbers. High contrast.
  2. Audible over everything. Loud, clear cues you can’t miss.
  3. One-tap presets. Tabata. HIIT. EMOM. No configuration.
  4. Customizable when needed. For when you want something specific.

So I built WorkoutTimer

WorkoutTimer is what I wanted:

  • Presets for Tabata (20/10), HIIT (30/30), EMOM, custom intervals
  • Giant display you can see from anywhere
  • Audio cues that cut through your music
  • Workout history so you can track consistency

Set it. Start it. Forget it.

Your only job is to work. The timer handles everything else.

Stop watching the clock. Start training harder.

— Dolce