Workout from Anywhere Wednesday: Tabata Intervals
posted on March 8, 2017
It’s March in Pittsburgh, so if you’re smart you’re planning a trip to somewhere sunny and tropical in the very near future. If not, it’s a safe bet you’ll be traveling for work or to see family in the coming weeks. If you find yourself in a tiny hotel gym with nothing but a few dumbbells and some questionable cardio equipment, you may be tempted to just press pause on your workout routine for a while. Don’t give in! You can get in some intense training anywhere, and it doesn’t need to take up hours of your precious vacation time either.
Enter Tabata intervals. You can get a killer workout done in just 4 minutes if you’re willing to give it everything you’ve got! Tabata intervals were created by Dr. Izumi Tabata, an exercise physiologist out of Japan. These intervals are a type of high intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT training burns a lot of calories in a short amount of time, and forces your body to keep on burning extra calories even after the workout is over! Studies have shown that HIIT cardio is even more effective than steady state cardio (think running at the same speed for an hour) at burning body fat specifically (check out this 2001 study for all the nitty-gritty details).
What you’ll do: pick a bodyweight movement that challenges you but can be completed for lots of reps, like air or jump squats. You’ll work as hard as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat for a total of 8 intervals. Make sure to get a good warm-up and cool-down in too.
Here’s an example Tabata workout for you to try. If you’ve even taken our U.Fit Bootcamp class, you know how fond we are of burpees! Get creative with your movement choices! We’d love to see someone try a jumping lunge version.
| Warm Up | 10 Side Bends | 10 High Knees |
| 10 Cat-Cows | 10 Dead Bugs | |
| Cardio | 5-10 minutes of light jogging or cycling | |
| Tabata Burpees! | :20 on / :10 off | Repeat for 8 total rounds |
| Cool Down | 5-10 minutes of light jogging or cycling | Stretch! |
Let us know how you do! If you’re in Pittsburgh and want to give HIIT a try, stop by our Sweat Equity class on Wednesday mornings at 6:30am. You’ll get a warm-up, 20 minute HIIT workout, and be cooled down and on your way out by 7:00. Did we mention it’s one of our free classes?? There’s no reason not to stop by and give it a try. We’ll see you there!
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