The 4 Minute Workout
The 4 Minute Workout – Does it Really Work?
Whether you’re an exercise enthusiast or couch enthusiast, most people report that the number one thing they’re looking for from their workouts is maximum results in the least amount of time.
That’s where high-intensity interval techniques like Tabata are gaining in popularity. In an age of busy schedules and demanding life obligations, claims of supercharged fat loss, glucose metabolism and athletic performance in a quarter (or less) the time of a traditional workout are pretty difficult to resist. At the same time, notions of a successful workout that takes less time than the making of a cup of coffee are also pretty difficult to believe.
Tabata? Or Not Tabata? That is the question.
What is Tabata?
Traditional high intensity interval training (HIIT) typically involves exercising at 85 – 90% of your maximum heart rate for 1 – 2 minutes, followed by a lower intensity “rest” period of exercise that can last from 30 seconds up to 2 minutes. Alternating back and forth between set periods of high intensity exercise and lower intensity exercise, a HIIT workout usually runs from 20 – 40 minutes.
Tabata takes this HIIT method to the next level. Shorter 20 second bouts of high intensity exercise pushes exercisers to crank it all the way up to 100% of their maximum heart rate, with only 10 seconds of resting intensity exercise. Using this 20:10 pattern for a total of 8 cycles (or 4 minutes) for most types of exercise – from running, cycling, squats, rows, mountain climbers, swimming, jump rope, stair sprinting, etc. – quickly brings your slow and fast twitch muscles to total fatigue, stimulating metabolic, hormonal and fat burning effects that last hours after you’ve finished working out.
Originally developed for Olympic speed skaters, Dr. Izumi Tabata and his team of scientists at Tokyo’s National Institute of Fitness first discovered that this work-to-rest exercise ratio – 20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest – proved to maximally tax both aerobic and anaerobic pathways more effectively than intense exercise with longer rest periods or longer bouts of less intense exercise periods. Resting for only half the length of your high-intensity bout of exercise forces your body to perform without full recovery. This leads you to reach maximum oxygen intake by the second or third minute of your four minute Tabata workout, which is what pushes your endurance and physical fitness to entirely new heights.
While it was traditionally believed that only longer duration exercises stimulated the “after-burn effect” – when exercise stimulates your body to continue to burn calories long after you’ve stopped exercising – scientists found that shorter-duration high-intensity Tabata effectively stimulates the after-burn effect as well. Tabata was also found to stimulate a significant increase in the production of muscle-building and fat-burning hormones while also improving your body’s ability to create more energy and to use fat as an energy source.
Is Tabata for You?
Tabata is ideal for experienced exercisers looking to squeeze in effective exercise into busy schedules. It also provides a nice change for people who have been following the same routine for a long time, challenging both the body and the mind in completely new ways. Whether you’re a runner, gym fiend, on the cross training train or a road warrior, you can apply the Tabata technique to almost any workout you’re doing to burst through plateaus and achieve a superior level of fitness.
Tabata is a fantastic training method for athletes competing in obstacle course races, decathalons, triatholons, or any athletic event that challenges both your aerobic and anaerobic strength and endurance. Tabata is also excellent for people who are looking to lose weight, helping you burn more calories in a shorter period of time while also stimulating an after-burn effect that causes your body to continue burning calories long after you’ve completed your workout for the day.
Incredibly, the Tabata protocol was found to significantly improve elite athletes’ performance levels in several different areas of fitness, sports and athletic events, which is pretty impressive considering that these individuals are already at the top of their game.
However, for people who are new to exercise, do not exercise regularly, are mostly sedentary or who have health conditions, it’s a good idea to take more time to warm up, to perform exercise at a more moderate intensity and to select exercises that are lower impact, building one’s fitness level up slowly and gradually before a full Tabata workout is attempted.
