Spring Workout Fever: Tabata Training
Kristin Coppens
| 2 min read
With the looming winter weather and seemingly continuous snow until the end of March, the feeling of winter burnout has hit full force. Winter burnout often coincides with another type of burnout this time of year as well—workout burnout.
How can you get through your workout burnout? Try Tabata training. Switching up your workout, by adding or changing intervals, not only keeps exercise mentally stimulating, but also keeps you in better shape as your body will not become immune to the exercises, causing a plateau in your weight loss.
In general, interval workouts improve cardiovascular fitness. This, in turn, increases the body’s ability to burn fat. Interval training can improve your endurance in just two weeks. Insert Tabata training, a form of high intensity interval training. Tabata training benefits metabolic rate and aerobic and anaerobic system. With Tabata training, our aerobic capacity, which is maximum oxygen uptake, sees a 14% increase. Anaerobic, or maximum amount of energy, capacity increases by 28%. Additionally, the body’s ability to burn fat through metabolic rate increases by 15% with high intensity interval training, like Tabata.
Though Tabata training stresses short high intensity periods with short rest periods, those moments of rest are not to be overlooked. In fact, experts suggest limiting Tabata workouts to no more than twice per week to allow recovery periods for your body. Anyone who might have a health issue like high blood pressure or joint pain like arthritis should consult their physician before incorporating interval training into their workouts.
Tabata interval training is customizable and can include a number of different exercises like sprints, jumping jacks, burpees, Turkish getups, box jumps, etc. As a rule of thumb, pick two of your favorite workout moves for a high intensity of 3-4 minutes each, with a one-minute rest in between. Tabata workouts can vary in length, as you can repeat the sequence, but typically last 10-15 minutes.
Try this Tabata sequence with burpees and Turkish getups:
- 15 Turkish getups
- Rest 1 minute
- 35 Burpees
- Rest 1 minute
- 15 Turkish getups
Burpees consist of 4 steps: begin in a standing position, drop to squat with hands on the floor, extend both feet back quickly in a front plank position, return to squat position, and then return to standing position.
Photo credit: ThoroughlyReviewed
