Tabata Workouts for Weight Loss
Tabata workouts are made up of four minutes of work and two minutes of rest. That's it. Eight minutes, four to five times a week, and you can see your waist shrink, your muscle tone increase, and the pounds melt off before your very eyes.
The beauty of Tabata workouts is that they're designed to increase both aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels — not just one or the other — which means you're burning fat and building lean muscle simultaneously. The other benefit? You'll never get bored doing the same workout over and over again, which means you'll keep coming back.
There's a lot to consider when designing a Tabata workout plan, but this article will show how to create the perfect one for your needs and how to tweak it as your weight loss program progresses.
When creating a Tabata regimen for fat loss, you need to focus on two main components: cardio and strength training. And to get the best results, you need to make sure your workouts are comprised of the right combination of high-intensity exercises.
Aerobic Tabata Workouts for Weight Loss
The goal here is to make your heartbeat a little bit faster and bring a little more sweat out in the process. Here are four great aerobic Tabata workouts for weight loss:
1) Rowing Tabata
A rowing machine creates a tough workout. You can grab a handle and a bell from the local sporting goods store, or if you have enough room, you could always splurge on a machine for your home. This Tabata workout can burn up to 460 calories in just eight minutes.
You'll need:
A rowing machine set to sprint mode. This will be as fast as it will go, so put it at its maximum resistance.
This will be as fast as it will go, so put it at its maximum resistance—a stopwatch.
Calories burned: Up to 460 calories in eight minutes.
How to do the workout:
Step onto your machine and set your desired resistance level. Start a stopwatch, and perform 20 seconds of rowing sprints. After 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds. Repeat 20 times. Rest for 10 seconds—20 seconds of sprinting again. Rest for 10 seconds. Repeat the sequence eight times, resting for five minutes between each set of eight sprints.
2) Rowing Tabata Flip-Flop
If you have access to one or two spare pieces of equipment at home, this Tabata workout is an excellent way to boost your cardio wattage and burn fat simultaneously.
You'll need:
A rowing machine set to fast-start mode, which will provide a tough calorie-burn workout.
How to do the workout:
Step onto your rowing machine and set your resistance level (you can also do this with a rowing machine with the resistance setting on the handle). Start a stopwatch, and perform 20 seconds of fast-start rowing. After 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds. Repeat 20 times. Rest for 10 seconds. Twenty seconds of sprinting again. Rest for 10 seconds. Repeat the sequence eight times, resting for five minutes between each set of eight sprints.
3) Interval Tabata
Aerobic intervals are a powerful fat-burning tool that works your heart and lungs at a high-intensity level while simultaneously building muscle endurance and strength. This Tabata workout will help you build endurance as you improve your cardiovascular fitness level.
How to do the workout:
Step onto your treadmill, set to fast-start mode, and start a stopwatch or heart rate monitor. Begin running intervals, stopping after each one for 10 seconds of rest. Repeat five times, resting for five minutes between intervals.
4) Tabata Cardio Workout
Aerobic activity is an integral part of fat loss, but you can't skimp on strength training if you want to see actual results. You'll squeeze in more of it with this Tabata workout.