Tabata is a great way to not only lose 10 pounds in a month without trying but also to diversify your activity and increase your stamina. We asked a professional fitness trainer how to properly work out the Tabata system and what aspects should be considered.
There are many styles of training and fitness areas that you have probably heard about a million times over the years, and some of them have even experienced to lose 10 pounds in a day naturally. All of them have their own advantages, help us develop strength, lose weight, improve flexibility or build muscle, and are designed to help us achieve our dream figure.
One of such popular methods is fat burning Tabata, known for its high efficiency in accelerating metabolism (up to 9 times) and losing extra pounds. The editors of beauty.ua decided to figure out what a Tabata system is, how it works, and what is the essence of such physical activity.
What is Tabata?
In the classical understanding of Tabata, it is high-intensity training, the goal of which is to perform the maximum number of movements in 4 minutes with several intervals of 20 and 10 seconds. First, 20 seconds of maximum intensive work and 10 seconds of rest, such cycles are repeated 8 times in a row and make up the very same 4 minutes.
The strategy of the exercise is to alternate periods of short-term intense exercise, similar to aerobic movements, with a less intense recovery period.
How does the Tabata method work?
As you already understood, this is a kind of interval endurance training, where each of the exercises for a given muscle group has the following structure:
- 20 seconds of maximum load on a specific muscle group;
- 10 seconds of rest;
- 8 approaches.
That is, at the exit we have 4 minutes of training, ideally working out a certain group of muscles. But it will be one of the “longest” minutes that you have ever experienced. And then, according to the same scheme, we load other parts of the body. In general, the set of the entire workout should be 8 sets of 4 minutes each.
According to the Tabata protocol, you can do almost any exercises you wish. For example, squats, push-ups, lunges, swinging legs, or any other load that works on large muscle groups. Dumbbell loads are also welcome. Here are the classic options:
- sprint;
- rowing on the simulator;
- jumping rope;
- swimming;
- athletic sledding;
- burpee;
- boxing jumps;
- swings with weights;
- push-ups;
- lunges;
- squats, air or with dumbbells;
- Climber exercise
- lifting the case to the press.
At the same time, it is important to give all the best to 200%, only in this way exercises for weight loss will bring the desired results. This highly effective way of interval training is ideal for those who want to improve heart health, are not afraid of cardiac stress, and are hardy enough to withstand these 8 circles of hell.
It is ideal to complete strength training with a Tabata. But just keep in mind that Tabata is an intense load, so you should still have the strength after strength training.
It is also best to choose exercises that involve many muscles. And isolated (when one muscle group is working) and isometric loads (for example, a bar when the body does not move, and the muscles are strained to maintain position) leave for other workouts.
The history of Tabata Workouts
The author of the program is the Japanese physiologist and doctor of sciences Izumi Tabata, who in 1996 conducted research aimed at finding loads to increase the endurance of athletes. The experiment on two groups of experimental subjects lasted about two weeks. The first group – of medium intensity – trained 5 times a week for one hour. A group of high intensity – four times a week for 4 minutes.
After 1.5 months, scientists were very surprised by the results. The first group improved their skills in the process of aerobic exercise, but at the same time, their muscles did not change at all. While the second group showed much more effective indicators of the anaerobic system. Tabata protocol was tested in a rigorous scientific environment, and this was one of the most serious pieces of evidence of the effectiveness of the training.
Prior to this interesting experiment, the doctor authored over a hundred scientific articles in popular sports publications. That is why the world believed him and Tabata became one of the favorite loads of athletes and just amateurs.
Fitness expert opinion
Tabata is a workout that includes an intense load for a short period of time: a load with an interval of work of 20 seconds and a rest of 10 seconds. One such training includes 8 intervals (work + rest), for a total of four minutes of work, after which you can begin to exercise on other muscle groups.
This type of training is aimed at achieving different results: reducing fat mass, maintaining and improving muscle tone, strengthening the heart muscle, increasing endurance.
To perform such exercises, it is important to choose the most suitable pace for yourself, since training according to the Tabata system reveals itself with maximum efficiency precisely at an individual rhythm. It is also worth paying attention to the technique of performing the exercises since if the technique is not followed, the efficiency decreases.
It is not recommended to be distracted during the exercise, and during a ten-second rest, it is better to sit, stand or walk in order to restore breathing and maintain concentration, it will be much easier to continue the lesson.
The training scheme may look like this: 8 exercises for different muscle groups, that is, 8 work intervals of 20 seconds for each exercise, and 10 seconds of rest. Having made for example 5 such circles, in just 20 minutes you will work out the main muscle groups intensively and effectively.
Of course, training is not recommended every day, it will be enough 1-3 times a week, depending on the initial physical preparation. The load should be selected personally for yourself, it is ideal to do this with the participation of a specialist – a professional fitness trainer. Thus, the results will not belong in coming, and the trauma of the process will be minimized.
