Many people think in order to be in peak physical shape they must do hours and hours of cardio. If there's one thing I stress, it's efficiency. I personally don't want to be on a treadmill for hours on end and I'm definitely not alone. The Tabata Protocol was designed by Izumi Tabata, PhD, at the National Institute of Fitness and Sport in Tokyo, Japan. What it is is a four minute set of intervals. Grab a jump rope, kettlebell, or start running and start the timer. For 20 seconds work as hard as you can and then jog in place for 10 seconds. Repeat this sequence eight times and you have yourself a four minute, fat burning workout.
Of course, I'm not without proof that this works. There was a 6-week study conducted to determine the Tabata Protocol's effectiveness. One group completed 60 minutes of slow-paced, aerobic (oxygen is the main source of energy) cardio on an exercise bike 5 days a week. The other group performed the anaerobic (meaning without oxygen-using glycogen and other materials instead) four minute Tabata workout for the same number of days. After the 6 weeks, the groups were tested. The aerobic group had increased their aerobic capacity by 10 percent, but did nothing for their anaerobic fitness. The Tabata group, however, increased their anaerobic capacity by 28 percent and their aerobic capacity by 14 percent!
Now, if you think four minutes isn't enough to get a good workout, give it a try. Make sure you warmup for 5 minutes, perform the 4 minutes of work, and then cool down for 5 minutes. This gives you a 14 minute workout. That beats an hour of running in my book. Try the Tabata Protocol for a couple of weeks and see the difference it can make for you.
Work Hard, Work Efficiently.
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