Issue 059

February 2010

One of the few pieces of equipment every gym should have, gym timers come in all manner of shapes, sizes and description. Get an idea of what’s out there with this guide. 

Why use them?

So you know when to stop! It keeps you honest; if you don’t have a timer set, it can sometimes be too easy to call an end to the round when you’re feeling a bit tired or in a bad position. And, if you’re going to compete, it helps to get used to how long the rounds are going to be so you can pace yourself properly.  

When would you use them?

Any time you are training, whether you are sparring MMA, kickboxing, wrestling, practicing BJJ or just working drills. You can use them for your conditioning workouts too – many gym timers can be used for interval training and tabatas as well as timing rounds.  

Types of gym timer 

While there are still old boxing-style timers with a clock face out there, most modern gyms use digital round-timers which sound a buzzer at the beginning and end of each round. Often, but not always, these come with a digital countdown display to let you know how much time is left in the round.   

Volume

Volume is sometimes overlooked as a feature of gym timers. What sounds like a loud buzzer when you’re testing it at home may not be as audible over a class full of people kicking Thai pads. 

End-of-round warning

Some timers always sound a warning 30 seconds before the end of a round, others make it optional. Consider whether this is something you want, or whether it would just be a distraction.   

Some timers always sound a warning 30 seconds before the end of a round, others make it optional. Consider whether this is something you want, or whether it would just be a distraction.   

Interval training 

You may want a timer that will allow you to set a number of separate intervals within a particular round. For example, the popular tabata training method uses 20-second work intervals with a rest period of ten seconds. Of the timers that allow you to do this, some have a choice of pre-set intervals that you can use while others will allow you to program your own. 

Adjustable round and rest times 

Timers vary in how finely you can adjust the round times. Some will let you choose between two-, three- and five-minute rounds, others let you set it to any number of minutes, while some allow you to choose exactly how many seconds you want each round and rest time to be.  

Many timers will come with pre-set programs, so you can run a set of ten three-minute rounds at the touch of a button. Some will allow you to set your own programs as well, so the routines you use regularly can be stored for easy access.   

GENERAL TIPS

Get the simplest timer that does what you need

While it might sound great to be able to adjust intervals, rounds and rest time to a second and store 17 different individualized programs, bear in mind that the more complicated the timer you get, the more time you’re going to spend messing around with it when you should be training. More functions also means there is more to go wrong – so it’s worth getting a timer that’s as simple as possible, providing it does everything you need it to do. 

Try it out

Gyms are frequently littered with several unused timers that are too complicated to use, didn’t do what they were expected to or simply broke. Round timers aren’t cheap, and it’s one piece of kit that’s definitely worth trying out before you commit to buy one. Unfortunately, as most are purchased on the Internet, this is often difficult. Try other people’s timers and ask around for recommendations, or else make sure that you can send the product back if you don’t like it.