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| Image courtesy of Peanut Butter Fingers |
Let’s talk Tabata training.
Tabata training, according to bodybuilding.com, “is one of
the most popular forms of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). It consists
of eight rounds of ultra-high-intensity exercises in a specific 20-seconds-on,
10-seconds-off interval.” Tabata training according to me is pretty much a new
form of torture, disguised as an actual workout routine. Then again, I have
that same feeling about most workouts.
The idea behind Tabata training is that it works both your
aerobic and anaerobic systems to give you maximum calorie burn for the time you
put in. In other words, it tries to kill you in 4 minutes. Unless you’re insane
(like me) and try to go through the entire workout, which consists of 8 rounds
for a total of 32 minutes.
So does it really work? Lots of people say yes, it does.
According to a research report posted the American Council of Exercise’s (ACE)
website, four minutes of exercise may not be enough for you to reach your
fitness goals but, “based on the evidence, short-burst, high-intensity training
is the real deal. And adapting Tabata-style training to fit your client’s
workouts is without a doubt another very effective approach you can employ to
help them achieve their goals.”
If you’re looking for numbers, this is what the research
posted on ACE’s website reveals: The 16 subjects burned between 240 and 360
kcals during the workout, for an average of 15 kcals per minute burned. Again,
Tabata met established guidelines for calorie expenditure for improving health
and facilitating weight loss. On average, subjects also anecdotally perceived
Tabata to be pretty darn tough. The average RPE was 15.4 (rated as “hard”).
Meanwhile, blood lactate levels averaged 12.1 mmol/L following the workouts,
suggesting that subjects were working out well above their lactate thresholds.
If you would like to read the rest of the article, you can
go here.
Interested in trying out this killer (literally) HIIT
workout? If you’re a beginner, you might want to start off easy, but if you’re
advance, give it all you’ve got!
Here are my (totally non-professional!) recommendations:
For beginners:
Do pushups for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, do jumping
jacks for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat until you’ve done 4 sets
on pushups and 4 sets of jumping jacks. Try to get at least one more circuit
in, using some of your favorite exercise moves in place of the pushups and
jumping jacks.
For advanced:
20 sec. pushups
10 sec. rest
20 sec. lunges with bicep curls
10 sec. rest
(repeat 4x)
20 sec. burpees
10 sec. rest
20 sec. squat jumps
10 sec. rest
(repeat 4x)
20 sec. Russian twists
10 sec. Rest
20 sec. bicycle crunches
10 sec. rest
(repeat 4x)
20 sec. sumo-squats with triceps extensions
10 sec. rest
20 sec. crescent pose with reverse flyes
10 sec. rest
(repeat 4x)
20 sec. jumping jacks
10 sec. rest
20 sec. jump rope
10 sec. rest
(repeat 4x)
20 sec. crunches
10 sec. rest
20 sec. twisting plank
10 sec. rest
(repeat 4x)
Come up with 2 more rounds and your good to go! (Sorry, I’m
too lazy to think of anything else.)
Again, I have no training in health and fitness and only
know what I’ve learned through internet searches and working my own body. If
you don’t trust my Tabata suggestions, you can find more online. Basically,
though, the idea is that you do 1 serious move for 20 seconds, rest for 10
seconds, do another serious move for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and
repeat 4 times and go as hard as you can.
Good luck! Drink plenty of water! And remember to stretch!
Molly
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