How to use it

Pick a preset, or set the rounds, the round length, and the rest yourself.
Press Start, put the phone down, and step back. You get ten seconds before the first bell.
Box until the bell. In the rest, breathe and shake out your arms. Pause or reset at any time.

Which settings to pick

New to boxing? Start with Week 1: three rounds of 1:30 with 45 seconds of rest. That is how Guardia starts beginners, and it is enough to learn the jab and the cross without your shoulders giving out.

Add time as it gets easy. Week 2 is three rounds of 2:00, and Week 4 is four rounds of 2:30. Three-minute rounds with a minute of rest come later, once you can hold your guard for the whole round.

The timer only keeps time. Guardia, the app, also calls the combos out loud and counts every punch you throw.

Before the first bell

New to exercise, or have a heart, joint, or other health condition? Check with a doctor first. The free PAR-Q+ questionnaire tells you whether you should.
Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes: easy steps, arm circles, slow shadow boxing. A warm-up helps you move better and may lower injury risk.
Clear 2 to 3 meters of floor in front of you. That is also the space the app's camera needs.
Wrap your hands and wear gloves on a bag. In Great Britain's elite team, the hand was injured more than any other part of the body. Shadow boxing needs no gloves.
Stop if you feel chest pain, dizziness, unusual shortness of breath, joint pain that does not settle, or numbness or swelling in a hand.

Timer questions

Does it work with the screen off?

No. A web page cannot ring a bell while the screen is off, so the timer asks your phone to keep the screen on while it runs. Current Safari and Chrome allow this. Keep the page open, and plug the phone in for long sessions.

Can I play music at the same time?

Yes. Start your music in another app, then come back and press Start. The bell and the voice play over it. On iPhone, turn off silent mode, or the timer stays quiet.

Does it work offline?

Yes, once the page has loaded and you have pressed Start once. The sounds load on that first tap, and after that the timer runs without a connection.

Can I save my own settings?

Add the settings to the address and bookmark it. For example, ?rounds=4&round=180&rest=60 opens the timer with four three-minute rounds and a minute of rest.

Boxing Round Timer