Drop fat like a bad habit with the Tabata Cardio-Blast

Drop fat like a bad habit with the Tabata Protocol! If you’ve never heard of the Tabata Protocol, than you must’ve been living under a rock for the last 15 years. Here’s a brief history lesson. In 1996, while working with the Japanese speed skating team, Dr. Izumi Tabata and his crew at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports decided to conduct a study of steady-state cardio vs. high-intensity interval training. HIIT blew steady-state cardio out of the water and the Tabata Protocol, quite possibly the best supra-aerobic cardio workout ever invented, was born.

So what is Tabata training?

The Tabata Protocol requires, whoever has the balls to do this workout, to complete eight 20 second intervals of gut-wrenching exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest after each interval. Sounds easy but don’t get it twisted! If you’re honest with yourself and give it your all for each 20 second interval, you’ll come close to human combustion. Your body will turn into a fat incinerating machine and your muscles will eat through your glycogen stores like last year’s Halloween candy.

How is it possible to get fit in such a short period?

If you’re wondering how the hell this is possible in such a short period of time then listen up as I drop some science on you. During your Tabata training you’ll undoubtedly experience extremely heavy breathing which means you’re in oxygen debt because your body has burned through its supply of glycogen (blood sugar) and is looking to replace that energy. It replaces it with fat and throws you into the anaerobic zone. Basically, your body has two fuel systems, aerobic and anaerobic.

The goal with Tabata is to blast past your aerobic system by burning through your oxygen supply to put you into an anaerobic state and start incinerating fat. To get there, you need to elevate your heart rate as fast as possible.

Just a word of warning though: take it slow. The Tabata Protocol uses negative rest periods where you’re resting only half of the time you’re actually working and can burn up to 9 times more fat than steady-state cardio training, but you’ll have to build up your endurance gradually. Truth be told, with our busy schedules we’re always looking for a quick way to drop some fat. Tabata is the answer!

Here’s my list of favorite Tabata movements and a sample workout…feel free to mix and match:
Treadmill Sprints
Squat Jumps
Burpees
Front Squats
Hang Cleans
Rapid Box Jumps
Kettlebell Swings
Front Push Press
Mountain Climbers
Punching Heavy Bag

Sample 4 minute Workout
20 sec – Burpees
10 sec – rest
20 sec – Kettlebell Swings
10 sec – rest
20 sec – Rapid Box Jumps
10 sec – rest
20 sec – Burpees
10 sec – rest
20 sec – Kettlebell Swings
10 sec – rest
20 sec – Rapid Box Jumps
10 sec – rest
20 sec – Burpees
10 sec – rest
20 sec – Kettlebell Swings
Done!

By Frank Hoffmann

Frank Hoffmann is a former NCAA and Professional CFL football player from Toronto, whose passion for health and fitness stems from his years as a personal trainer. Frank works as a freelance fitness and lifestyle writer while holding down a nine to five job and believes having a full-time job is no excuse to not be fit.