How to use a climbing timer without pausing your music
Use a timer whose beeps play over other audio instead of taking the speaker, and one that remembers when a rest ends instead of counting down second by second, so it doesn't stop when you open another app or lock the phone. Test both before a session. Start a playlist, run a 10-second countdown and check the music keeps going through the beep. Then start a 4-minute rest, lock the phone for a minute and unlock it: it should show about 3 minutes left, not 4. If either test fails, you'll end up timing rests in your head.
In Blok Sessions the guided timer (Pro) beeps over your music, keeps time when you leave the app or lock the phone, and shows the countdown on the Lock Screen.
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Why a timer pauses your music
A phone gives its speaker to one app at a time unless an app asks to share it. A timer that doesn’t ask takes the audio for every beep, and your music app gets told to stop. Some pick back up a second later, some wait for you to press play with chalky hands, and some turn the music down for the whole session.
A timer that asks to mix its sound with other audio just plays the beep on top. The playlist never notices.
Why the timer stops when you leave the app
Phones pause apps you’re not looking at to save battery. A timer that counts down by subtracting one second at a time stops counting the moment it’s paused. You open a message during a 4-minute rest, come back, and it still says 3:40.
A timer that stores the time the rest ends doesn’t have that problem. When you come back it works out what’s left from the clock, so the rest is the length you set.
The long rests are exactly where this bites. Nobody checks their phone during a 7-second hang, but everyone does during 3 or 4 minutes between sets.
Two tests before you trust a timer
- The music test. Start a playlist, then a short countdown with sound on. The music should keep playing through the beep, at the same volume.
- The pocket test. Start a 4-minute rest. Lock the phone, wait a minute, unlock it. You should see about 3 minutes left. Do it again, this time switching to another app instead of locking.
Both take under two minutes. Do them at home, not between your first and second set.
If your timer fails one
- Fails the music test: turn the timer’s sound off and watch the screen, or play music from a second device.
- Fails the pocket test: keep the timer on screen for the whole session and turn up the auto-lock time on your phone for training days. Prop the phone where you can see it from the board or the mat.
- Fails both: that’s a timer you’ll be fighting every session. For anything with rest between sets, like 7/3 repeaters, you’ll lose count of sets as well as seconds.
How Blok Sessions handles it
The guided timer is part of Pro. Its countdown beeps play over whatever you’re listening to. It keeps time when you leave the app or lock the phone and catches up when you come back, and the Lock Screen shows the countdown, so you can see what’s left of a rest without unlocking.
It runs one exercise per screen with the work, the rest and the rounds built in, so the 3 minutes between sets of repeaters is part of the exercise, not a second timer you start by hand. Pro is €2.99 a month, €14.99 a year or €24.99 once. If you’d rather use your own timer, the planning and the logbook are free.
Questions
Does the timer keep going with the phone locked?
In Blok Sessions, yes. The Lock Screen shows the countdown, and when you unlock the phone the timer has caught up to where it should be. A timer that shows 4:00 again after a minute in your pocket is counting seconds only while it's on screen.
Should I lock my phone during hangs?
For short hangs, keep the timer on screen so you can see each change coming. During the long rests, lock it or check a message if you like, and glance at the Lock Screen for what's left. It doesn't beep while the phone's locked, so look before the rest runs out.
What happens if I open another app during a rest?
The guided timer keeps time while you're away and catches up when you come back, so a 3-minute rest stays 3 minutes even if you spent two of them in another app.
Why does my music stop and not come back?
When a timer takes over the phone's audio for a beep, the music app is told to pause, and not every app resumes afterwards. A timer that mixes its sound with other audio never interrupts the music in the first place.
Is the guided timer free?
No, guided sessions are Pro, at €2.99 a month, €14.99 a year or €24.99 once. The session builder, plans, logbook, tests and trends are free.