You Gotta Tabata

If you attend any of the cardio classes here at Fusion, you're probably familiar with (and may wence at) the term Tabata. Named after Japanese doctor Izumi Tabata, this type of interval training requires short bursts of 100% maximum effort coupled with even shorter breaks in between. So you can make the most out of your workout, here are the reasons why you just gotta tabata.

More Bang for Your Buck

When things sound too good to be true, the general rule is that they most likely are. But not with Tabatas. Researchers at the National Institute of Research and Sports in Japan proved through a six-week study in 1996 that working out at a high intensity for four minutes at a time, five days a week, produced better results than did moderate activity for an hour at a time five days a week. That's 20 minutes a week compared with 5 hours. They were measuring aerobic and anaerobic improvment, and while the moderate group did see progress in aerobic abiblity, the high intensity group saw more aerobic progress and an almost 30% increase in anaerobic functions.

Exhausting but Quick

Tabatas just have two requirements: an exercise and a timer. Choose any sort of exercise you can do on your own from sprinting to mountain-climbers. Here at Fusion we get the advantage of our instructor shouting out the seconds, but at home be sure to have an easy view of a timer because you will have no patience for annoyances. A 20-second burst of full-out sprinting is met with 10 seconds of recovery, and the cycle is repeated eight times to create the challenging 4-minute workout. At the end of each 20 second interval you should be gasping for air like you've just broken the finish line at the Olympics. Then you get a quick 10 seconds to recoup, and you're right back at it. Simply put, Tabatas should be the hardest workout you've ever done. But like we hear so often in the studio, "you can do anything for 20 seconds." Fusionista Amy Hodes notes one of Tabatas' biggest benefits is time. "When you know that you are only going to be exercising for such a short period of time," she says, "your mind and your body are able to go all out and not have the normal tendency to save up or pace yourself like you would for a long workout."

Burn Baby Burn

Another reason for the buzz on Tabatas is that "your body keeps burning fat long after you've finished your workout," says Hodes. "Because you burn off all of your glycogen, or carbs, during the actual workout, your body only has fat left to burn through the rest of the day." Athletes and trainers all over the fitness world use Tabatas as an addition to their regular sessions. You can't just Tabata all day long, so adding them two times a week to your workout can provide results and is a great way to begin incorporating them. Triathlete Magazine recommends using them as little as once every ten days to increase your stamina. The key? Challenge yourself to complete each 20-second interval as hard and fast as you can go. You may surprise yourself with just how much you can give.

Want to learn more? Checkout sites like Tabata Exercise and Tabata Training for more ideas.