Tabata: 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, eight times

What Tabata is

A Tabata is a four-minute interval workout: 20 seconds of very hard effort followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times. It is named after Izumi Tabata, the Japanese researcher who led the 1996 study that made the format well known.

Today the word is used for almost any 20-seconds-on, 10-seconds-off workout, done with squats, burpees, kettlebells or a bike. That is a long way from the original, and knowing the difference helps you decide how hard to go.

The original study

The study, published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise by Tabata and colleagues at Japan's National Institute of Fitness and Sports, ran two six-week training experiments on a stationary bike. In one, a group cycled at a moderate pace for an hour a day, five days a week. In the other, a group did seven to eight 20-second bouts at about 170% of the intensity that matched their maximal oxygen uptake, with 10 seconds of rest between bouts, also five days a week.

After six weeks, the moderate group had improved their aerobic fitness, measured as VO2max, but not their anaerobic capacity. The interval group improved both: VO2max rose by 7 millilitres per kilogram per minute, and anaerobic capacity by 28%. The authors themselves called the interval training exhaustive, and the interval group had just seven people in it.

Why most Tabatas are not Tabata's

The original was done on a lab bike, at an intensity set for each rider from their own test results, and it was meant to be exhausting. Many Tabata classes and apps today use the timing without that intensity: bodyweight moves at a hard but manageable effort.

That is still a good short workout. Just do not expect the results of a lab protocol from a gentler version, and do not feel you have to recreate one in your living room to get something out of it.

How to do a Tabata

A simple, sensible version:

1. 1Warm up for five to ten minutes with easy movement that raises your heart rate gradually, like brisk walking, light jogging or easy cycling.
2. 2Pick one exercise you can do hard and safely even when tired: an exercise bike, fast bodyweight squats, high knees or a rowing machine.
3. 3Go hard for 20 seconds.
4. 4Rest for 10 seconds. Stay on your feet and breathe.
5. 5Repeat for eight rounds, four minutes in all.
6. 6Cool down with a few minutes of easy movement until your breathing settles.

Getting the effort right

If eight rounds at full effort is too much, do fewer rounds, or keep the timing and ease off the effort. The rounds should feel hard by the end, but your form should hold. Skip heavy or complicated lifts: technique slips when you are exhausted, and tired, sloppy reps are an easy way to get hurt.

Some people use one exercise for all eight rounds; others alternate two, such as squats and high knees, so each set of muscles gets a little longer to recover. Either way, choose moves you know well enough to do with good form when you are tired.

Tabata suits people who are already reasonably active and short on time. It is hard by design, so it makes a poor first workout after a long break from exercise. If you are getting back into it, start with steadier sessions and build up to all-out intervals over a few weeks.

How it compares with other intervals

The short rest is what makes a Tabata hard. Ten seconds is not long enough to recover, so each round starts a little more tired than the last, and the final rounds are a real fight even at a moderate pace. Many interval workouts use a gentler split, like 30 seconds on and 30 off, or 40 on and 20 off, which keeps each round's quality higher for longer.

Neither is better in general. A Tabata is quick and fierce; longer, steadier intervals are easier to recover from and easier to keep up as a habit. The Four-Move HIIT Circuit here, a Premium session, uses 40 seconds on and 20 off across four moves, three times through, about 16 minutes in all.

Safety

Very hard intervals push your heart rate and breathing close to their limits. If you have a heart condition or high blood pressure, are pregnant, or have been told to limit exertion, check with a doctor before trying high-intensity intervals.

• Stop straight away if you feel chest pain or pressure, dizziness, faintness or unusual breathlessness.
• Do not sit or lie down the moment you finish. Keep moving gently while your heart rate comes down.
• Have water to hand, and give yourself time to recover between hard sessions.

Using the Classic Tabata timer

The Classic Tabata timer runs the eight rounds for you: a one-minute warm-up, eight rounds of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off, and a one-minute cool-down, about six minutes in all. It ticks every second, counts the last five seconds of each step out loud, and a voice tells you which round you are on, so you never have to look at the screen mid-effort.

Treat its one-minute warm-up as the end of a longer one rather than the whole thing. If eight hard rounds is too much today, Beginner Full Body is a gentler 16-minute session: five simple moves done twice, with plenty of rest.