Healthy in a Hurry: Tabata the New HITT Sensation

Tabata might be the answer someone with little time and a desire for variety. Many of us rush throughout the day to work, to school, pick up kids, make meals etc. How can one manage to fit a workout in? Well now you can.

Improve flexibility and tone muscles with Tabata, a high intensity training option. Discovered by Japanese scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, it increases your aerobic and anaerobic stamina.

In a given Tabata workout, each exercise, lasts only four minutes, but it’s likely to be one of the longest four minutes ever.

The structure of the program is as follows:

• Workout hard for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Complete 8 rounds
• Push yourself as hard as you can for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. This is one set.
• Then prepare yourself to do 8 sets of each exercise.

For example, within one workout, the instructor would try to target various muscles so to manage multiple sets, exhaust muscles but include variety.

First, let’s develop upper body strength with Push-ups. Start with 20 seconds of push-ups. Do as many as you can then rest for 10 seconds. Start again with 20 seconds of push-ups. Try to do as many as you can and rest for 10 seconds. Repeat 8x.

Next, an exercise to target gluteal muscles and legs- Walking Lunges. Begin with 20 seconds of walking lunges, do those for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 then repeat 8x.

Next, full body squats. If you have a 4-pound medicine ball this would be great, if not try a can to improvise. Assume a squat position, pick up and hold the medicine ball between the palms of your hand and lift it upwards above your head. Do this for 20 seconds, rest for 10 then repeat 8x.

Finally, to work out your abs, try Russian Twists. Try 20 seconds of Russian Twists, 10 seconds of rest. Then repeat 8x.