Exercising With Less - Tabata
A few weeks ago my buddy Scott mentioned an approach to exercise he’d read about called Tabata. As he explained the basics to us, I saw a lot of things that appealed to me - speed, effectiveness, and minimalism. I’ll be explaining this as I understand it and practice it, though there are several possible approaches.
Tabata isn’t about building massive muscles. It’s about toning and defining your muscles, and it’s about burning fat and having a cardiovascular workout. Basically, you’re sprinting through a series or exercises, taking quick breaks in between them.
You pick 4 exercises that will work as many muscles as possible; I’ve been doing pushups, burpees, jumping rope, and thrust squats. I have a few more exercises I’m considering throwing in to the mix, but so far this has been a good mix. Then, using a timer of some sort (I have an mp3 with tones), you do 20 seconds of an exercise, as many as you can with good form. Rest 10 seconds. Do the next exercise. Continue on this path for 16 minutes, or 8 sets, moving from exercise to exercise. Some people do a single exercise for 4 minutes before moving on to the next. I like rotating because it lets me start fresh on each one and wear down equally through each, rather than starting my last exercise already exhausted.
When I first heard Scott talk about this, I figured there was no way 16 minutes of exercise could be that hard. But wow, is it ever. In only a few weeks I’ve noticeably lost weight, I have more energy, and I have no problem finding 30 minutes to warm up, exercise, and then cool down. You could do this anywhere, really - the only equipment I use is a jump rope and two dumbbells for the thrust squats, and other exercises could always be used as well.
An added bonus is that, by its very nature of keeping you in constant motion, you can’t get distracted by the cute girl on the treadmill or the highlights on Sportscenter. There’s not time for that, there’s just time to ask yourself why you’re doing this to yourself before starting in on the next set.
I’ve gathered up several links that have given me more information on Tabata over the past few weeks. You can get ideas for other exercises and see some other accounts of how well Tabata is working for these people.
- Testosterone Nation
- Tabata Training: Is Tabata Training the Ultimate Fat Loss Workout? on Squidoo
- Pump up Your Workouts with the Tabata Method - Warrior Fitness World
- The Buck Stops Here: Tabata Intervals
- Goals To Gold
I did a Tabata workout this morning, and raised my weights a few pounds in addition to adding a jump at the end of each burpee. When I reached the final 4 minutes it took all I had to even stand up after doing pushups. It’s incredible how much you can push yourself in a short period of time.