You may have heard the word Tabata in or outside the gym. Tabata has definitely become a household name in the fitness industry in recent years. Whether you like CrossFit, Spinning, running, cycling, home workouts, or other different fitness boot camps, you've probably heard of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Tabata is one of the best known HIIT protocols to go with sports. Here are ten reasons why ...
Scientifically proven
In 1996 Dr. Izumi Tabata an experiment to test the aerobic and anaerobic benefits of a specific interval protocol: 20 seconds of high-intensity output followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 8 intervals. He compared a group of athletes who performed this method for 6 weeks with another group who did 60 minutes of slow steady-state training for 6 weeks.
Long story short, Dr. Tabata found that the interval protocol significantly improves both the aerobic and anaerobic systems. This had never been tested before. Traditionally, it was thought that the two had to be trained separately. Dr. Tabata, now known as the Tabata Protocol, dramatically changed the fitness world, kickstarting the start of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
When doing Tabatas, rest (ten seconds at a time) in the knowledge that it has been scientifically proven that you are improving your fitness!
Increases your metabolism (the Tabata Afterburn effect on fat)
When you perform a “real” tabata (100% effort for all 8 intervals), your body creates what is called oxygen debt. In essence, your energy system makes use of reserves of oxygen stored in you that borrow oxygen for one final burst of energy. You are literally “emptying the tank”. When your body recovers, it must return this borrowed oxygen to your muscles. This puts the body in an elevated metabolic state for hours as it works hard to recover.
Understanding how your body's energy systems work is helpful. When you exercise in a steady state (walking, running, cycling at a constant slow / moderate pace), your lungs collect a constant supply of oxygen, which is used to constantly fuel your body. muscles. This is your aerobic (with air) system.
If you increase your speed or intensity enough, you will reach a point where your lungs are no longer able to process oxygen quickly enough. This is when your anaerobic system (without air) kicks in. The anaerobic system 'borrows' stored energy from your muscles… by sending oxygen back to those muscles so they can recover. This “borrowed debt” from oxygen is called oxygen debt. The more energy is borrowed, the more oxygen debt there is.
How does this affect metabolism and fat loss? To put it this way ... If you spend 30 minutes on a cardio machine at a traditional “fat burning rate” (120-135 bpm, depending on age), you burn some fat for, well, 30 minutes. However, if you exercise at an intensity level that causes an oxygen debt, you increase your metabolism for the rest of the day, as your body is in recovery mode and burns fat for much more than 30 minutes.
You can adjust Tabata to your liking
Regardless of your physical ability, you can adjust movements to your own ability. Whether you're doing sprints, push-ups, planks, or just sitting and standing for 20 seconds straight, there is always some type of movement for you to perform.
You can do a Tabata anytime, anywhere!
Whether you're using Tabata as a wrap-up after a grueling workout, performing a quick set of Tabata push-ups before lunch, or stringing together a few floor exercises in your hotel room while traveling, this method will definitely boost your fitness!
No equipment needed
What do you need to get started? Do you have a body? Yes. Are you surrounded by some gravity? Always present. Well, then you are ready to go!
Although you can certainly use everything from barbells to kettlebells, barbells to chin-up bars, treadmills to elliptical trainers, skipping ropes to… you understand… but basically you don't NEED anything for a Tabata interval training.
Keeps track of your results to keep improving
Rather than tracking your body weight, you may find it more motivating and enjoyable to track your ability and improved performance instead. People tend to be overly concerned with what they weigh while overlooking their actual fitness level.
Tabatas make it super easy to keep track of your fitness level and improvements. For example, let's say your goal is to do as many burpees as possible over the course of the 8 intervals. And, for example, that you successfully performed 45 burpees the first time. Write it down and make sure to run a whopping 46 next time. Push your limits in this way over and over again. Your fitness WILL improve. Try it.
You can do this with pretty much anything ...
Tabata for distances with running, cycling or rowing. For reps with pushups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, air squats, you name it.
It's only four minutes of intensity
No time to train? That is understandable, because life is all hectic. See, we all have busy lives. But how many minutes each day do many spend mindlessly looking at friends' Facebook photos of what they ate last night? Or watching a video someone sent you of a dog doing back flips? Add up this wasted time and we guarantee that you should be able to fit a few minutes of intensive Tabata training into your daily routine.
A big reason (or excuse!) Why people don't exercise is because they don't have time. Well, the Tabata workout can be done for literally 11 minutes, including warm up and cool down. Yes, you read that right, 11 minutes in total! After a five-minute warm-up, the Tabata is a four-minute session consisting of eight intervals of which you train at a very high intensity for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds. You then finish this with a cooling of two minutes. Surely there is time for that?
Targets
What are your current fitness goals? If you're like most of us, you probably want to burn off some fat while adding some muscle as well. Or maybe you want to get stronger or faster, improve your endurance or increase your VO2max oxygen uptake. Whatever your goal or goals may be, you can find an application for Tabata. See the example training courses below for these objectives.
power
Choose 4 resistance-based exercises that you can repeat for barely 20 seconds… think squats, curls, presses, extensions, etc. Do 20 seconds of each of the 4 exercises. Repeat! (Example: upright row, bench press, deadlift, squat, repeat)
Endurance
Are you trying to rebuild to run? Try jogging for 20 seconds at a time with 10 seconds of rest in between. Do you want to build your muscle endurance? Choose an exercise, or multiple exercises, of low to medium intensity. Something that does not make you completely and immediately out of breath. Think planks, wall sitting, lunges, etc. How many sets of Tabata can you complete before giving up !? (Example: Hold an elbow plank for 20 seconds at a time with 10 seconds rest for as long as possible).
VO2Max
The original TABATA study proved that cycling at top speed for 8 of these intervals effectively increases an athlete's VO2max. So hop on a bike, or choose an exercise that puts full strain on your muscles and lungs. (Example: sprinting by bike or on foot).
Music and timers
There are a wide variety of timers, apps and music for Tabata training. There are several websites and apps with guidance and music that coaches the listener through the workout and asks when to GO and STOP. This means you no longer have to look at a clock or turn down the music to hear the timer.
Feasible for everyone!
Let's face it, shouldn't it be feasible for everyone to be able to perform such a short, but intensive training? 4 minutes daily and you will quickly reap the benefits.
Sources include Fernwood (link), Huffpost (link), Tabata Songs (link)
