There’s a training method that can effectively burn fat in only four minutes. Doing this training method has benefits for athletes across every discipline as it increases both aerobic and anaerobic pathways. It’s called Tabata Training.
Izumi Tabata is the Japanese researcher who discovered this method and a name I curse whenever I do a Tabata workout. A true Tabata workout is simple and at the same time one of most difficult workouts you will ever do.
The price for fat loss and conditioning in just four minutes? Pain, sweat, total exhaustion, and maybe even a few tears. Before you even attempt a Tabata workout you should already have a relatively high level of conditioning and mental toughness.
So what is it? It’s as simple and difficult, as this:
Perform one exercise in the following manner.
- Do as many repetitions as possible giving 100% effort for 20 seconds.
- Rest for 10 seconds.
- Repeat 7 more times for a total of 8 sets.
- Pick your butt and anything that’s left of you, off the floor.
The key to a Tabata workout is to pick an exercise that uses a large number of muscles and allows you to move very quickly. It’s essential you pick a low-skill exercise and relatively light weight in order to safely move with good technique through complete and utter exhaustion.
Top 8 Tabata Exercises:
- Front Squats
- Thrusters
- Battle Ropes (jump slams are particularly brutal)
- Sandbell slams
- Burpees
- Viper “Donkey Kongs”
- Sled Push/Pull
- Rowing Machine
I urge you to go light and pick low-skill exercises. What feels too light on your first set may feel like a gorilla with a piano on his back by the fifth set. High-skill exercises like Olympic lifts and kettlebell snatches are a bad idea because your coordination and focus will be shot after a few sets which makes these high-skill exercises both hard to complete and very dangerous.
It also helps to have someone monitor time and count your reps for you. Sometimes hearing “5…4…3…2…1…Rest!” is the only thing that gets you through. You also want to record your reps to track progress. Don’t expect to keep count on your own. There won’t be enough oxygen in your brain for much of anything, especially counting.
So there you have it! At mere four minutes, a Tabata workout not only kicks your butt, it also kicks the mother of all excuses “I don’t have time to exercise” to the curb.
Be strong, move beautifully.
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