You must have often come across the term “Tabata Workout” in the fitness circle, especially gyms and through fitness freaks and gurus.
Here in this article, we will give you all what you need to know about the Tabata workout, what it entails, its benefits and how to nail it.
Tabata workout was devised by Izumi Tabata, Ph.D., at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo. It is a high-intensity workout including reps of 20 seconds of a maximum effort workout combined with 10 seconds of rest.
This set has to be repeated eight times to complete a four-minute exhaustive Tabata workout fat blaster.
While originally, Tabata workout was designed to increase the performance of athletes was initially created to enhance athletes’ performances, it is now gaining popularity amongst normal people as well.
Traditional High-Intensity Interval Training is quite effective for burning huge amounts of calories and acquires your desired shape faster than regular paced exercises would do [1].
While High-Intensity trainings require you to exercise with maximum effort for maybe 40 seconds and then rest for the next 40 seconds (in a typical HIIT, the rest period is same as the workout period), the Tabata workout takes the regular HIIT to a notch higher by shortening the rest period and maximizing the effort and thus the calories burned [2].
The crux of the matter is that the during the Tabata workout, a person puts in greater intensity that affects a larger number of muscles than the traditional cardio exercises in a shorter time.
It is a proven fact that the Tabata workout help in increasing endurance and performance of your aerobic, which is the cardiovascular system and anaerobic, which is the muscular system.
Thus, this all the more proves the Tabata workout much focused, advanced and effective than the traditional cardio exercises.
What is best about the Tabata workout is the quick alternation between the exercise period and the rest period. This increases your heart rate and metabolism, key elements for any weight loss program.
7 Tabata Workouts Right Here for You
1. Sprint
This is the classic Tabata workout and the one that commonly crosses our mind when we think of the high-intensity Tabata workout.
For this, you need to be in an open space and start sprinting with high intensity for 20 seconds taking a 10 seconds pause for rest. Repeat this for 8 rounds and you are set!
2. High-Intensity Rope Jumps
This is another awesome cardio Tabata workout, which sets your heart racing like nobody’s business.
There are so many proven benefits of skipping ropes anyway [3] and to combine it further with a Tabata pattern would prove to be the real icing on the cake.
Jump exhaustively for 20 seconds and take rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this pattern for 8 times and there you go! You have done it!
3. Mix Burpees & Mountain Climbers
This Tabata workout particularly could be fun as you are combining two different exercises into one and doing it all together alternating from one to another.
In this, you have to do 20 seconds of burpees, then rest for 10 seconds and follow it up with 20 seconds of mountain climbers. You have to do 8 rounds of these to complete the full exercise.
4. Combine Pike Jumps & Squat Jumps
This Tabata workout is a tough one! You will find surely yourself panting after this. Start with 20 seconds of squat jumps, followed by 10 seconds of rest and then 20 seconds of pike jumps. Keep repeating the pattern for four minutes.
5. Alternate between Air Squats & Push Ups
This one guy will work on your entire body. Each and every muscle in your body will call you for help but don’t stop and be there for four minutes.
Begin this Tabata workout with 20 seconds of air squats, followed by 10 seconds of rest and then followed by 20 seconds of push-ups. Alternate until you have done this for four minutes.
6. Mix up Snowboarder Jumps & Plank Jumps
This Tabata workout works on your core, legs and cardio. Do this by starting with 20 seconds of snowboarder jumps, then resting for 10 seconds and then finishing it up with 20 seconds of plank jumps. Keep repeating until you have worked your body for four minutes.
7. Switch between High Knees & Mountain Climbers without Rest
Now this one does not give you any room for rest as you between 20 seconds of high knees and 20 seconds of mountain climbers repeating the pattern for full four minutes.
In the end of it, you find yourself panting but remember, this Tabata workout is super effective!
4 Super Benefits of the Tabata Workout
1. Tabata Workout Works as a Fat Blaster
Given the fact that your body is engaged in a very high-intensity workout, it works much harder than is required in regular exercises.
Tabata workout raises your heart and metabolic rate at a much faster pace and your metabolic rate remain high even after you have are not working out. What more do you wish for? Your body will burn fat even if you are sitting idle.
A major difference between other forms of cardio exercises and Tabata workout is that your body while doing the regular cardio exercises takes some time to enter the fat burning state and moves out of the state as soon as your stop the cardio, Tabata workout because of its high intensity nature, puts your body directly into the fat burning state and keeps it there even hours after you have stopped the Tabata workout.
2. Helps in Protection of Your Muscles
While engaging in the long duration cardio exercises leads to greater wear and tear of your muscle tissues, the short duration of time it takes to complete the Tabata workout acts instrumentally in helping you retain your muscle tissues [4].
The Tabata workout High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) places stress on muscle tissue, which tells the body that more muscle tissues are needed.
This leads to increase in the ratio of your lean body mass to fat. Subsequently, if you wisely select exercises that maximize the muscle mass worked, there is a good chance of muscle tissue increasing.
3. Requires Much Lesser Time
All you procrastinators, with the Tabata workout catching up in the world of fitness, you now cannot come up with excuses, especially lack of time!
All what Tabata workout takes is a few minutes from your entire day and you are good to go.
Another awesome aspect of the Tabata workout is that you do not need a gym or expensive equipment to do the workout.
All you need are maybe bands and dumbells along with your focus, motivation and determination.
4. Helps in Increase of Aerobic and Anaerobic Capacities
Engaging in Tabata workout helps in the increase of our aerobic capacity, which means the maximum capacity of our body to uptake oxygen.
It also increases our body’s anaerobic capacity, which is the maximum amount of energy that can be produced by our body in the absence of oxygen
According to a recent study [5], people who undertook Tabata workout experienced an increase in their aerobic capacity by 14% and anaerobic capacity by 28%.
The result of this is greater stamina to perform the workout and other day to day chores along with a higher level of resistance to constant strain and wear & tear.
So start you Tabata workout today and let us know how you fared at it by leaving a comment below.
To know more about nutrition, exercises and weight loss, talk to our Possible Nutritionist today. The first consultation is on us! Click here to avail it!
Tabata Workouts are really very nice.
Thank you for your feedback. Keep following our blog for more such articles.
Good Article on Tabata workout.