Just wondering what people thinking of tabata intervals for fat loss. If you were to do three sessions of tabata sprints a week, would that be better for fat loss than 5 sessions of HIIT or LISS?

I've read a lot about the benefits of Tabata but, depsite the pain and difficulty in actually doing it, it doesn't seem like enough cardio to make a great difference.

I've read a lot about the benefits of Tabata but, depsite the pain and difficulty in actually doing it, it doesn't seem like enough cardio to make a great difference.

Tabata's study was intended to measure interval effect on aerobic and anaerobic capacity. Tabata-style cardio gives maximal improvement in both of these areas in a very short amount of time. Nothing in the study was geared towards measuring fat loss that I saw.

I'd think that three days of HIIT/MISS/LISS and two days of Tabata intervals per week would be a very effective fat-burning cardio plan. :nod: Tabata will make you better and more efficient at other forms of cardio, in addition to its lipolytic effect. Exclusively doing Tabata training seems like a waste.

I have never heard of Tabata. Can someone fill me in on what type of exercises this is?

Just wondering what people thinking of tabata intervals for fat loss. If you were to do three sessions of tabata sprints a week, would that be better for fat loss than 5 sessions of HIIT or LISS?

I've read a lot about the benefits of Tabata but, depsite the pain and difficulty in actually doing it, it doesn't seem like enough cardio to make a great difference.

If you don't do it hard enough it isn't enough. Short intervals with short rest is all about super intensity. In the Tabata experiment they had people putting out double their VO2max in the hard interval - that can only be for short bursts.

The response to exercise increases linearly with volume. That is, if you do twice as much volume, you get twice as much hormone dose, calories burned, etc.. But the response to exercise increases more than linearly with intensity. Which means that if you do twice as intense an exercise, you get more than twice the hormone dose, calories burned, etc.

Now the hard intervals of Tabata are about four times as intense as typical LISS cardio. So that means that 15 minutes of Tabata will burn more calories than an hour of LISS. Typically a LOT more.

The question is: can you DO 15 minutes of Tabata? I think serious athletes can really only do about 5 minutes of Tabata. So it's not a certainty that you will burn more calories with Tabata than with LISS, but maybe you will.

The easy way to answer all such questions is to strap on a heart monitor and see with your own two eyes. Take the guesswork out of it.

Tabata's study was intended to measure interval effect on aerobic and anaerobic capacity. Tabata-style cardio gives maximal improvement in both of these areas in a very short amount of time.

Tabata proponents might say maximal improvement, but athletes that live and die by their aerobic capacity do not all train with Tabata. Lacate threshold training is more usual - which means large volumes of steady state as well as some intervals.

I have never heard of Tabata. Can someone fill me in on what type of exercises this is?

In a nutshell: Go as hard as humanly possible, beyond your percieved limits, for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds. Repeat as many times as you can.

Do as many as you can. You should be done in about four minutes. :D

Here's a more in-depth synopsis. (http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0145.htm)

I have never heard of Tabata. Can someone fill me in on what type of exercises this is?


Do one of these workouts (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=04-046-training) and see how you feel :)

I do front squats like that sometimes when I'm staying at my sister's with limited weight access. 65-70 lbs of front squats done in :20/:10 intervals for 4 minutes gives me ALL I want. :cry:

Oh, and I don't think it would be something I could handle multiple times a week for quite some time at my aerobic (and I suppose anerobic) capacity right now.

Thanks for the links! It sounds pretty intense, Imight have to give it a try sometime.

I like to do these intervals at the end of a cardio session once or twice a week.

I'll do my normal cardio and then do 8 rounds of tabata style intervals with burpees or thrusters. Very tough way to end a workout.