WHAT IS TABATA TRAINING?
Tabata training is a High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) program that has been scientifically proven to help increase endurance and performance for your aerobic (cardiovascular) and anaerobic (muscular) systems. For competitive athletes, professional trainers, and even casual exercisers, Tabata is a highly efficient method to achieve maximum results by helping you burn fat and build muscles. Tabata training works in 20 second intervals of high intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest, and repeated eight times for a total of four minutes but at Tabata Ultimate Fitness we break the rules a little bit. While the workout is short, the 20 second bursts of exercise are so intense that many consider Tabata to be one of the most grueling, yet rewarding, exercises they have ever tried. Are you looking for new and effective ways to switch up your workout routine? Tabata training might be exactly what you need.
THE WORKOUT
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THE SCIENCE
The science behind the tabata training method is heavily grounded in, well, science. In 1996, Japanese physician Dr. Izumi Tabata conducted a study to test the benefits of interval-based training on athletes. Dr. Tabata studied two groups for six weeks, one of whom exercised using a standard “control” method, and the other using his newly developed interval-based workout. The control group exercised for one hour five times a week, at a moderate level of intensity. The test group used the four minute, 20-seconds-on, 10-seconds-off, Tabata workout. By the end of the six weeks, while the control group trained for 1,800 minutes and the Tabata group only trained for 120, it was the Tabata group that drastically improved its aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels. Dr. Tabata effectively proved, scientifically, the advantages of HIIT programs.
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THE METHOD
The best part about Tabata is that when it comes to the actual exercise, you can use whatever workout is best for you. The rapid alternating between exercise and rest will increase your heart rate and metabolism immediately, and you can incorporate whatever equipment suits your individual workout. Tabata is effective in helping you target specific muscle groups because of the short (yet intense) length of the workout. You can work out one muscle group for the entire length of the workout, rest, and begin another four-minute exercise on an entirely different group. Some runners use Tabata to increase their sprinting endurance, whereas other trainers do pushups, situps, weight training, or any other sets on repeat for their workout before moving on to something else. Learn more about the high intensity Tabata training workouts at Tabata Ultimate Fitness.