Tabata Training

The tabata protocol was developed by the head coach of the Japanese speed skating team. This happened to be Dr Tabata who done a PHD on this to see the effectiveness of this workout.

What is the tabata protocol?

The tabata protocol is similar to HIIT training, in that you work intensely hard for a time period and then rest.Tabata training simply consists of 20 seconds of hard intervals followed by 10 seconds of rest. It lasts only 4 minutes, consisting of 8 reps, but can be repeated as many times as desired. The difference between this and a HIIT Workout is that the rest duration of tabatas is much shorter. The rest periods of high intensity interval training are usually double or even triple the time you spent exercising.

How Can You Burn Fat in 4 Minutes?

Its not so much that you burn fat during the workout, its more the after burn effect it creates. By depleting the glycogen levels in your muscles, it will force your body to burn fat to use as fuel for its metabolism. So, don't be so quick to eat after this workout. Steady state cardio will burn more calories during the workout, but tabatas are known to burn more total calories during and after the workout.

Sounds Too Easy?

Give it a try and let me know how hard you were breathing. This is not an easy workout by any means, short yes but intense as hell. During Dr. Tabata's research it was noted that several members of the skating team had to stop at 6 intervals on their first few tries.

Check out the video below of me performing tabata training using shadow boxing.

Very short, and helps to develop your aerobic as well as anaerobic systems. It can be done using almost any exercise, so for sports athletes you could use this as part of your workout. A basketballer for example could jump and touch the rim for 20 seconds.