SnapMyGym
Configurable interval timer for rest between sets, EMOMs, Tabatas, and HIIT circuits. Free, runs in your browser.
Rest length is a programming variable, not dead time — changing it changes the stimulus of the same sets and reps. This timer runs rest countdowns, EMOMs, Tabatas, and custom work/rest intervals right in your browser, no install needed.
For maximal strength (1–5 heavy reps), rest 3–5 minutes so the next set is limited by strength rather than incomplete recovery. For hypertrophy work (6–12 reps), 1.5–3 minutes balances performance and session density — resting too short cuts completed volume, and volume drives growth.
Interval formats flip the logic: EMOM (every minute on the minute) and Tabata (eight rounds of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest) fix the clock and let fatigue accumulate deliberately. They're conditioning tools — keep them away from your heaviest barbell work.
At least 1.5–2 minutes on compound lifts. Studies comparing 1-minute and 3-minute rests found more growth with longer rest, because completed volume drives hypertrophy and short rests cut your rep counts on later sets.
Every Minute On the Minute: you start a fixed piece of work at the top of each minute and rest for whatever remains. It self-regulates — as you fatigue, rest shrinks — which makes it a controlled way to build work capacity.
Eight rounds of 20 seconds of all-out work and 10 seconds of rest — four minutes total. The original study used efforts around 170% of VO2max on a bike; done honestly it's brutal, and most 'Tabata-style' classes are far easier than the real protocol.
Want the number to actually go up? Snap My Gym builds percentage-based programs around your lifts and tracks them automatically. More evidence-first training articles on the blog.