The basis of Tabata Training is 4 minutes of intense interval training/circuit training. What you are doing is taking an exercise we'll use sprints as an example here.
Sprint as hard as you can for
20 seconds
Walk for
10 seconds
Repeat 7 more times for a total of
8 sets.
So what you have is a total of
4 minutes workout time.
Tabata Training can be done with a number of different exercises the idea is to use an exercise that gets the whole body involved or at least the major muscle groups.Tabata Training can be done with Barbells, Dumbells, Kettlebells or just Bodyweight exercises. I'll give you some other exercises and routines to try in a minute but first let me give you some background and how Tabatas work.
Tabata Training was developed by Izumi Tabata (imagine that) at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. They did a study on comparing the effects of moderate intensity endurance(aerobics) and high endurance intermittent training(tabata training intervals) on VO2 max and anerobic capacity.
To cut to the results of the study: the moderate intensity group training program produced a significant increase in VO2 max of about 10%, but had no effect on anaerobic capacity. The high intensity group improved their VO2 max by about 14% while anaerobic capacity improved by 28%. The study was done over a six week period. Both groups working out 5 days per week.
"Tabata Training and It's Effect on Fat Loss"
A study was then done at Physical Activities Sciences Laboratory, Laval University, Quebec, Canada, and challenged the common belief among health professionals that low-intensity, long-duration exercise is the best program forfat loss. They compared the impact of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and high-intensity aerobics on fat loss.
The bottom line was that the low intensity group burned more calories during their workouts almost twice as many.
But the high intensity group got 9 times more fat loss benefit for every calorie burned while exercising.
How did this happen? Compared to moderate-intensity endurance exercise, high- intensity intermittent exercise causes more calories and fat to be burned following the workout. They also said it may be that appetite is suppressed more following intense intervals.
The high intensity training raises the metabolic rate causing you to burn more calories after your training is long over with.