Which CrossFit WOD timer app setup works for For Time, EMOM and AMRAP?

A two-part WOD — a 12-minute EMOM of power cleans, then a For Time chipper with a 12-minute cap — needs two timers, back to back, because one timer can't hold both parts.

How do you time a For Time workout with a cap?

Open Setup, scroll to Custom Timer and set Rounds to 1, Round to 12:00, Prep to 0:10 and Warning to 30. The clacker then goes off at 11:30 into the piece, which is your cue that the cap is close.

When you finish, look at the ring before you do anything else. If it shows, say, 3:27 left, the time is 12:00 minus 3:27, which is 8:33. Then tap Stop.

That Stop also saves the session. In History it shows up as something like 0 rounds · 8min 43s: zero because the single round never ran out, and 10 seconds more than the actual time because the prep is counted. Set Prep to 0 if you want History to read your exact time, and start on your own 3-2-1 instead.

Building the EMOM part

The EMOM 1 min preset is fixed at 20 minutes. For a 12-minute version, the same trick works in Custom Timer: Round 0:55, Rest 0:05, Prep 0:05, Rounds 12. That comes out at exactly 12:00, with a bell at the top of each minute and another 5 seconds before it.

Use Once works well for a one-off EMOM like this. Free accounts can only keep one saved timer with Save & Use, so it's worth reserving that slot for a timer used regularly, such as a 12-minute cap a coach programs most weeks.

What's limited, and what it can't do

A full-screen ad can hit the second a part ends. In the free version, one shows up after every second finished workout, so a two-part WOD catches it every time. This matters less at the end of a solo workout, but running a class off this means Pro is worth it, or warning people it's coming.

• No count-up stopwatch. Every phase counts down, so For Time is cap minus time left.
• No rep counter and no AMRAP round tally. Use chalk on the floor.
• One timer holds one structure. A strength block, then a metcon, then a Tabata finisher means three timers started by hand.
• Rounds within one timer all have the same length; no ladders.

Good enough for the garage

The bell plays over your music and with the silent switch on, and the countdown keeps going with the phone locked and face down on a plyo box. For a space with no wall clock, that's enough, and it beats a fancier app that requires a login. All the presets, Custom Timer, the Classic Bell and the Lock Screen countdown are free; Pro removes the ads and lets you save more than one custom timer.

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