Skip to main content

Tabata - High Intensity Interval Training

Also check out our Client Jan Newsletter 
We have been using the Tabata system of training in our studio for several years now both in our Met-X-Fitness and in our more Blitz / Boot Camp orientated Pilates Mat and Reformer Class’s and because I know all about the excellent benefits and results of this style of training I rather stupidly assumed everyone else did too.

I realized last week that this was not the case when on two separate occasions I was asked by a client and a trainer I was chatting with - the same two questions what exactly is Tabata? And how does it work?

So here it is – Tabata, a high intensity, short duration effective exercise system

Tabata – What is it?
Tabata (developed by it’s name sake Japanese Professor Izumi Tabata) is a high intensity interval training system (HIIT) that since its inception has provided remarkable results  - he originally developed this system for the Japanese speed skating team in 1996

Tabata – How does it work?
The system is short explosive bursts - you work flat out over a 20 second round – complete 8 rounds – in each round you have a  10 second rest period – this gives us a total 4 minute session

Tabata  - boosts the metabolism
Research by exercise physiologist Dr. Michele Olson has shown that you can burn a ‘whopping 13.5 calories per minute and can double the metabolic rate for a least 30 minutes (calorie after burn)  after an all out bout of Tabata  training’ – (research report presented to the 60th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports medicine (ACSM)
Olson, who measured study participants' calorie burn before, during, and 30 minutes after a Tabata bout, found the routine to be an extremely effective way to boost metabolism fast. "It would take five times the amount of typical cardio exercise, like a 20-minute brisk walk, to shed the same number of calories that result from a 4-minute Tabata," she says.

Professor Tabata’s subjects pedalled on exercise bikes and Dr Olson’s  group did body weight jump squats – but Tabata as a style of training lends its self to all manner of cardio work, body weight training even explosive movements.

But remember Tabata is an  all out 100% effort system – 4 minutes of high intensity, balls to the walls activity, preceded by a 10 min warm up and  cool down.  Compound movements are relatively simple and allow for an easy transition between movements.

If you are starting with Tabata you can train at 70% in order to build your fitness up or reduce the rounds down to 6 instead of 8

Tabata works – the science is behind it

Call us today we are here to coach you to being the best you can be – Tabata is just one of the tools we can use to help you achieve that lean, fit, responsive, flexible body you have always wanted.

BODYFIRM Studios 01 868 4600 – training@bodyfirmpilates.com

More about Professor Tabata click here
More about Dr Michele Olson  click here

BODYFIRM  Client Jan Newsletter 


Popular posts from this blog

Pilates [Contrology] is not a system of haphazard exercises.....

Transform your body, become as supple as and move with the grace of a tiger "Pilates [Contrology] is not a system of haphazard exercises designed to produce only bulging muscles. ... Nor does Pilates [Contrology] err either by over-developed a few muscles at the expense of all others with resulting loss of grace and suppleness, or a a sacrifice of the heart or lungs.  Rather, it was conceived to limber and stretch muscles and ligaments so that your body will be as supple as that of a cat  and not muscular like that of the body of a brewery-truck horse, or the muscle-bound body of the professional weight lifter you so much admire at the circus" Transform your mind, breathe deeply, relax deeply, visualise - let your brain create! Pilates will free your body from  nervous tension and over-fatigue - your body will become the ideal shelter provided by nature for housing a well-balanced mind. Pilates will free your mind, breathe deeply, relax, utilise our ...
Read more

Add Essential Oils for your Heatlh

I hear it all the time ‘I want to be fitter’ when in fact what we really mean is we want to be slimmer/ look better.   Of course, we all want to look and feel better – but not at the expense of our ‘health’ -Health is so much more than a physical image or numbers on a scale. As Health Coach I believe ‘healthier’ is more than the sum of how slim we look or any number on a scale – being ‘healthier’ is three dimensional – 3D – it’s about eating nutritious foods, that allow your body and mind to thrive. It all starts with nutrition you just cannot train your body or ‘run’ out of bad or poor eating habits. From my personal perspective it’s about the nutrient quality of the foods – keeping our ‘guts’ healthy to keep our immune system healthy, that in turn provides us with the physical and psychological energy that motivates us to move, be more active, cope with stress, be social interactive and enjoy life’s little and big adventures   As well as eating n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Push yourself beyond your limits

“As difficult as your toughest workout may be, you will not perish from the discomfort you experience. In fact, pushing yourself to new limits is what makes you stronger and better able to handle more stress in the future. Most people never come close to their actual limits and often quit when challenges are very difficult. Moving forward, challenge yourself to give 100% effort at every difficult workout that you are faced with. If you consistently do this, you will learn how to never accept failure as an option.” Nav Vii
Read more