Tabata training is one of the hottest fitness trends of recent years. This 4 minute workout is guaranteed to leave you drenched in sweat and lying on the floor. It will also give you amazing results in terms of fitness and fat loss.
While Tabata training can be difficult for beginners, there are several tips you can follow to ensure that your first few Tabata workouts go smoothly. In this article we’ll be focusing on this topic and providing you with 5 of the best Tabata tips for beginners.
Tip 1 – Be Creative
The beauty of Tabata lies in the fact that it gives you the option of incorporating a wide range of diverse exercises into your routine. This ensures that monotony is avoided, as your workouts are always fun, fresh and exciting.
You can alternate between up to 8 different exercises in a 4 minute workout session, or if you prefer, you can stick to a single exercise for the entire 4 minutes. Some creative exercise options which you can make use of include burpees, jumping lunges, plank jacks, mountain climbers, pushups, windshield wipers and Tabata sprints.
Tip 2 – Don’t Forget To Warm Up & Cool Down
A popular misconception is that warm ups are only applicable to long workouts. However, shorter workouts require warm ups as well. Warm ups help to get your joints and muscles prepared for the intense workout ahead and also prevent injuries.
Cool downs on the other hand help to slowly lower your heart rate after an intense workout, prevent any stiffness in your muscles and support the recovery process. The Tabata protocol states that for every workout you should incorporate a 10 minute warmup before you begin the main 4 minute Tabata workout and also a 5-10 minute cool down period after the workout.
Tip 3 – Get A Tabata Timer App
Tabata impairs many of your mental faculties because of its demanding nature. It will therefore be extremely difficult to manually count your 20 second intervals while performing each exercise with maximum effort and proper form.
By getting a Tabata timer app, the counting is taken care of and you can fully focus on performing each exercise to the best of your abilities. There are lots of Tabata apps on the market available for a wide range of smartphones, so take a look at these apps and choose one that best suits your needs.
Tip 4 – Listen To Your Body
Tabata is extremely demanding and it will be hard for most individuals to stick to the 20/10 Tabata protocol (20 seconds of high intensity activity followed by 10 seconds of low intensity activity or rest) right away. Thankfully, Tabata can be modified so that you do not over exert yourself during your first few workouts.
To begin with, reduce your overall workout time from 4 minutes to 2-3 minutes and increase your resting period to 20 seconds. You can then work up to the 20/10 protocol at your own pace. Once you are comfortable with the 20/10 protocol, extend your workout duration to the full 4 minutes and maintain the same 20/10 protocol for maximum performance.
Tip 5 – Watch Your Form
Form is extremely important in high intensity interval training routines such as Tabata. However, it is easy to neglect proper form when you are executing intense Tabata workouts. The main reason people’s form suffers during Tabata training is that they focus on performing as many reps as possible within the 20 second period and completely ignore how they are executing the exercise.
Not only does this reduce the benefits you get from Tabata training but it also significantly increases your injury risk. So make sure you always focus on your form and ensure that you perform each exercise correctly during your Tabata workouts.
Summary
I hope these top tips enhance your first few weeks of Tabata training and make it an enjoyable experience. Now all that’s left to do is give it a go and start enjoying the many benefits of Tabata training.
