Tabata training was discovered by Japanese scientist Dr.

Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the

National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo. This workout is a form of high intensity interval training
designed to get your heart rate up in that very hard anaerobic zone for short periods of time. By doing
this, you train all of your energy systems, something that regular cardio workouts usually don't do. Not
only does that make you more fit, it helps you burn more calories both during and after your workouts.
The reason this type of HIIT workout works so well is because of the work-to-rest ratio. You only get 10
seconds of rest between each 20-second bout of exerciseEach exercise in a given Tabata workout lasts
only four minutes, but it's likely to be one of the longest four minutes you've ever endured. The structure
of the program is as follows: Work out hard for 20 seconds, Rest for 10 seconds, Complete 8 rounds.

You push yourself as hard as you can for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. This is one set. You'll
complete eight sets of each exercise. You can do pretty much any exercise you wish. You can do squats,
push-ups, burpees or any other exercise that works your large muscle groups. Kettlebell exercises work
great, too. An example of a Tabata workout looks like this: Push-ups (4 minutes), Bodyweight Squats (4
minutes), Burpees (4 minutes), Mountain Climbers (4 minutes). Start with push-ups. Perform them for 20
seconds at a high-intensity. Rest for 10 seconds, and then go back to doing push-ups for 20 seconds.
Once you complete eight sets of push-ups, rest for one minute.Next, move on to squats and repeat the
sequence of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. Once you finish eight sets of squats, rest for one minute, and
then do burpees. After burpees, finish the workout with mountain climbers. Tabata is great to get a quick
workout in if you're short on time, you need to switch up your routine, or you want improve endurance
and speed. Incorporate this type of workout into your fitness routine and produce results.

The idea for Tabata training originated from the world of athletes, as many of our workout ideas do. Dr.
Izumi Tabata, a professor at the Faculty of Sport and Health Science at Ritsumeikan University in Japan,
along with the head coach of the Japanese speed skating team, wanted to find out if very short bursts of
high intensity exercise, followed by even shorter rests, would improve the skaters' performance. To test
the effectiveness of this training regime, Dr. Tabata took study subjects through the high intensity (170%
of VO2 max) 4-minute Tabata workout using a stationary bike. He compared the results with another
group of athletes who followed a different workout, working at an even higher intensity (200% of VO2
max) for 4-5 bouts of 30 seconds, followed by 2 minutes of rest. Aerobic energy system, which is the
system used for endurance exercise such as long, slow running. In traditional interval training and
moderate intensity, steady state cardio both target the aerobic system, but, unless you work way out of
your comfort zone, they don't always improve the anaerobic system.

However, as Dr. Tabata found in his research study, doing high intensity interval training with a rest
period shorter than the work period can target both systems, giving both athletes and the average
exerciser more bang for their buck.