Tabata - a high intensity workout that gets results
Your workout doesn’t have to take hours.
In today's world, it's all about the most efficient way to do things while getting maximum results. If you work 9-5 you may not have enough time throughout the day to fit in your favorite type of training.
What if there was a super efficient way to train that allows you to get in and out so that you can continue with the rest of your day?
Introducing Tabata
The four-minute wonder workout you have to try.
Can I really work out in four minutes?
The answer may be yes if you are working with Tabata intervals. These high-intensity exercises will give you a sweaty pump in minimal time.
The brainchild of Dr. Izumi Tabata, the self-named Tabata training will give you new respect for interval training. It will also show you that shorter defiantly doesn’t mean easier – just the opposite in this case.
Complete Training Exercise
Training Tabata style is simple: 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. You may think this sounds simple but be warned; it’s not as easy as you may think. You’ll be required to expend maximum effort to reap maximum reward.
Tabata training aims to pack as many reps as possible into 6 or 8 sets of 20-second intervals. When the last set comes, your muscles will be filled with lactic acid, making a seemingly easy exercise much harder than you could imagine.
What makes Tabata unique is that you never have complete recovery between sets. Your heart rate remain at a constant, elevated level, ensuring your body is working at it maximum level.
Sweat Sessions
It’s best to approach Tabata as a way to create an intensive exercise interval-training program. No one specific exercise or combination of exercises is unique to Tabata: you can use almost every exercise as long as you adhere to the exercise ratio of 20 seconds on / 10 seconds off. This will keep your exercise fresh and interesting because you can always swap in new exercises to try something new.
Get started right now: all you need is a stopwatch and a bucket load of willpower. If you are new to high-intensity training, it may be enough to take just one bout of Tabata intervals. Given the rigorous nature of these exercises, you’d be wise to warm up before you start.
All the Right Moves
Create your own Tabata training by selecting one or two exercises per round. You can finish six rounds with one exercise or you can change to two exercises if you like. There is no need for anything other than your timer. Using only body weight for most exercises will enhance the job to get done especially if you are a beginner. When you are ready to add weight to your training, you will have more than a few options.
Risks and Injury
Some people may find high intensity training a little tough. If you have heart issue, get short of breath easy or are prone to injury, you may want to be careful with this training. Speak with your chiropractor or physiotherapist and ask them for recommendations on a suitable training program for your type of injury.
Examples of Tabata exercises
Lower Body Tabata Exercises
- Bodyweight squat
- Jump squat
- Box jump
- Dumbbell or sumo squats
Upper Body Tabata Exercise
- Push ups
- Bench push ups
- Bench dips
- Pull ups
- Plank row for core
Total Body Tabata Exercise
- Burpee or star jumps
- Dumbbell thruster
- Mountain climbers
- Kettle bell swing
Cardiovascular Tabata Exercise
- Skipping with rope
- Indoor row machine
- Cycling
- Sprints
With this new style of workout, if you have the endurance, you will be sure to enjoy the benefits that flow.
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