The fitness world is full of jargon, but one word you need in your gym vocabulary is Tabata. The first thing to know is that it's a type of HIIT workout, aka high-intensive interval training. These workouts are designed to push you a bit out of your comfort zone, but they're great for revving up your metabolism. A four-minute Tabata round alternates between 20-second work intervals, followed by 10 seconds of rest. You repeat this on-off pattern a total of eight times. You can stack Tabata rounds to create longer workouts, resting one to two minutes between rounds.
Ready to try Tabata? We've got you covered with this three-exercise bodyweight workout. But you will need a timer. This Simple Interval Timer works perfectly, and many sports watches have interval functions that you can program.
Workout directions: Warm up with three minutes of light cardio, like jumping jacks and high knees, and two minutes of dynamic stretching, like walkouts. Do one four-minute round of Tabata of each exercise, going hard for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for eight full intervals. Rest one minute between rounds, then cool down with five minutes of stretching.
Exercises:
- Squat
- Seated Russian twist
- Alternating side lunge