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Getting fit in under 20 minutes

There is much data and research available to us on how higher intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts can get us just as fit, in a shorter amount of time, as lower intensity and longer workouts.

There is much data and research available to us on how higher intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts can get us just as fit, in a shorter amount of time, as lower intensity and longer workouts.

HIIT workouts have been proven to: increase our human growth hormone (our anti-aging hormone), decrease our body fat, improve our blood pressure, blood sugar regulation and triglycerides, as well as improve our muscle tone and aerobic endurance.

Once you start reading on this subject, you don't need to look too far before you come across the name Tabata.

Tabata workouts are named after Dr. Izumi Tabata, a Japanese physician and researcher. Dr. Tabata conducted a study using an interval-based workout to see if athletes would see the same gains from a shorter training program as they do with a longer duration one.

His initial study used the Japanese Olympic speed skating team as his test subjects and the workout consisted of 20 seconds of intense work, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for eight rounds on a stationary bike. The whole workout took four minutes for the athletes to complete.

In just six weeks of training, his subjects improved their anaerobic capacity (the ability for the body to work without oxygen, which in turn promotes speed, strength and power)

by 28 per cent, and they increased their VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use, which improves endurance) by 14 per cent.

While this is a pretty cool study, it was used with elite athletes as the test subjects.

Would this type of training work for us mere mortals as well?

Last year the American Council on Exercise enlisted a research team of its own to gauge how effective a Tabata-style workout really is - with normal people.

They took a group of 16 men and women who were deemed healthy and either moderately to very fit and between the ages of 20 and 47 years.

The participants used full-body calisthenics with exercises such as pushups, mountain climbers, high knees, split squats and Russian twists, using the Tabata protocol of 20 seconds hard, 10 seconds recovery.

The researchers also brought the intensity down a bit so the participants could complete five different exercises at eight rounds each (for total workout time of 20 minutes).

The subjects' heart rates were monitored throughout the workout, while their blood lactate levels were tested with a finger prick blood test and RPE (rating of perceived exertion) was evaluated after every fourminute segment of exercise. Immediately following the sessions, the researchers crunched the data and on average showed that during a Tabata workout their subjects averaged 86 per cent of HR max and 74 per cent of VO2 max - both of which meet or exceed established industry guidelines

for improving cardio fitness and promoting fat loss.

As for calorie burning, the 16 subjects burned between 240 and 360 kcals during the workout, for an average of 15 kcals per minute. Again, this meets guidelines for body fat loss.

When performing a Tabata-protocol on your own, make sure you use whole body movements and that you train at an intensity that leaves you unable to talk.

Anything less will not put you in your "anaerobic threshold" and will therefore not give you the same results.

A true Tabata is eight rounds of one exercise for 20 seconds, with 10 seconds rest in between. I quite often teach my Tabata workouts using four to six exercises, cycling through them, one after another, instead of performing eight sets of lunges and then eight sets of push-ups, etc.

Who should do a Tabatatype workout?

This is a question that many of us in the fitness industry are struggling with. Clearly this type of training is intense and is not for everyone.

There are three types of people that I feel should avoid Tabata training without the consent of their doctor: anyone with a history of heart disease, anyone with a injury and anyone just starting out with fitness.

Try a Tabata workout!

Head to www.gofitgals.

wordpress.com for a printable PDF of my Thighs Abs Tabata.

PJ Wren is a local personal trainer and writer in the Delta area. You can reach her at www.gofitgals. com.