By Trilby Goouch
Blogs Editor
I committed to a Groupon exercise package over the holidays that introduced me to Tabata training, a method that I’ve found to be effective, efficient and surprisingly enjoyable. Tabata training is based on high intensity training (as opposed to something like jogging, which constitutes moderate intensity). My workout lasted half an hour, and yet I came out of the class feeling as if I had run a marathon. One of the biggest deterrents of working out is boredom; doing the same, repetitive exercise over and over doesn’t foster enthusiasm. The Tabata training method can be used with a handful of different types of exercises, and the short but intense spurts of many different moves keeps things interesting and allow you to focus on specific parts of your body that you’d like to work on. Finding time to fit in a workout can be a feat when school picks up, however a quick yet effective half hour workout is very doable. You can also do it anywhere, be it in your room, living room or at the gym.
How does it work?
You perform 8 intervals consisting of eight 20 seconds of intensity training followed by 10 seconds of rest, which includes different moves ranging from push-ups to burpies to lunges. Make sure you do a 5-10 minute warm up and cool down (stretching, light jog, light bike) as well.
What you need
Stopwatch
Print out or written list of sets and workouts
Hand weights or kettle ball if it’s part of your plan
Sample workout Video
“>10 fat blasting Tabata workouts
Basic Tabata Series
• Pushups for intervals 1 and 3
• Body weight Squats for intervals 2 and 4
• Medicine ball slams for intervals 5 and 7
• Sprinting or jumping rope for intervals 6 and 8
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.
