Apple Watch Interval Timer — Run HIIT From Your Wrist

Phones are great until your hands are sweaty and the screen is across the room. An Apple Watch interval timer keeps work/rest cues on your wrist — glances, taps, haptics.

What Watch users need

• Clear remaining time for the current interval
• Haptic cues on transitions (you may not hear audio in a gym)
• A session that survives wrist-down and screen-off
• Optional heart rate / calorie context via Health

Phone + Watch together

Best setup for most people:

1. Build or pick the workout on iPhone (bigger UI for custom intervals).
2. Run the session where you’ll see it — Watch on the floor, phone on a stand, or both.
3. Save the workout to Apple Health when you finish.

Cadence on Apple Watch

Cadence includes a Watch app so you can start presets and run the timer from your wrist. Completions can write to Apple Health when you allow it — Health data stays on your devices.

Formats that feel great on Watch

• Boxing rounds (long work, clear corner)
• Tabata (frequent haptics)
• EMOM (minute bells)

Read more: Boxing rounds timer · Tabata 20/10.

Start this week

Install Cadence on iPhone, pair Watch, and run Day 1 of the 7-Day HIIT Starter.

Keep going

• Free 7-Day HIIT Starter — day-by-day plan mapped to Cadence presets
• Tabata 20/10 Timer Guide — How to Run the Classic Protocol
• How Long Should HIIT Rest Intervals Be?