Getting Started With Tabata Training

"Is it just me...(gasp)...or is this...(gasp)...the most torturous...(gasp)...workout...(gasp)...ever?" This is the question a client posed to me in the midst of a set of burpees (indeed, a torturous exercise). She was asking this because of a new type of training we were trying that, according to her, "Should be taken out back and shot."

When I told her it was only 4 minutes long (well, each set is only 4 minutes), she suggested I do something with the stopwatch I was holding that could, possibly, require hospitalization.

The workout she was so thrilled with? Tabata Training, a form of high intensity interval training that lasts for 4 minutes but feels like 4 hours. On the upside, it not only improves performance and boosts both your anaerobic and aerobic energy systems (I knew you were concerned about that), it burns lots of calories.

This type of training certainly isn't for everyone (especially beginners...or people who don't like torture) but, if you're an experienced exerciser or athlete looking for a new challenge, you'll definitely find it with Tabata Training.

You can get the details in my latest article, Tabata Training and, if you're game, I have a couple of Tabata workouts for you to try: Tabata Cardio Workout, which includes 4 Tabatas of alternating high impact exercises (like burpees and squat jumps) and Tabata Strength Training which uses the same format with strength training exercises.

Have you tried Tabata Training? Leave a comment and tell me what you think about it.

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