Contributed by Dani Barbosa
Health & Fitness Professional

Tabata Training

Traveling? Short on time? No equipment? NO PROBLEM. Tabata is the
workout style you never knew you needed. Tabata is a variation of HIIT
training designed in the late 1990s by a Japanese research team
seeking to find a more efficient training method for Olympic skaters.
True tabata training is done for 8 rounds of 20 second high intensity
exercise (170% VO2 max) followed by 10 seconds of rest. This method is
physically taxing and not realistic for general population, but we can
use this same time/intensity scheme and scale that down to relative
high intensity for your fitness level to reap similar physiological
benefits.

Tabata is a great way to spice up your workouts and is effective for
building strength, endurance, and fat loss due to increased baseline
metabolic rate post workout. This style of training is a great tool
for those who are on the go and don’t always have time to make it to
the gym.

Here is a sample 24 minute workout:

20 seconds – squats
10 seconds – rest
20 seconds – push ups
10 seconds – rest
20 seconds – jumping jacks
10 seconds – rest
20 seconds – mountain climbers
10 seconds – rest
1 min recovery
X8

RULES:
Warm up for at least 5- 10 minutes before workout.
Use exercises that engage several muscle groups at once.
Go all out for 20 seconds.
Try hard to catch your breath during that 10 second rest.

Good luck and get ready to sweat…. A lot.