By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept

9two9.com

Aa
  • Lifestyle
    LifestyleShow More
    8 Moving Hacks That Make Packing Up So Much Easier
    8 Min Read
    Summer Dinner Recipes for When It’s Too Hot to Cook
    2 Min Read
    All the Frozen Pastas At Trader Joe’s, Ranked
    8 Min Read
    Easy Dinner Recipes For When You Don’t Want To Cook
    3 Min Read
    How to Decide on a Wedding Budget That Works for You
    8 Min Read
  • Finance
    FinanceShow More
    Productivity Tips for When Summer Is Calling Your Name
    9 Min Read
    How Mindfulness Can Help Level Up Your Finances
    9 Min Read
    Money Questions Newlyweds Should Ask Each Other
    8 Min Read
    Expert Financial Advice Everyone Should Follow
    11 Min Read
    Meet Evernote: Our Best Kept Secret for Staying Ahead of the Workplace
    8 Min Read
  • Sex
    SexShow More
    The Sex Position to Try Based on Your Enneagram
    9 Min Read
    5 Habits That Can Boost Your Sex Life
    9 Min Read
    Why Are Milenials Having Less Sex?
    8 Min Read
    Does Size Really Matter? We’re Breaking It Down
    7 Min Read
    10 Sex Positions To Try When It’s Too Hot To Function
    10 Min Read
  • Sport
    SportShow More
    Why 2022 Should Be the Year You Start Weight Lifting
    9 Min Read
    The Best Fitness Tips From Shay Mitchell’s Trainer
    14 Min Read
    The Workout Motivation Tips Our Editors Swear By
    8 Min Read
    Fitness Tips To Follow if You Hate Working Out
    7 Min Read
    6 Ways to Feel More Toned By Tomorrow
    7 Min Read
  • Tech
    TechShow More
    OnePlus Nord CE 2 review
    15 Min Read
    Nubia Red Magic 7 review
    19 Min Read
    Realme 9 review
    17 Min Read
    Breville Barista Max review
    12 Min Read
    Apple iPhone 13 Mini review
    17 Min Read
  • Contact
  • English
    • Русский
    • Українська
    • Polski
    • Deutsch
Reading: Tabata: The 4-Minute Workout That Everyone Should Do

9two9.com

Aa
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Sex
  • Sport
  • Tech
  • Contact
  • English
Search
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Sex
  • Sport
  • Tech
  • Contact
  • English
    • Русский
    • Українська
    • Polski
    • Deutsch
9two9.com > Sport > Tabata: The 4-Minute Workout That Everyone Should Do
Sport

Tabata: The 4-Minute Workout That Everyone Should Do

Jena Mcpherson
Last updated: 2022/09/22 at 12:22 AM
By Jena Mcpherson 9 Min Read
Share
SHARE

Bored of your regular fitness routine or sick of hearing yourself explain that you don’t have time for a workout? Good news: You can transform your fitness levels and achieve your health goals, and all you need is four minutes. At least, that’s the idea behind Tabata, the fitness method that has taken the health world by storm. But is a short period of intensity worth the hype, and how do you know that you’re doing it right? Don’t worry: I asked experts all the questions so you don’t have to spend your gym time on Google. Read on for a beginner’s guide to Tabata and find out if you should try it yourself. Spoiler alert: It just might be the secret to achieving your fitness goals—#fitspo!

Contents
What is Tabata?What are the benefits?Are there any cons?Interested in trying Tabata for yourself? Here’s how:

What is Tabata?

Japanese scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata and his team from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports started Tabata in the early ’90s after researching short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by shorter rests, compared to continuous moderate-intensity. That’s right: This fitness practice didn’t come from a TikTok trend or wellness influencer claiming they found the secret to weight loss. It was a result of a study that found the test subjects benefitted more from shorter, high-intensity workouts, both aerobically and anaerobically. In other words, it was more beneficial for both cardiovascular health and building muscle. 

While it may sound intimidating, Tabata is just a more specific type of the popular Instagram-favorite HIIT training. “Tabata is a short form of exercise with high bursts of work or energy usage,” explained Justin Meissner, a NASM-certified trainer and sports performance coach. Just like the HIIT circuits you know and love, Tabata uses intervals to maximize movement. The only difference is that the practice is defined by a specific amount of time, both in the length of the workout and in rest vs. intensity time. “Tabata workouts are short bursts of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off, repeated eight times for a total of four minutes.”

So what’s the point of getting specific AF about a few minutes of movement? “Because of the work-to-rest ratio of 2:1, your heart rate rises in a short amount of time,” explained Emma Caird, a certified personal trainer and TRX Functional Training instructor. “The idea is to push yourself to your limit for a short period, rather than to spend half an hour or more on moderate exercise.” Four-minute workouts sound too good to be true, so do they really work?

What are the benefits?

