Health & Wellness
Tabata There's been a real BUZZ in the fitness industry about a revolutionary type of training. It's proven to bring dramatic fitness gains, rapid strength gains and BLAST your fat stores like no other workout. Invented in 1996, it's popularity has rocketed amongst top athletes and sportspeople worldwide. Perhaps most impressive of all……it only takes 4 minutes! So what is it?!.. Tabata Training cycles intervals of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise with 10 seconds of rest, repeated without pause 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. • 20 seconds work • 10 seconds rest • for a total of 4 minutes On paper it looks pretty easy. On the gym floor it's 240 seconds of fitness heaven and hell! Any workout that crams the workload and fitness gains of a 30 minute workout into the time it takes to boil an egg is going to be challenging. The Inventor… Tabata training was invented by Dr. Izumi Tabata and his team at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo. His research found that exercising at a high level of intensity for a short period of time was more effective than exercising at a low intensity for a long duration. Since developing his now famous 4 minute Tabata Protocol, research worldwide has confirmed that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) brings faster and greater fitness gains than traditional "long slow burn" workouts. Some great examples… The Tabata training method can be applied to pretty much any exercise you like. For strength and muscle tone try tabata squats, tabata lunges or tabata push ups. To boost your cardio try tabata sprints, tabata star jumps or tabata burpess. Nothing will flatten and tone your abs quite like tabata sit ups or tabata leg raises. The options are endless. Progress is measured by taking the number of reps performed on your WORST set out of the 8 sets. It's great because you can't cheat the system… I've tried and failed! I personally love tabata training because it fulfills the 5 Rules Of The Perfect Workout by allowing you to create intense and challenging workouts whilst easily measuring your progress. Next time you're in the gym or the park try it. You might just like it! Written by Liam Taylor. Courtesy of Articlesbase.com