Tabata<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nArguably the original and most pure form of burst training, Tabata was developed by the Japanese, specifically by the coaches of the Japanese Olympic Speed Skating team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coaches were curious about how effective their fast, short and intense workout regime actually was, so they called in Dr. Izumi Tabata to run a study on how effective their intensive workouts were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1996 Dr. Tabata ran a study where he compared two test groups who were both on different training regimes. The first group was tested over a period of 20 weeks and performed traditional long-form aerobic exercises such as walking and running, while the other group trained for 15 weeks using a HIIT regime developed by the Olympic coaches.
The group that performed the aerobic exercises burned slightly more calories during the session, which initially seems like traditional exercise is more effective.
However, the group who trained HIIT or \u2018Tabata\u2019 burned 900% more fat over the 15 weeks of training than the group doing traditional exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another later study showed that Tabata and HIIT style training can increase metabolism by 4.2% for up to 16 hours after short intensive training sessions.
This phenomenon is known as EPOC or excess-post-exercise oxygen consumption.<\/em> This phenomenon is commonly referred to as \u2018afterburn\u2019 and is essentially a process where your body continues to burn calories at a much faster rate for a long period after intensive exercise which is very efficient and helps to increase fat loss and fitness even after you\u2019ve stopped working out.
Longer traditional workouts do not lead to EPOC, so it\u2019s actually a scientific fact that short intense rounds of burst exercise can have enormous health and fitness benefits that normal cardiovascular exercise simply can\u2019t provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Routine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nTabata can be done with running, jumping or weights and kettlebells, it\u2019s not so much the movement that is important, rather it\u2019s the format of the routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One round of Tabata is structured like this;
The first 20 seconds of your chosen exercise need to be performed at maximum intensity, using 80 or 90 percent of your effort levels. If you\u2019re unsure of your maximum effort levels this can be determined by using a heart rate monitor or by the inability to maintain a conversation while performing the exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the first 20 seconds are complete you take a 10-second window of rest, before working out again for 20 seconds at the same high intensity, then resting for 10 seconds again. Completing eight of these intervals for four minutes is considered one \u2018round\u2019 of Tabata.
Much like burst training, Tabata is great because you can simply perform one round as a beginner, and add rounds as you improve your fitness levels which will progress rapidly using this regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n