You can do the workout with a variety of equipment, or even no equipment at all. It’s a very simple routine to follow, and most importantly, you get amazing results.

According to a study published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (1), the Tabata protocol is one of the most efficient methods for burning fat. If you are looking for an effective way to lose weight fast, Tabata is your answer!

The Tabata protocol is based on a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) method that consists of eight rounds of 20 seconds of high intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds rest for 4 minutes total. This high-intensity workout can be performed with any type of exercise such as sprinting, jumping rope or bodyweight exercises like push-ups or squats.

Tabata The Best Exercise For Weight Loss

Tabata Will Be Your New Favorite Exercise For Weight Loss

If you’re looking for something fresh and invigorating to spruce up your workout regimen with, we have just the game plan for you. Tabata workouts are a time-efficient way to get your body into shape and surpass your weight loss goals. Here’s all the info you need to get into it.

If you’re unfamiliar with Tabata workouts, gear up for your new favorite way to sweat. According to Cleveland Clinic, Tabata is a type of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that involves quicker, more rigorous workouts. Read on to learn more about the secret effects of Tabata workouts and why this kind of fitness routine will help you sculpt a lean body. And next, be sure to check out The 6 Best Exercises for Strong and Toned Arms in 2022, Trainer Says.

Tabata workouts boost your metabolism, improve your endurance, and build lean muscle

We spoke with Jacquie Smith, a certified integrative nutrition health coach and fitness instructor who defines Tabata as a kind of HIIT workout, but a bit “more intense.” Smith tells Eat This, Not That! that Tabata consists of intervals that are performed at a maximum intensity level, with little breaks to rest.

She explains why this routine is such a great choice, and we’re honestly Team Tabata. “Tabata workouts are beneficial, as they are time-efficient, require little to no equipment, quickly raise your heart rate, improve your metabolism and endurance, and sculpt lean muscles.” And Smith is not exaggerating one bit when she says they’re efficient. “These workouts are super effective, as each Tabata round is only 4 minutes—8 rounds of 20 seconds of high-intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest,” she tells us.

It’s an easy commitment to start, and it can work well with most schedules! According to Smith, a typical plan is to perform one exercise each round, with each workout lasting a max of 20 minutes.

They’re a great weight loss method

Trying to work towards your weight loss goals, get toned, and sculpt the figure of your dreams? Well, get excited. “[Tabata] is a great workout to lose weight, as this type of movement is considered an anaerobic workout, which allows you to burn more calories during and after the workout,” according to Smith.

She cautions females, though, to only perform a Tabata workout during your ovulation or follicular phase of your monthly cycle. The reason is that during that time of the month, your body is packed with the most energy, making it the best time to “support your hormones.” Doing the exercise during your menstrual or luteal phase may increase inflammation and lead to your body storing fat.

These are some of the most productive exercises to incorporate in your Tabata workout

Smith is a major fan of bodyweight floor exercises in every routine, including Tabata workouts. She shares the absolute best movements you can incorporate in your Tabata regimen:

• Burpees
• Jump Lunges
• Jump Squats
• Mountain Climbers
• Plank Jacks

Get ready for weight loss and a super-toned body!

What Is Tabata? Here’s What To Know About This Type Of HIIT, According To Trainers

Let’s be real: No matter how badly you want to hit your fitness goals or see results from your workouts, spending the entire day sweating isn’t feasible for most folks—pro athletes, aside. That’s exactly why high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts—including tabata—are all the rage these days.

Any HIIT workout is a fast track to crushing your weekly cardio goals, compared to steady-state cardio options like running or the elliptical—but tabata, which is one of the shortest (and most intense) HIIT formats in the game, might just be the quickest way to get there.

“Tabata focuses on exerting maximum effort for a minimal amount of time,” explains trainer Semoura Villa, CPT, coach at New York City’s Rumble fitness studio. These workouts are just four (yes, four!) minutes long, but they bring the HEAT. “Tabata can burn fat and help improve endurance and speed quickly,” Villa says.

Now that I’ve got your attention with that whole ‘four-minute-workout’ thing, I’m sure you’ve got some questions, like: What is tabata? What are the benefits of tabata that make it worth adding to your fitness routine? And how to get sweating. Here’s what trainers want you to know about this ever-trendy and lightening-fast type of training. (JSYK: You’re going to want to try it, stat.)

Okay, what is tabata, exactly?

In a four-minute tabata workout, you alternate between 20-second intervals of all-out (as in your 100-percent max) effort and 10-second intervals of rest for eight total rounds, explains trainer CJ Hammond, CPT.

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This two-to-one work-to-rest ratio is what makes tabata famous. “It’s designed to elevate your heart rate to a high anaerobic zone and give the body just a short window to recover,” Hammond says. Basically, by pushing your body into the anaerobic zone (meaning it has to work too hard to use oxygen for fuel), you burn more calories both during and after your workout.

If you want legit results in just four minutes, though, you have to really, really push yourself. “Tabata training is all about reaching the pinnacle of your anaerobic capacity,” Hammond adds. So, basically, how much work you can do at a 9 or 10 out of 10, maximum effort. That means you’ve got to pick exercises you know will spike your heart rate (and FAST), like sprints or burpees, for those 20-second intervals.

So, where did tabata come from?

