Tabata Training: The Ultimate Tabata Training Guide

Tabata Training.. Fat loss included.
(or 4 minutes of hell)

I first got interested in tabata while training my teenage hockey player son. I was looking for some intense conditioning protocols that would somehow mimic intense hockey shift followed by a short period of rest. I stumbled upon Tabata.  After a few session of Tabata I knew I was on to something not only for hockey conditioning but also a way for me to burn off fat and show those muscles I’ve been developing all these years. Yes I’ve done interval training and steady state cardio to expose the six pack.. But .. I’ve found something that in 4 minutes kicks my butt.. Tradition HIIT (High Intensity Training) describes a protocol of work to rest ration of 1 :3 or 1:4 . Therein lies the difference in Tabata which prescribes a 2:1 work to rest ration.. Prepare to have you ass kicked! Let’s explore Tabata training protocols and how it can benefit athletes .. whether you want to just show off your six pack or are training in the off season for hockey, football, rugby, etc. etc.

Background

The Tabata Protocol is named after Dr. Izumi Tabata. He is a former researcher at Japan’s National Institute of Fitness and Sports. Tabata is an interval training method developed by the head coach of the Japanese speed-skating team. (It is termed a protocol because Tabata and his team took the speed-skating coach’s workout and studied it to quantify how effective it really was.) The Tabata workout consists of six to seven 20-second full-speed sprints interspersed with rest periods of 10 seconds.

In Tabata’s study, the researchers found that skaters who used the routine five days a week for six weeks improved their maximum aerobic capacity (a measure of your body’s ability to consume oxygen) by 14%. Even more impressive is that the training also improved anaerobic capacity (which measures your ability to sprint and/or maintain a high pace for an extended period) by 28%. So the Tabata Protocol is the rare workout that benefits both endurance athletes and sprinters. By comparison, a study of traditional aerobic training (running at 70% of aerobic capacity for 60 minutes) for the same number of weeks showed an improvement in aerobic capacity of only 9.5% and no effect on anaerobic capacity. Wow now those are results. Here’s a pubmed link for find out more about the study.

What is Tabata Training Exactly

• A tabata training  interval is 20 seconds of intense work followed by 10 seconds recovery
• Eight intervals are completed
• Total of 4 minutes.. recover 3 minutes then repeat if needed (If you can take the pain)

The 20 seconds of work can be anything from body weight squats, treadmill, bench press, hitting a heavy bag (I like that one) or a circuit. Whatever you want,  as long as the intensity is a 9 or 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.  Here are a couple of examples of what I mean:

Tabata and Fat Loss
We’ve all be led to believe that steady state aerobics is the way to go to melt away  bodyfat.. You know the routine. 30 minutes on the treadmill or bike or stairstepper watching the calorie counter on our favorite display panel. Yuk there has to be a better way.  Traditional thinking is that the source of calories in steady state aerobics is from fat rather than carbs. When Tabata intervals are practiced, research shows that the percentage of fuel from carbs is increased, while the amount of fat utilized is greater than that burned during low intensity exercise. Dr. Tabata’s research found that short-term intense interval training is highly effective in lowering the ratio of lean body mass to fat without wasting muscle .  Additionally, Tabada has been shown to burn fat tissue more effectively than low-intensity exercise:  up to 50% more efficiently! In other words, Tabata increases your metabolism and keeps it elevated for some time after your workout ends.  The bottom line is Tabata burns a greater number of total calories than low intensity training, and more calories burned equals more fat loss.

Department of Physiology and Biomechanics, National Institute of Fitness and Sports, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. This study consists of two training experiments using a mechanically braked cycle ergometer. First, the effect of 6 wk of moderate-intensity endurance training (intensity: 70% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), 60 min.d-1, 5 d.wk-1) on the anaerobic capacity (the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit) and VO2max was evaluated. After the training, the anaerobic capacity did not increase significantly (P > 0.10), while VO2max increased from 53 +/- 5 ml.kg-1 min-1 to 58 +/- 3 ml.kg-1.min-1 (P < 0.01) (mean +/- SD). Second, to quantify the effect of high-intensity intermittent training on energy release, seven subjects performed an intermittent training exercise 5 d.wk-1 for 6 wk. The exhaustive intermittent training consisted of seven to eight sets of 20-s exercise at an intensity of about 170% of VO2max with a 10-s rest between each bout. After the training period, VO2max increased by 7 ml.kg-1.min-1, while the anaerobic capacity increased by 28%. In conclusion, this study showed that moderate-intensity aerobic training that improves the maximal aerobic power does not change anaerobic capacity and that adequate high-intensity intermittent training may improve both anaerobic and aerobic energy supplying systems significantly, probably through imposing intensive stimuli on both systems.

A few online programs use interval training as the basis of their systems. I highly recommend Turbulance Training as a way to loose body fat quickly. Sample Tabata Routines Thrusters .. 20 Sec (As many as you can) 10 Seconds rest repeat 7 more times. So here is the rule.. It’s very simple.. Pick a weight or exercise that you feel comfortable with and  tabatacize your butt off! Do tabata once or twice a week to compliment your aerobics and you’ll see an improvement in both your aerobic and anaerobic capacity.. How’s that for a reason to do tabata’s.

Front Squats (probably the best tabata exercise)

To get back to my hockey playing son for a sec..  I have him do slideboard with variety of weights or throwing a medicine ball.. I’ve found that it’s good for his stride power also.. In case you don’t know what a slideboard is.. here is a video..

Good Luck and remember to have fun!