Think you know a thing or two about Tabata training?

Well...This Dynamo Duo Does!!!!

Meet Autumn Skeel and Vicki Moen, co-founders of Total Body Tabata™ (TBT), and ACE certified continuing education providers. The Next Evolution of HiiT....Get fitter faster and change your body by pushing through time with the very popular Tabata formula.

This Total Body Tabata™ duo have meshed group fitness and Tabata HiiT, two growing hot trends in the fitness industry with their unique Tabata-style recipe to bring you the ULTIMATE workout whether at home or in the gym.

Let's face it, you properly have never done a true Tabata workout and never will! The majority of humans will never do anything at 170% of VO2max. But, the Total Body Tabata™ team has created a tabata inspired group fitness program using the Tabata formula to deliver fat-burning miracle workouts.

So What is the Tabata Formula?

The Tabata formula was researched in 1996 by athletic researcher Dr. Izumi Tabata. Dr. Tabata applied this strict regimen on Japan's Olympic speed skating team. He devised a formula of 20 seconds of “all out” work, (subjects reaching an intensity of about 170% of VO2 max), followed by 10 seconds of rest, and repeated 8 times.

In Tabata’s classic study of the protocol, athletes demonstrated an impressive 14 percent increase in aerobic capacity and a stunning 28 percent increase in anaerobic capacity after doing the workout on stationary bikes five times a week for six weeks. Over the same six-week period a control group rode stationary bikes for one hour at a moderate intensity five times a week and experienced a smaller 9.5 percent improvement in aerobic capacity and no improvement in anaerobic capacity.

Tabata Formula:

  • 20 seconds all out work
  • 10 seconds Rest
  • Repeated 8 times
  • Total Tabata time = 4 minutes
  • 2:1 work:rest ratio

This time-efficient fat-torching workout is not only scientifically proven, but delivers true fitness magic.

More scientifically proven benefits . . .

  • Increases aerobic and anaerobic capacity
  • Fat loss through increase metabolic rate
  • EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption): after exercise oxygen consumption remains elevated as working muscle cells restore to pre-exercise levels. This results in a higher and longer calorie burn post exercise.
  • More type II muscle fibers used, resulting in increased muscle definition.
  • Increases testosterone in men and human growth hormone in women (HGH is increased by up to 450% during 24 hours post workout). This is super news because HGH is not only responsible for increase caloric burn, but also slows down the aging process) which help muscles rebuild after a workout.
  • Decreases cardiovascular disease, diabetes type 2, and “one study has linked lower cancer mortality rates to HiiT.”(Les Mills)
  • Increase VO2 max
  • Increases resting metabolic rate

Are you convinced? You Know What Time It Is...

Exercise time and intensity have an inverse relationship. The harder you go, the shorter you last. The longer you last, the less hard you work. Even if you could do a “true” Tabata intensity class, who would really show up for only a four-minute workout? Imagine health clubs paying instructors and trainers full fees for a four-minute class or training session.

Clearly, however, there is something valuable in this idea. For too long, people focused on how long they were exercising for, especially when it came to traditional cardio. The Tabata study blew apart the convention that more time equals better workout.

The Practical from the Impractical

Knowing that true Tabata interval training is impossible to perform in the real world, what can you take from the Tabata study and actually use? How can you use it to benefit your students and clients?

You can use Tabata-inspired interval training. What does this look like? Essentially, it is interval training that features work intervals that are twice as long as the recovery interval. This means creating high-intensity intervals where the intensity is still “high,” but relative to anyone’s fitness abilities. ACE studied Tabata-style training and the resulting article featured great workout options from leading fitness experts.

The Big Takeaway

With the elevation in baseline metabolic rate as far out as 48 hours post exercise, the implications for fat loss are huge. Interestingly, the calories burned during exercise become increasingly less important. Why? Because at higher intensity, more of the energy for exercise comes from carbohydrate. But at rest, the majority of the energy needs come from fat. If you kick up metabolism for 48 hours after exercise, and after exercise your body’s energy use comes more from fat than from carbohydrate, you are not only elevating metabolism for a significant duration of time, but a higher percentage of fuel is being burned from fat.

Learn more about becoming a certified TBT instructor click here