What Does “For Time” Mean in a Workout?
For Time means completing a specified amount of work as quickly as you can while maintaining the required movement standards.
The clock starts when you begin the workout and stops when you complete the final repetition, distance or round.
Your finishing time becomes your score.
For example:
Row 1,000 metres — For Time
Simply means completing 1,000 metres on the rowing machine and recording how long it takes you.
How Does a For Time Workout Work?
A For Time workout might contain a single task, several exercises or multiple rounds.
For example:
2 Rounds For Time
5 Burpees
5 Squats
You would complete:
Round 1: 5 Burpees + 5 Squats
Round 2: 5 Burpees + 5 Squats
The clock runs continuously throughout.
Once you've completed the final squat, stop the clock.
If it takes you 1 minute 42 seconds, that's your score.
Pacing a For Time Workout
The challenge isn't simply working as hard as physically possible from the first second.
You need to manage your effort.
Start too slowly and you'll finish knowing you could have pushed harder.
Go absolutely hell-for-leather at the beginning of a longer workout and you may spend considerably more time recovering later.
The aim is to find the fastest pace you can sustain for the workout in front of you.
Ideally, as you approach the final section, you should be able to increase your effort and finish knowing there wasn't much left in the tank.
That's a skill in itself.
The more For Time workouts you complete, the better you'll become at judging your pace.
What If I Need to Rest?
Rest when you need to.
The clock doesn't stop, so unnecessary rest will increase your finishing time—but staggering around unable to perform another decent rep isn't particularly productive either.
If you're struggling, take a few controlled breaths, get yourself ready and continue.
As you become fitter, one sign of progress may be that you can complete the same workout with shorter or fewer rest periods.
Don't Sacrifice Technique for the Clock
This is important.
“For Time” doesn't mean “anything goes.”
Your repetitions should still meet the required standard and your technique shouldn't completely fall apart just because there's a stopwatch running.
If you're new to an exercise, concentrate on learning to perform it well before worrying about shaving seconds from your time.
The clock adds intensity.
It shouldn't remove common sense.
Why Use For Time Workouts?
For Time workouts provide a simple way of measuring performance.
If you repeat the same workout under similar conditions and complete it faster, that's a clear indication that something has improved.
Depending on the workout, that could reflect improvements in:
fitness, muscular endurance, movement efficiency, pacing or your ability to recover between efforts.
Just remember that comparisons are only useful when the workout remains the same.
Changing the weight, distance, movement standards or number of repetitions creates a different test.
For Time Example
Here's a simple example:
2 Rounds For Time
5 Burpees
5 Squats
Start the clock with your first burpee.
Complete both rounds.
Stop the clock when you finish your final squat.
Your finishing time is your score.
Watch the video below to see the workout in action.