Half Tabatas.
Tabatas are a great way of burning fat whilst also improving cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance.
A Tabata involves completing eight rounds of twenty seconds of an exercise, with ten seconds rest between each round.
Each Tabata takes around four minutes to complete.
A full Tabata workout contains eight different exercises, with a minute of rest after each exercise, and so takes around forty minutes in total.
Whilst full Tabata workouts are an amazing way to ‘kill many birds with one stone’ , they can also be intimidating – particularly for the novice or intermediate trainee.
I often now use half Tabatas with my personal training clients, as opposed to full Tabatas.
Half Tabatas are just four rounds of twenty seconds work per exercise, as opposed to the full eight rounds of a regular Tabata.
This allows my clients to experience many of the benefits of Tabata training, without the intimidation, fear factor and sometimes boredom of completing long rounds of work!
In my opinion, full Tabata workouts are just too much, too soon for the inexperience trainee.
Start with four rounds of twenty seconds for four different exercises.
Build up to completing six and then eight different exercises per half Tabata workouts.
Once you can do this then you can move onto a three quarter Tabata routine of six round of twenty seconds per exercise.
Ultimately you can then build up to the full Tabata routines – this allows a far longer period of progression then jumping straight into attempting the full routine.
Try this half Tabata workout to get you started:
Body weight squats 4×20 secs,
Press ups 4×20 secs,
Burpees 4×20 secs,
Sit ups 4×20 secs.
Rest for a minute between each exercise.
You can then move onto:
Body weight squats 4x20secs,
Press ups 4×20 secs
Body weight alternate lunges 4x20secs,
Burpees 4×20 secs,
Planks 4×20 secs,
Sit ups 4×20 secs.
Then finally to:
Body weight squats 4x20secs,
Press ups 4×20 secs
Body weight alternate lunges 4x20secs,
Burpees 4×20 secs,
Tricep dips 4×20 secs,
Back extensions 4×20 secs,
Planks 4×20 secs,
Sit ups 4×20 secs.
Best of luck!
Visit us at 121personaltraining.com?for more great bodyweight fitness routines, and details about personal training and personal yoga training in London.
121personaltraining.com – half Tabata workout – personal training and yoga in Southfields.
