A lot of people have asked me for the best way to time a run / walk programme. These timers by Gymboss, are the ones I use with all my clients. I will also say that I have no ties with Gymboss as a company.
What is it?
The Gymboss is a small, light, electronic timer that you can pre-programme with two sets of countdowns. One to time a set period of work, the other to time a set period of rest. It is therefore specifically designed for use in interval training, or beginners Run/Walk programmes.
How does it work?
Before you start your workout, whether it is weight training, running, martial arts, boxing or anything else you set the WORK INTERVAL, the REST INTERVAL, and the NUMBER OF REPETITIONS. YOu then press start and it will count down your first work interval.
At the end of this interval, it beeps and vibrates (you can change this so it vibrates only, useful for quiet gyms). It then restest the work interval, and starts counting down the rest interval. Once this is finished, it reduces the Repetitions left count by one and starts the work interval again.
Once the last repetition has been done, it beeps continuously to alert you tot he end of the session.
Is it any good?
Personally I think it is the best interval timer out there. Interval functions generally only appear on far more expensive triathlon or GPS watches. Whilst this is not a watch, it does have a clip to attach it to your shorts. The vibrate function is a great touch as you may not hear the beep outside if running, or wearing earphones.
You can programme it to the nearest second so it should suit all types of sport and exercise, upto 99 repetitions.
It runs off a single AAA battery, and this last for ages. I have had mine for a year now, using it at least 5 times a week with clients, in classes and for myself and it’s still on the initial battery I put in.
Are there any negative points?
Not really, if I had to put one, it would be that with only 3 buttons on it, it is initially a little confusing to setup, but once you’ve done it a few times it becomes second nature. It also stores the last setup you used so if it is a regular session you won’t have to change it too often.
You can buy them direct from the supplier via the club shop, listed under “Run / Walk timers”
They come with instructions but you can also get more detailed info from the video below.
