Tabata: 4-Minute Workouts That Burn Fat Better Than Running

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You can lose weight and get fit by exercising for 4 minutes a day.

What is Tabata

This is a high-intensity interval training method invented by the Japanese doctor Izumi Tabata.

The bottom line is to do the exercise with all your might for 20 seconds, and then rest for 10 seconds. Eight such rounds fit into four minutes.

A workout can include one or more exercises. Tabata often consists of eight different exercises.

What are the benefits of tabata

1. Perfectly burns fat

A study by the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse found that tabata causes men and women to spend about 15 kcal per minute - a great indicator for those looking to lose weight. For comparison: 1 minute of quiet running (8 km / h) burns 9 kcal.

In addition, when you give your best, your metabolism accelerates: the body begins to spend energy faster to maintain basic functions.

This means that you burn more calories even when you are not doing anything.

So, scientists from the University of Auburn found that after a 4-minute tabata from squat jumping out, the metabolic rate doubles for at least 30 minutes.

2. Increases aerobic and anaerobic endurance

Izumi Tabata and his team investigated how training intensity affects athletes' fitness. For six weeks, one group of athletes was engaged with medium intensity (SI), and the second - with high intensity (VI). The SI group trained five days a week for an hour, and the VI group trained four days a week for four minutes.

As a result, the SI group improved the work of the aerobic system (VO2max - the amount of oxygen consumed - increased by 5 ml / kg / min), but the anaerobic indicators remained almost unchanged. In the second group, the indicators of the aerobic system also increased (VO2max increased by 7 ml / kg / min), and anaerobic endurance increased by 28%.

The aerobic system works during light and low intensity activities (jogging, walking, quiet cycling). The anaerobic system is activated during short-term heavy loads (sprinting, lifting large weights with a small number of repetitions, explosive movements) or long-term intense loads (high-intensity interval training, running at medium distances).

Developing different types of endurance will improve your performance in any sport and will come in handy in everyday life. It will be easier for you to climb stairs, carry heavy things, and perform similar everyday tasks.

3. Spends a minimum of time

Even the busiest person can find some warm-up time and a 4-minute tabata.

You can exercise for as little as four minutes a day and get as many or even more benefits than an hour of cardio.

How to do

For training to be effective, you need to follow a few rules:

1. Warm up … Before the tabata, do some cardio exercises with medium intensity: jumping jacks, running in place, jumping rope, do joint warm-up: rotation of the limbs, bends, turns. This will help increase your heart rate and warm up your muscles a little.
2. Give it your all … Every 20 seconds of training, you do exercises at the limit of your ability, and it does not matter which interval is the first or the last. If you are doing slow squats or measured push-ups to conserve strength, this is just interval training, not tabata.
3. Observe time intervals … Setting a timer on your phone is inconvenient, as you constantly have to start it again. Use free sports timers.

What exercises to do

Many different movements can be performed with the tabata protocol. Here are the classic options:

• sprint;
• rowing on a simulator;
• jumping rope;
• swimming;
• riding athletic sleds;
• burpee;
• boxing jumping;
• swing kettlebell;
• push ups;
• lunges;
• squats, air or dumbbells;
• exercise "Rock climber";
• lifting the body on the press.

Choose exercises that use a lot of muscles. Isolated (one muscle group works) and isometric exercises (you do not move, the muscles tense to maintain position; a good example is the plank), leave for other workouts.

How to track your progress

Count the number of repetitions in each set and write down the amount. If you get confused or forget, at least remember the number of repetitions in the last set: it can be used to judge your preparation.

Try to keep each workout better than the last.

Where to get training

There are many videos on the Internet with workouts up to 30-40 minutes long, however, exercise complexes over four minutes can hardly be called tabata. Since you have to give your best, eight intervals are going to be hell and it's good if you can finish them without lowering the intensity. If you end up sliding down to 50-60% of your maximum effort, the benefits of your workout diminish as well.

Alternatively, you can rest after completing one 4-minute tabata and only then proceed to the next. In this case, the body will have time to recover, and you will again be able to give your best.

The life hacker has compiled two sets of tabata-style workouts: for beginners and advanced.