On Saturday I had lunch with a girlfriend I hadn’t seen in a month and she looked amazing. Now, she is an amazing person, however, I could tell she had done a little physical overhauling and I had to know her secret. She told me she started researching interval training and the Tabata method for exercise. She had found a website that uploaded daily workouts specific for this with fantastic results.
Immediately I went home, tried a workout, and couldn’t move an hour later. Everything in my body burned, my heart was racing, sweat was pouring off my body and I felt wonderful. I thought I was in decent cardiovascular shape yet sadly after each workout I realized just how wrong I was.
To my understanding, the Tabata method focuses on high intensity interval training where you exercise 100 percent of your maximum effort for 20 to 30 seconds followed by 10 to 15 seconds of rest. This is done eight times which equals four minutes per exercise.
An example would be to jump rope at 100 percent for 20 seconds with 10 seconds rest for four minutes. Then jumping jacks at 100 percent for 20 seconds with 10 seconds rest for four minutes. Then squats at 100 percent for 20 seconds with 10 seconds rest for four minutes. Get it? You can also do it on the same machine just as a bike or treadmill that adjusts quickly to max speed and rest speed. Doing this type of exercise you only need to do 20 minutes for it to be outrageously effective.
Interval training has been receiving a lot of attention as research shows it’s more effective at burning fat, increasing your metabolism, shaping muscles, and improving your cardiovascular health. This is compared to walking, running, biking or elliptical at the same pace for 30 to 60 minutes.
I have only done three workouts and already feel a major difference. My friend has been doing it for four weeks and has physically changed. I have to modify some of the exercises because I’m just not that strong or that good…yet…but I am going to work really hard at it.
It’s important to remember to warm up and cool down after any exercise and if you’re more the laid-back couch potato person, this might not be the best way to jump into exercise. But if you have been exercising regularly and are looking for something to change it up, burn fat, rev up your metabolism and challenge yourself the check out Tabata exercises.
P.S. I love it so much I bought an interval timer so I could stop looking at the clock.
Sources:
1) www.bodyrock.tv
2) www.tabataprotocol.com
3) www.gymboss.com
4) www.tabataworkout.com