Tired of being overweight? Sick of not being able to wear the
clothes you want to wear? Ready to change? One good way to burn fat and
build lean muscle is by using the 4 minute Tabata Workout.
The Tabata Game Plan:
You're
going to do twenty seconds-yes, I said twenty seconds-of really,
really, really intense aerobic exercise. Then you're going to stop and
do nothing at all for all of ten seconds.
Then you're going to do
your exercising again, and keep it ramped up to the ultimate level-for
all of twenty seconds. Then you get ten seconds to get back to feeling
like a human again. And then you'll be doing that maximum intensity
stuff again, for twenty more seconds, and when the timer gets off, you
catch your breath-for exactly ten.
Keep on with this rhythm, until you've done 8 rounds of twenty-second bursts of fat torching radically intense exercise.
Creating The Anaerobic State
In
the past, fitness experts have advocated the "fat burning zone," which,
basically equates to 1 hour of steady cardio, such as, that on a
treadmill or exercise bike.
This slow methodical cardio process
had become old news since science has shown that intense work intervals
followed by short rest periods is what facilitates what is known as the
anaerobic state, and this exact state is what allows for the most fat
burning.
Anaerobic literally means "without oxygen," where you
will be gasping for breath, and often feel like you are unable to catch
your breath. This is the ideal zone for fat burning, increasing
endurance and stamina and strength training for the muscles. In the
Anaerobic state the body begins to use carbs for energy instead of fat.
HIIT
is one of the most well-known and widely used protocols to create this
anaerobic state, though, Kettlebell training does it as well. But,
Tabata really takes it up a few notches and includes some of the most
gut wrenching, breath catching moves with the shortest workout time that
results in maximum fat loss, extreme metabolism boost and consequent
calorie burning for hours after the workout is over.
EPOC And Metabolism
The
practice of alternating short recovery periods with maximum effort
allows the body to push itself beyond its perceived threshold, and that
initiates a chemical response and neuro-endocrine reaction.
Elevating
the metabolic rate is the key to burning body fat! Contrary to what so
many people focus on, the goal is not so much the calories or fat burned
during the workout, but, what is burned continuously after the workout.
And
the only way to use carbs as energy during the workout is with intense
intervals that raise the resting metabolic rate. During very intense
bursts the heart rate soars and as you struggle and gasp for air you
will naturally react by taking in more oxygen in the rest periods and
this extra oxygen is what will raise the metabolic rate. This process is
known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC).
Tabata
is the fastest and shortest workout option to create EPOC, and the
anaerobic state, which, is so effective at torching body fat.
Choosing The Right Moves For Tabata
What
exercise you choose to do will depend on your personal physical state
and what you're comfortable with. The type of exercise you do for a
Tabata session has to be one that you are very familiar with, and very
good at.
Still, if you're not good at any exercise, don't worry.
You can teach yourself anything. What you'll have to do is to do some
mock-up Tabata sessions at a more normal level, just to get yourself
used to the way it works.
Form is very important in body weight
exercises, and if you start by trying to go fast, or aim for too much
intensity outside of your fitness level, you'll lose out in form and the
exercise will be of little value.
Burpees
One good exercise to use with the Tabata protocol is burpees-they'll give you a full-body workout with no extra equipment.
1. You start out standing straight and tall, hands stretched over your head.
2. Then get down into a squat, hands down on the floor, and from there go into a plank.
3.
Go down all the way, like the lower side of a push up; push yourself
up, then jump back up to the squatting position and back up to standing.
4. Then one quick jump up, and you're ready to begin again.
If
you haven't done burpees before, or it's been a long time since you've
done them, start by just doing four or five of them slowly, keeping good
form. Tomorrow do ten, and the day after that, fifteen.
When you
feel comfortable with the rhythm of this exercise and can do it pretty
fluently you're ready to incorporate it in an all-fire intense Tabata
workout.
There are many other moves that can be done, some of
which are simpler, and some are more completed. Even jumping jacks and
sit ups can work in Tabata when they are executed in fast and continuous
reps for the full 20 seconds.
Timing
You'll
need a stopwatch or some way of measuring seconds. A free Tabata app on
your smartphone-there are several to choose from-is an easy way of
getting it done.
When the counter starts, start doing burpees as
if your life depended upon it, as if there was an atomic bomb about to
go off and blow you and your loved ones to bits if you did any less than
the maximum number.
When twenty seconds are up, stop. Wait ten
minutes, and then go at your fastest, most intense pace again for twenty
more seconds.
When you've done eight twenty second sessions you'll have completed your fat-torching Tabata workout routine.
