Tabata for Beginners: Don’t Have Time to Exercise? Yes You Do.
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Do you feel like you know you should be exercising, but you don’t have time to exercise? What if I told you I had a super quick workout for you…
Do you have 4 minutes? I thought so…
Let me introduce you to tabata.
What is Tabata?
Fara Rosenzweig on Active.com says, “Tabata training was discovered by Japanese scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo.”
“Each exercise in a given Tabata workout lasts only four minutes, but it’s likely to be one of the longest four minutes you’ve ever endured. “
How to Do a Tabata Workout
“The structure of the program is as follows:
- Work out hard for 20 seconds
- Rest for 10 seconds
- Complete 8 rounds
You push yourself as hard as you can for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. This is one set. You’ll complete eight sets of each exercise. “
What Movements Can I Do in a Tabata Workout?
The sky is the limit here! But if you’re fresh out of ideas, here is a list of exercises to get you started with this quick workout…
- squats
- pushups
- sit-ups
- jumping jacks
- pull-ups
- sprints
- box jumps
- jump squats
- lunges
- dips
- muscle ups
- plank holds
- pistols
- candlesticks
- burpees
- mountain climbers
- kettlebell swings
- rowing
- knees to elbows
To get started with tabata as a beginner, pick two exercises from the list above (or if you have another one you want to do that is not on the list), and alternate with each round.
Specific reasons why I love this video:
- First of all, Nick looks like a baby.
- He has vastly improved his ability to rein in his excitement for health and wellness in the 9 years since… I used to stand behind the camera and mouth to him, “breathe. calm down….” He just can’t help himself, haha.
- We both were a goofy on film back then. Because Nick makes videos every week, he is now a PRO. FESSION. AL. But it’s fun to look back on these videos and see how far we’ve come.
- I was able to squat like a boss! Holy heck, I kind of thought I sped up the video…but I didn’t. I really did used to squat that fast. I’ll get there again someday…you just wait!
Where do I get a tabata clock?
- You can go to https://www.tabatatimer.com/ to use one online for free
- You can buy one for your home gym or garage. We bought one like this one.
If you want to see an example of what a couple rounds of this quick workout looks like, check out the video below.
FYI, I am not currently a certified personal trainer…so take this or leave it. I was Crossfit Level 1 certified…so there’s that 🙂
