Fitness is a commonly known concept these days. It obviously includes the most sought-after and famous characteristics such as muscle growth, muscle strength and endurance. Guys who spend hours training their arms with bicep curls, Women who toil long hours on treadmills and cross-trainers in order to work towards a dream figure and of course the jam-packed spinning classes to work on your fitness dripping in sweat. This is almost always the image you get when someone talks about “fitness.” Do you notice that a negative feeling immediately comes to mind? Hanging out in the gym for hours immediately sounds like a tedious task to perform. You start to resent it even more because you know it’s good for you, but you don’t always feel like it or have time for it. You go to work, are busy all day, come home and then you have to go out the door again to expend a lot of energy to exercise for a long, but also not always effective, time. So what if I told you that there is a way where you can work really hard on your fitness and fitness, feel more energetic and do it just at work?
The phenomenon; Tabata Tabata training is a fitness form that was introduced by Japanese professor Izumi Tabata in 1996 (journal of Medicine & science in sports & exercise). His research was formed on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and specifically focused on only four minutes. You’re probably reading “four minutes only” right now with a smile on your face. Strange but true! Professor Tabata was chosen during his research to work with Japanese Olympic speed skaters to improve their fitness for optimal results. After testing different intervals and intensity levels, he had found that the athletes who completed a high-intensity workout for four minutes were able to improve their “fitness” by as much as 13% after one month. This compared to another group of athletes who did an hour of cycling at a much lower intensity for four weeks. So this seems like an ideal way to train, to work out hard every day, but get results quickly. Just in the office for the lunch break, or break your 3 o’clock afternoon dip well and get on with it more energetically! How does tabata work? High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a form of training where you perform a movement at full intensity (maximum stress), think full-on sprinting on a bike or trying to jump as high as possible several times in a row. This is followed by a minimal rest moment. Tabata basically works the same way, but in time. You perform a maximum intensity movement for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest. These movements and rest moments are then repeated for 8 sets. This comes out to a total of 4 minutes of training. In doing so, the exercises must be performed with maximum power! In those 4 minutes, your body will be worked to its absolute limit, which will give you fantastic results.
Plan of action As a beginner, your body is not yet used to maximum intensity movements. To get results, make the interval a little longer. This can be done, for example, by making a movement for 30 seconds and then resting for another 30 seconds. Repeat this eight times. The intensity will drop slightly, but you will also have a longer recovery period. A few things to remember when training are:
- You have to push yourself to the limit.
- Don’t do the workouts daily at first. Let your body get used the first 2 weeks, 2-4 workouts would be ideal.
- Don’t start your workout right away. Warm up properly for 5 minutes first by taking a walk around the office or around the building to avoid injury. Lunges go well with this beforehand.
- If the intensity gets too high, take an extra 1 round of rest to recover, then get back into it.
- Add a 5-minute cool down with some stretching exercises to unwind again.
Example?
- Burpees
- Squats
- Mountain climbers
- Stair sprints
- Push-ups
- Jump Lunges
- Sprint
- Air boxing
Keep listening carefully to your body at maximum effort, and breathing well, to achieve the best results. Your fitness will be put to the test each and every workout, but you will soon find yourself making progress. Your body will richly reward you with improved strength endurance and the energy to get through the rest of the day. A more vital future with just a few short, powerful power moments!
