You might have seen or heard this exercise. This is just 4 mins exercise that you can increase both aerobic and anaerobic capacity, which is great.
What usually happens is cardiorespiratory function increases when the aerobic exercise is done whereas anaerobic function is stimulated when you do the anaerobic exercise which is called principle of specific adaption to imposed demands (SAID). Basically, your muscle is getting at slow movement when you do slow training.
However, as I wrote down at the first sentence, this exercise is the short time and can stimulate both aerobic and anaerobic function.
The university where I studied was Ritsumeikan university professor Izumi Tabata works at. Therefore, I was taught how this exercise was invented and what this exercise is for.
Some people say that this exercise is good for losing weight but this exercise is actually designed for the athletes to perform well and this exercise only burns 100kcal.
HOW does this work?
- 20 secs high intensity (all-out) exercise and 10 secs times 8 reps.
- You can choose whatever the exercise as long as you burn out.
- Warm up and cool down are very important to avoid any injuries.
- Must be careful if you have hypertension or joint injuries.
This is quite high intensity exercise. I clearly remember one of the mates did this and he threw up just after the last rep.
While I was in uni, it was not sure this exercise works with any movements apart from bike exercise as Tabata invented this exercise for the athletes especially speed skating.
Then I visited Ritsumeikan university website Tabata protocol saying that movement does not matter as long as you get exhausted.
Why is this good for both aerobic and anaerobic function?
- VO2 MAX: This is the oxygen intake you can inhale the most. When exercise level gets intense, the body requires more energy.
- Oxygen intake: This is literally oxygen intake as we exercise. Our body uses aerobic and anaerobic energy system. This differs which exercise you do.
- Excessive oxygen intake post-exercise: After the high intense exercise, we still take high amount of oxygen in our body, even though you are in rest.
- Oxygen debt: Oxygen demand-Oxygen intake=Anaerobic energy supply(Oxygen debt)
When the body requires only aerobic exercise function, this rile is applied.
Need to choose exercise program what you are looking to!
Some might say this exercise is good for losing weight or diet but this was designed to improve athlete’s performance. This helps to improve your endurance and stamina so that you can do more aerobic exercise such as jogging and treadmill to burn your fat. This is same as if you want to make your chest (pectoralis major and minor) bigger, you do not do squat, don’t you?
Most importantly, if you are looking to losing your weight or getting lean and shredded body, what you eat is more important than exercise!
Reference
- TABATA training http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/rs/category/tokushu/151106/
- Tabata training Tabata workouts and training http://www.tabatatraining.com
- Tabata official http://tabataofficial.com
- Tabata official Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQkTyD6Xg3Qtb4DssNvuKsA
