HIIT and Tabata Protocol

 

HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training

Let's discuss why intervals are effective in the first place compared to just training hard at a steady rate. Intervals allow you to spend a greater amount of time doing intense exercise at lower blood lactate levels than simply "running hard". The active rest is what prevents lactic acid buildup in the muscles. HIIT cardio allows you to spend more total time at high intensity levels without feeling it as much as simply training hard non-stop. A good example would be to spring for 30 sec, jog for 30 sec etc.. for 15-20 minutes. This allows your body to work at high intensity while releaseing your fat burning hormones (Human Growth Hormone & Adrenaline) and creating a massive Oxygen Debt to allow you to burn fat far longer after the workout is over.

 

  The "Tabata Protocol"
Rarely brought up in fitness circles Nowadays, the "Tabata" is an exremly intesnse and effective work out that last 3-4 minutes but promises to burn fat like no other exercise.
So What is The Tabata Protocol?
The Tabata Protocol is an interval routine developed by the head coach of the Japanese Speed Skating team. It is named after Izumi Tabata, Ph.D., who was the former researcher at Japan's National Institute of Fitness and Sports. He took the coach's interval routine and conducted a study on its effectiveness. The results were outstanding to say the least.

This interval routine would typically consist of six to eight hard 20 second intervals with only 10 seconds of rest in between! However, using "Tabata", the whole routine only takes 3-4 minutes total. With that in mind, it would be smart to warm up for 5 minutes and cool down for 5 minutes even though the workout itself takes 3 to 4 minutes.
How on Earth Can 3-4 Minutes Burn Body Fat?
This type of short-term intense interval training has been shown to jack up your metabolic rate for many hours after the workout is finished. You will burn a lot more total calories after the workout is complete. What they also found is that this version of interval training is extremely effective at burning fat without compromising muscle tissue.
This type of interval training is far from easy!
You would be a fool to think you can't work hard in 3-4 minutesor that the Tabata Protocol is easy. Done properly…these will be 3 to 4 minutes you are going to hate yourself while doing. It was reported that many of the athletes had to stop at 6 intervals their first few times through the workout. Other than melting body fat, this routine dramatically improves both your aerobic and anaerobic capacity…making you a better athlete.

A big advantage of this routine is that you have a lot of exercise choices. It wouldn't be a very good for the treadmill, because the treadmill takes to long to get up to top speed. You could use almost any piece of cardio equipment that allows you to reach maximum effort quickly. A jumping rope would fit ideally in this routine.

This Is Also a Great Routine To Become Better in Your Chosen Sport
A Boxer, you could hit the heavy bag for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest. A basketball player could jump and try to touch the rim numerous times for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest. A swimmer could do a crawl stroke, butterfly stroke, etc…You get the picture. This is a good, high-level method to increase athletic performance in many sports.