Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Navy Times

Tabata training: A 4-minute weapon for your workout arsenal

How are those New Year’s resolutions going? If you’re like most people, they’re going well. After all, it’s still early January. But a key to keeping your resolution beyond this month is finding an easy way to do it.

Enter Tabata.

A four-minute workout that builds muscle, burns fat and increases VO2 max (oxygen burning capacity) all in a tidy, somewhat miserable little package, Tabata is all about finding an easy solution to a complicated problem: staying in PT-test shape when you can’t spend all day in the gym.

Switch things up

Tabata is an interval sequence you can add to any workout plan for a quick kick in the quads, abs or arms — and it just might become the exercise flavor of the year for 2010.

You can add a Tabata interval to any exercise. You will start to notice a difference in your body and your abilities quickly.

Tabata got its start in the ’90s and is named after Dr. Izumi Tabata, who conducted a study in Tokyo and found that people experience a 28 percent increase in anaerobic capacity by incorporating high-intensity sequences into their workouts instead of relying on cardio alone.

Why it works

High-intensity interval training raises your metabolic rate, causing you to continue to burn calories after you exercise — that’s right, you can still burn fat during your post-workout nap.

To add a Tabata sequence to your run, warm up for 10 to 15 minutes, then start your stopwatch. Run like hell for 20 seconds, then rest — stop, walk or jog — for 10 seconds. Repeat seven more times and then cool down. That’s it: Eight sets of 20 seconds of high intensity and 10 seconds of rest.

The options become endless: Running, biking, swimming, jumping rope, stair-stepping, rowing, weightlifting (done with very light weights — this is about high numbers of reps, not the amount of heft), squats, push-ups, etc.

John Cowell, a strength coach of Olympic and world champion athletes and a former pro cyclist, says, “If you’re not questioning how you can do five more sets after the third interval, you aren’t pushing hard enough.”

When I discovered Tabata and told Cowell how much fun I was having, he said, “If you think it’s fun, you are obviously doing something wrong — there is nothing fun about it.”

The most difficult part about Tabata (besides not throwing up) is sticking with it.

Tabata is not about distance, reps or weight — it’s about you versus the clock. For your high-intensity bursts, give all you have and then some.

Next time you’re at the gym, give Tabata a try. It will be the best, longest, toughest but most rewarding four minutes of your day.

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Pattillo is a Military Times fitness writer.