Tabata is a kind of HIIT workout comprising 20-second work periods and 10-second rest periods that are done eight times to generate a four-minute exercise routine.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is definitely your go-to when you want to smash a cardio workout that also leaves your muscles shivering in less than half an hour. After all, the most common workout technique has been shown to improve heart health and may be done with or without strength-building equipment. When you’re looking for a bigger burn in less time, HIIT’s brother, Tabata, is your new best buddy.
Here, fitness experts define Tabata, explain its main benefits, and provide the training ideas and regimens you should incorporate into your routine right away.
What Exactly Is Tabata?
It is 20 seconds of super-high-intensity, push-your-limits, give-it-your-all workout followed by a 10-second recovery time. Which is never enough for a complete recovery, so you’re exhausted. It’s a higher-intensity form of high-intensity interval training.
The fundamental distinction between Tabata and HIIT is the particular time intervals. Traditional HIIT allows you to set your own intervals, such as 60 seconds of labor followed by 60 – 30 seconds of rest in between the movements.
During each four-minute Tabata circuit, you will normally complete one single activity. You can execute a single circuit and call it a day, or you can push through five separate circuits back-to-back to build a brutal 20-minute Tabata exercise.
That will give you a full workout in a short amount of time. This exercise can really be done anywhere or applied to the gym, as well.
Advantages of Tabata Workouts
Even if you perform a two-circuit Tabata workout, you can make headway toward meeting your weekly activity goals – and improving your heart health.
According to the DHHS, just one session of moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise can lower blood pressure and lowers the chance of developing cardiovascular disease when you stick to that moderate-intensity quota. HIIT falls under the “vigorous-intensity” category, and because Tabata is an extreme variation of the training technique, you’re more likely to receive those benefits.
They increase endurance.
By doing Tabata exercises on a regular basis, you’ll be able to power through endurance-focused, long sweat sessions without getting completely out of breath. In a small 2020 study, doing eight-round Tabata workouts twice a week for eight weeks enhanced VO2 max by 11%.
VO2 max is the max quantity of oxygen your body can use during strenuous activity. The higher your VO2 max, the longer you can exercise and the more energy your body can use.
They can be done with or without equipment.
Experts claim that you don’t need any special equipment to reap the cardiovascular benefits of Tabata. Quick cardio-focused bodyweight workouts like mountain climbers and squat leaps can all get your pulse beating and muscles twitching after just a few rounds.
However, if you have access to equipment, you can still incorporate it into your workout. You can push your muscles by using a kettlebell or a set of dumbbells, and you can use your cardio machines by sprinting on a treadmill, stationary cycle, rowing machine, SkiErg, or even a basic jump rope.
They employ progressive overloading.
Progressive overloading isn’t only for bodybuilders. It can be used to increase the difficulty of your workouts by increasing intensity, volume, or resistance in order to move toward your fitness goals. You can achieve more progress over time by kicking up the treadmill speed or hitting more power on your load. For example, you can increase the weight of dumbbells or kettlebells when you are performing kettlebell swing or bench press.
Take note of how you feel when you first try Tabata. Then, repeat the workout the following week and the week after that, keeping track of how you’re feeling and your rating of perceived effort, so you have concrete evidence of how your cardiovascular fitness is growing and an idea of when you might be ready to increase the difficulty.
They can be used in any part of your workout.
If a 20-minute Tabata workout isn’t your thing, there are other options. Experts recommend using a four-minute circuit at the start of your weight-lifting session to warm up your body, in the middle of your run as a kind of conditioning, or at the end of your session as a burnout.
The Best Tabata Workouts
Consider the basic exercises you can swiftly knock out when selecting a few moves to include in your Tabata workout. The whole focus of Tabata is really to get that speed and intensity increased. You want quick and fast movements rather than something that takes you a long time to get ready or set up. This includes motions like sit-ups and push-ups, which the average person cannot accomplish swifty while maintaining proper form.
If you choose to utilize weights, stick to workouts that are as easy as possible. You want to make sure you use Tabata 20 seconds towards an intense and fast workout. Most importantly, not wasting time on fidgeting with equipment. Similarly, choose a weight that you’ll be able to use throughout the entire round. I would be careful not to go too heavy because the goal is volume and power, as well as getting in as many reps as possible. You don’t want to use weights that will compromise your form too much when you get tired and thus injure yourself.
Tabata workouts are generally safe and effective techniques to incorporate into your workout.
- High-knees
- Running in place
- Mountain climbers
- Squat jumps
- Speed skaters
- Thrusters with dumbbells
- Kettlebell swings
- Medicine ball slams
- Jumping jacks
- Sprawls
Try These Tabata Workouts
When you’re ready to try the HIIT workout, choose one of the Tabata activities listed above — or any other heart-pumping move you enjoy — to execute during each circuit. Plan on at least two minutes of rest between each circuit. Even if this workout is intense one, you should be able to catch your breath.
Once you return to a resting state, you should be able to start a new round feeling completely ready to go to your max again.
Don’t feel like making your own Tabata workout?
Follow along with one of these pre-programmed sweat sessions that will have you dripping in perspiration.
- The Total-Body Tabata Circuit Workout
- The At-Home Tabata Workout
- The Most Effective Tabata Workout for Beginners
- The 30-Day Bodyweight Workout Challenge Will Have You Sweating Like There’s No Tomorrow.
- Shaun T’s Bodyweight Tabata Workout Is the Ultimate HIIT Routine
- Tabata Workout in 4 Minutes to Increase Power and Agility
- The Tabata Workout to improve your balance
- This Tabata Butt Workout Will Tone Your Behind
To Conclude
Whatever Tabata workouts you pick, stick to one to two intensive training sessions per week if you’re a novice and two to three if you’re more established. This is an intense workout and high impact exercises.
If you are having trouble with high impact exercise, you might want to not try some other low intensity cardio workout.
You’re stronger than you think. When you feel like you can’t finish those 20-second rounds, believe in yourself, don’t cheat yourself by giving only 18 or 19 seconds. Those seconds add up. If you commit to the full 20, just do it. At the end, you will be proud of yourself.