Tabata Tuesday!

The Tabata Revolution

Tabata training is a high-intensity workout protocol with fitness as well as weight loss benefits. It can also be a very short workout – as short as 4 minutes. Therefore, Tabata training is pretty attractive because it saves time.

A Japanese physician and researcher, Dr. Izumi Tabata, invented Tabata training. His interval based training model includes 20/10 intervals, repeated eight times. The 20/10 interval means 20 seconds of all-out exercise, followed by a 10 second rest. When you repeat that eight times, the total time for the Tabata set adds up to four minutes.

When Dr. Tabata tested out his new type of training for six weeks, he found that the participant’s aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels increased during those six weeks. The anaerobic level was increased by 28% in his participants! 

Although interval training is not a new form of exercise, it has been gaining popularity in the past few years. Interval training was originally designed for running, but this type of interval training can be used for running, cardiovascular training, core training, and/or weight training.

Tabata training is good for helping to raise your metabolism and get your heart rate up immediately. During Tabata, the exercises are performed at a very high intensity; therefore, your body has to work harder to keep up the exercise. This makes the heart work harder and causes your metabolism to jump (which is great if you are wanting to lose fat)! Your metabolism will not only jump during your workout, but will stay high after your workout too. This means your body will burn fat for hours after exercising with this type of intervals.

The options for Tabata workouts are only limited to your imagination. Many exercises and types of equipment can be incorporated into Tabata workouts.

If you are just starting out with Tabata training, start with 4 exercises per Tabata. Here is an example:

1.      Push Ups

2.      Squats

3.      Medicine Ball Slams

4.      Jump Rope

Here’s how you do it. Do 20 seconds of push-ups, then rest for 10 seconds. Do 20 seconds of squats, then rest for 10 seconds. 20 seconds of ball slams, 10 seconds of rest. 20 seconds of jumping rope, 10 seconds of rest. Then, do that whole series again. Completing the series twice will take you 4 minutes. You could do the series up to 8 times for a 16 minute workout. Add in a five to ten minute warm up and cool down and you’ve got a full 30 minute, intense, workout.

Don’t be deceived though – 20 seconds may not sound very difficult, but if you are pushing to the maximum that you can, those 20 seconds will seem like forever, and the 10 second rests will feel like nothing. Be prepared to sweat in a Tabata workout because you will be working hard.

Before beginning a Tabata workout, make sure to warm up well by getting your heart rate up and doing some dynamic stretching to get your body ready for the demands of the workout.  

Benefits of Tabata Training

·         Teaches your body to tolerate lactic acid

·         Increases your threshold for exercising

·         Keep your metabolism running

·         Keeps your body burning fat after your workout

Precautions of Tabata Training

·         Make sure you can do all the exercises properly, and with good form, before ever putting them into a Tabata workout

·         Start slow – start with one Tabata set of 4 minutes, then work your way up

Are you ready to try out some Tabata training? Here are some exercises to try, Tabata style. Remember, you can mix and match and of the exercises. Pick 4, 2, or even just 1 exercise to use in your Tabata cycle.

·         Mountain Climbers

·         Burpees

·         Stair Laps

·         Sprints

·         Squats

·         Deadlift

·         Pull Ups

·         Sit Ups

·         Bench Press

·         Crunches

·         Bicep Curls

·         Triceps Dips

·         Shoulder Press

·         Flies

·         Leg Raises

·         Calf Raises

Whatever exercise you choose, it is wise to choose exercises that use a large number of muscles, or large muscle groups to get the maximum benefit.

Have some fun with your Tabata training and let us over here at HFA know if you create a Tabata set or whole Tabata workout that you just love. We would love to hear about what you created!