Believe it or not, tabata has been around for a bit. The protocol was developed by a researcher named Izumi Tabata in Tokyo in 1996. He found that athletes who performed these extra-intense, four-minute interval workouts five days per week for six weeks increased their anaerobic capacity and VO2 Max (i.e. how much oxygen they could consume during exercise) more than athletes following other protocols. (They also experienced greater metabolism boosts.) And, voila, the tabata workout was born.

Are tabata and HIIT kind of the same thing, then?

You know that whole “a square is a rectangle but a rectangle isn’t a square” thing? That’s the deal with tabata and HIIT.

Consider HIIT an umbrella of all sorts of high-intensity, interval-based workouts. Often, though, “typical HIIT workouts have intervals of two to three minutes and a duration between 20 and 40 minutes of complete work,” says Villa.

That said, tabata is really just one specific type of HIIT workout. In fact, tabata is actually *higher* in intensity than traditional HIIT (imagine that!), thanks to it’s super-short work intervals and even-shorter rests intervals.

So, while tabata is considered HIIT, not all HIIT is tabata. Capiche?

Is tabata beginner-friendly?

If tabata sounds a little intimidating (especially considering it only takes four minutes), well, it is. “Since the intervals for traditional HIIT are longer, it’s better suited for beginners,” says Villa. “This allows you more time to focus on form, stability, and overall conditioning.”

If you’re new to the HIIT scene and want to give tabata a try, though, you certainly can. The key, Hammond says, is to stick to simpler exercises so that you can go all-out without sacrificing form. His go-to’s:

• jumping jacks
• pushups
• high knees
• squat to overhead press

Okay. But does tabata support weight loss?

No surprise here, folks: Like traditional HIIT, tabata is a super-effective type of exercise to support weight loss. “Since you perform tabata at such high intensity, your metabolism and heart rate increase immediately,” Villa says.

Remember all that stuff about working in the anaerobic zone? More calories burned both during and after your workouts (which is known as the afterburn effect or EPOC) gives your body a better opportunity to use up any excess energy it’s storing (which is all fat is, FYI). This means that adding tabata workouts to your fitness routine is an optimal way to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, which is the healthiest form of weight loss or weight management, according to pros.

Here’s what a tabata workout might look like…

First things first: Make sure you warm up with at least five minutes of dynamic stretching before doing a tabata workout, Villa says. This way, you can go hard, hard, hard without risking injury.

Then, you need to pick the exercises to do during your eight 20-second intervals. You can do the same move over and over or pick different ones for each interval. “The combinations are endless!” says Villa. From burpees to mountain climbers to lunges, you’ve got plenty of options.

Not sure where to start? Try one of these goal-specific options from Villa.

Tabata Dumbbell Strength Workout

Sumo Squat With Biceps Curl

How to: Start standing with feet slightly wider than shoulders, toes pointed out at 45 degrees, torso upright. Hold a set of dumbbells in both hands. Inhale, bend knees and sink hips down, aiming to get thighs parallel to the floor, while curling the dumbbells toward your shoulders and squeezing biceps at the top. Exhale and drive through your heels back to the starting position, straightening arms. That’s one rep. Do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before continuing on to the next move.

Squat to Overhead Press

How to: Start in a standing position with feet slightly wider than hip-distance apart. Hold a kettlebell in each hand racked on your shoulders. Lower your body down in to a squat. Then, keeping your core tight and torso upright, straighten your legs and press the weight overhead until your arms are straight, rotating your palms to face forward. That’s one rep. Do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before continuing on to the next move.

Renegade Row

How to: Start in plank position, holding dumbbells in either hand on the ground. Pull right elbow toward the ceiling until right wrist is near ribs, then lower it down. Repeat on opposite side. That’s one rep. Do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before continuing on to the next move.

Dumbbell Swing

How to: Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, holding one heavy dumbbell like a goblet. Hinge from the hips and bend knees while reaching the dumbbell back and between legs, keeping back flat and core engaged. Thrust hips forward to swing the dumbbell to about shoulder height and then down again to start. That’s one rep. Do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before starting the entire circuit over from the top for a second and final round.

Tabata Plyo Workout

Lunge Jumps

How to: Start in a lunge with right leg forward and left back, both bent at 90 degrees, right arm straight at side, and left arm bent, hand in line with chin. Jump up quickly off floor, switching legs in midair to land in lunge with left left forward. That’s one rep. Do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before continuing on to the next move.

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Squat Jumps

How to: Start standing with feet shoulder-width apart, toes forward, arms at sides. Bend knees, stick butt back, and lower down into a squat, bringing hands together in front of chest. Then explosively jump up as high as possible off floor, swinging arms straight behind body for momentum. Land softly on the balls of feet and immediately lower into next squat. That’s one rep. Do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before continuing on to the next move.

Burpee

How to: Stand in a standing position with feet shoulder-width apart, arms by sides. Drop body down into a low squat position, with hands on the floor. Then kick feet back, landing in a pushup plank position. Reverse the motion: Jump feet forward to the outsides of hands to come to a low squat position, then stand back up. That’s one rep. Do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before continuing on to the next move.

Mountain Climbers

How to: Start in a plank position. Drive right knee toward chest, return to a plank and quickly repeat with left knee. That’s one rep. Do as many reps as possible in 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before starting the entire circuit over from the top for a second and final round.