When new CrossFitters walk into the gym and see Tabata written on the board, their first reaction is one of puzzlement. What the heck is a Tabata?   A Tabata workout is an interval training cycle of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated without pause 8 times for a total of four minutes. In a group context, you can keep score by counting how many squats/pull-ups/whatever you do in each of the 20 second rounds. The round with the smallest number is your score.

Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan are credited with this training method. Their 1996 study provided documented evidence concerning the dramatic physiological benefits of high-intensity intermittent training. After just 6 weeks of testing, Dr. Tabata noted a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity in his subjects, along with a 14% increase in their ability to consume oxygen. These results were witnessed in already physically fit athletes. The conclusion was that just four minutes of Tabata interval training could do more to boost aerobic and anaerobic capacity than an hour of endurance exercise.

20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest doesn’t sound too bad, now does it? Well, it may not sound bad, but give it a try… you’ll soon realize that one Tabata sequence = four minutes of pain.  But a good pain. (Insert evil laugh here.)

Tabata is on the menu at CrossFit Body & Fuel today. But we were nice, we broke it up with a little run between exercises.

Warm-up
KB Choppers
KB Swings – two hands, one hand, alternating hands

WOD
8 Rounds of Tabata  -20 sec work/ 10 sec rest
Push-ups
400m Run
Sit-ups
400m Run
Jumping Pull-ups
400m Run