Tabata Intervals
August 26, 2008 by dr. lam · Leave a Comment
I had a menacing “spinning” cycling weekend thanks to Scott Whitten, my spin instructor, who usually does only Saturday’s class but took the helm of both Saturday and Sunday at LA Fitness in Carrollton. He is a beast, and I mean that in a good way. He is the best spin instructor I have had in the 10 years that I have engaged in this activity. On Saturday, he put us through a 100-minute spin class that focused on endurance. On Sunday, he did a shorter 60 minute workout (shorter, yeah right!) and introduced us to the concept of “Tabata Intervals”.
As you guys know in my blogs, I have focused heavily on life balance (which I am struggling to improve myself) and one of life’s balances is great exercise DAILY. I am going to introduce you to an idea that only takes 4 minutes of your time but with incredible results based on scientific studies. A Japanese exercise physiologist Izumi Tabata found that 20 seconds of intense working out followed by 10 seconds of rest cycled 8 times through for a total of 4 minutes could provide incredible improvement in both VO2 max (aerobic) and anaerobic capacities even in elite pro athletes. He found that over a 6-week period of time, this short 4 minute exercise led to a 28% increase in anaerobic functioning and a 14% increase in VO2 max.
Although his testing involved a stationery cycle, you can perform this activity with almost any exercise: sprinting, jump rope, pushups, squatting, chinups, etc. Remember this only takes 4 minutes. However, as Scott pointed out during class you must do an appropriate warmup and cool-down before and after this exercise because the higher the intensity workout, the longer the warmup and cool-down should be. Doing such a short, intense interval training can get you fitter by progressing your aerobic and anaerobic capacity but also increase basic metabolic activity to burn calories throughout the day even when you are just sitting still. For those of you working out in the dark, I truly recommend you getting a MAP test done at Lifetime Fitness (if you have one near you). You don’t have to be a member to do it. I still do it even though I moved over to LA Fitness which is closer to me. If you haven’t seen my video on MAP testing and RMR testing, click here.