We don’t have to look much further than Dr. Tabata’s original study to find that just four minutes of high-intensity intervals can have some serious fitness benefits, but many trainers and fitness experts alike swear by the method for a range of reasons. “Tabata can improve your VO2 max, AKA the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during a workout,” explained Kelly Cosentino NCSF-CPT, corrective exercise specialist and Daily Burn‘s director of fitness. “Increasing this maximum amount means your body can move more efficiently; it’s an indicator of cardiovascular health and aerobic endurance.” Nadia Charif, a registered dietician, Tabata practitioner, and health and wellness advisor for Coffeeable, swears by the results she has seen for herself. “Tabata has done wonders for my focus and efficiency, improved endurance, and is great for burning fat,” she said. 

More Read

Why 2022 Should Be the Year You Start Weight Lifting
The Best Fitness Tips From Shay Mitchell’s Trainer
The Workout Motivation Tips Our Editors Swear By

Besides the benefits the body reaps, there’s one serious benefit we can’t ignore: It only takes four minutes. “Tabata is time-efficient and convenient,” Caird said. “You can do Tabata anywhere, with or without equipment.” Cosentino agreed. “You don’t need equipment or a lot of space to get your heart rate pumping and to start burning calories quickly.” In other words, you don’t need to skip a good-for-you workout on days where you’re pressed for time. While we often believe we need 30-60 minutes of exercise for it to “count,” Tabata proves that when it comes to fitness, effort is more important than time.

Are there any cons?

Before you cancel your gym membership or throw out your at-home exercise equipment, know that Tabata isn’t meant for everyone or for all the time. “A Tabata workout can be efficient when you don’t have time, but it still does not equal a long workout. For the best benefits, mix it with longer workout days,” Meissner said. Just because four minutes of Tabata is a major multitasker (both aerobic and anaerobic benefits are impressive) doesn’t mean you’ll get everything your body needs. A 60-minute yoga class might benefit your mental health or weight training sessions can be important for bone health and reducing injury risk.

Overall, the goal of fitness should be to live less sedentary, so an efficient workout is good on days where you wouldn’t otherwise fit it in, but you should still be conscious of moving the body more often. Also, if your body is not prepared for high intensity, you might be setting it up for some serious damage. “The fast-paced nature of Tabata workouts could make you focus on more reps and forget to focus on proper form,” Cosentino explained. “If your form is not correct, it can lead to injury, muscle soreness, or activation of the wrong muscles.” Bottom line: Prepare your body before diving into the practice and mix it in with a variety of other workouts.

Interested in trying Tabata for yourself? Here’s how:

If you’re a newbie to interval training or have not built up endurance and overall cardiovascular health, start slowly. Try a couple of interval rounds at a lower intensity and work up to the full four minutes at your highest intensity. Also, consult with your doctor or trainer before trying Tabata, especially if you have chronic pain, heart issues, or asthma. When you’re ready to start experimenting, consider buying a stopwatch or downloading an app for interval training like Tabata Timer. If you’re interested in trying cardio exercises, you can use your favorite form, whether it’s biking, running, or going on the elliptical. Think: sprinting for 20 seconds and walking for 10 seconds. Meissner recommended following cardio Tabata with strength training for optimal benefits.

If you’ve never been much of a runner and don’t own a bike, you can still apply the principles of Tabata to your favorite workouts. “Almost any exercise can be done in Tabata,” Cosentino explained. “Try alternating between strength and cardio moves in each four-minute round: pair jumping jacks with squats, high knees with burpees, and mountain climbers with uppercut punches. You can also try finishing off your workout with Tabata by just adding four more minutes to boost that VO2 max and assist in cardio burn.” No matter what workout you prefer, think of working at full intensity for 20 seconds and then low-intensity for 10 seconds for four minutes.

Jena Mcpherson 20/11/2022
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Print

Editor's Pick

How Meditation Can Help You at Work
Budgeting Tips for When Everyone You Know is Getting Married
Workout Benefits More Important Than Burning Calories
Why Rest Days Are Crucial For Your Workout Routine
A Personal Trainer’s Tips For Getting The Most from Your Workouts

More Popular

Tech

Ninebot KickScooter D38E review

By Jena Mcpherson 12 Min Read

Why Rest Days Are Crucial For Your Workout Routine

By Jena Mcpherson
Sex

What to Do If Your Partner Doesn’t Go Down On You

By Jena Mcpherson 9 Min Read
- Advertisement -
Ad image
Sex

I Got Ghosted After Sex—Does That Mean I’m Bad in Bed?

I mourn for the days when I had never felt the pang of disappointment of getting…

By Jena Mcpherson
Sex

How Can You Fix a ‘Bad Kisser’?

Remember when everyone said we’d remember our first kiss forever? Well, I wish I could forget…

By Jena Mcpherson
Sport

Why Cycle Syncing Workouts are the Way to Go

Do you crush intense HIIT sessions one week only to slog through burpees the next? If…

By Jena Mcpherson
Sport

10 Ways Yoga Drastically Changed My Life

Thanks to mainstream media, many of us know yoga as a workout that involves breathing, different…

By Jena Mcpherson
Sex

How to Make Your Sex Life Better in Your Relationship

Whether it’s the honeymoon phase or you’ve been together for five years, people expect us to…

By Jena Mcpherson

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?