Four Minutes

Think you don't have time to exercise?  Do you have four minutes to spare?  That's all it takes to make fitness improvements using Tabata training!

What exactly is Tabata training?  It's where you do twenty seconds of very intense exercise followed by ten seconds of rest for a total of at least four minutes.  When I say "very intense,"  I mean very intense - as in, twenty seconds is about all you could do of that particular exercise at that intensity level.  You should need a break after twenty seconds.  After your ten second break [let's be honest - ten seconds isn't exactly a break, but it should feel good (albeit short) after your intense exercises], you repeat it all again seven more times (for a total of eight sets).

You can do the same exercise for each set.  For example, you could do jump squats for all eight sets.  Or you can mix it up, doing different exercises each set.  The key is that each set is as intense as you can make it for those twenty seconds.

When I do Tabata training, I like to mix up the exercises for some variety and to make sure that I can really give it my all each set.  Keep the exercises simple and effective.  Here's the group of exercises I did last week during a Tabata training session:

1.  Jump Squats

2.  Mountain Climbers

3.  Lunge Jumps

4.  Burpees

5.  Lateral Jumps

6.  Single Leg Burpees

7.  Single Leg Burpees (on the other leg)

8.  Plie Squat Jumps

If you only had an extra four minutes for exercise in a particular day, you could do this and be done. 

The reason Tabata training is so great is that you can accomplish in four minutes what it would have taken you to accomplish in 30 minutes of steady state cardio (like walking at a moderate pace).  You burn more calories during the workout and after the workout because of the after burn effect of this type of training.  Plus, because you are working at such a high intensity, you're increasing your fitness level - much more so than steady state cardio.  I also like how quickly it moves, making it less likely that you'll just quit because you get bored. 

If you had more time on your hands and were looking for a serious sweat session, here are some other options: 

1.  String two or three sets together (for a total workout of eight or twelve minutes).  If you're going for this long, I recommend varying the exercises, as 16-24 sets of anything is a bit much (and increases your chances of an overuse injury).  A note of caution here:  the longer your Tabata session goes, the more likely it is that you will not be working at the intensity level needed for it to actually be true Tabata training (because you may be too tired to really push your limits).  If your intensity level starts to drop, next time stick with a shorter session but maintain that high intensity throughout.  Twelve minutes in a row should be your max of this type of training.

2.  Work in Tabata training into your weight lifting session.  Last week, I had about 45 minutes to fit in weights and cardio.  So I warmed up on the elliptical for a few minutes, then I did three super sets of three weight lifting exercises.  After completing the three super sets, I did one round of the exercises listed above (for a total of four minutes).  Then I did all of that two more times (using different weight lifting exercises for each round).  By the end, I was tired and sweaty - the way you should be at the end of a workout! 

The next time you're short on time but need to fit in a workout, try one of these options.  The only rules:  warm up for a few minutes before starting, keep the intervals intense (remember, you should need that ten second break), and keep the exercises simple and effective (the more complicated, the less likely they will be intense enough). 

I promise, you'll never want to go back to long steady state cardio sessions again when you have this as an effective and efficient alternative!