What's the consensus on Tabata Intervals?

[fuzzybabybunny]

I'm looking at Tabatas and I'm intrigued. Not too clear on what they do though.

1. Can they be done ever day? 3 different exercises, so about 15 minutes total workout.
2. What are they really good and bad for? Can they build strength, muscle mass, aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, burn tons of calories, etc?

 

[kamper]

If you can do 3 sets in 15 minutes, you're probably not going hard enough.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Not 3 sets, 3 different exercises.

 

[darkxshade]

Not 3 sets, 3 different exercises.

That doesn't help your case any

 

[Pantlegz]

um.. http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/tabataintervals.html

Tabata intervals consist of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest. This cycle is repeated 8 times (for a total of 4-minutes). Although Dr. Tabata used a mechanically braked cycle ergometer, you can apply this protocol to almost any exercise. A few popular examples include hitting a heavy bag, sprinting, jumping rope, or performing bodyweight calisthenics (ex. squats and pushups).

It is important to note however that changing the exercise used during the interval session may change the focus of the session. For example, working with a bodyweight exercise such as pushups or squats will shift the workout's focus towards strength endurance.

4 minutes of work with 1 minute of rest x 3 would be 15 min.

 

[EvilYoda]

Not unlike Tabata Something Else, a "popular" main page WOD :

http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/002951.html

Tabata sucks. And yet it's awesome. Tabata row for calories: FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUU

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Not unlike Tabata Something Else, a "popular" main page WOD :

http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/002951.html

Tabata sucks. And yet it's awesome. Tabata row for calories: FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUU

Oh, haha, I totally did that a couple of days ago without even realizing what it was called. It was fun.

Pushups get pretty retarded. 13 pushups at first, but it quickly petered down to like 5 after the 8th interval. Same with pullups. Situps and squats are ok.

 

[BeauJangles]

Oh, haha, I totally did that a couple of days ago without even realizing what it was called. It was fun.

Pushups get pretty retarded. 13 pushups at first, but it quickly petered down to like 5 after the 8th interval. Same with pullups. Situps and squats are ok.

For each tabata interval set you complete, take your score to be the lowest total you had in any round. In other words, if the fewest pushups you did was 5, then your score is 5. The idea helps you pace yourself and make more consistent work across intervals.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

For each tabata interval set you complete, take your score to be the lowest total you had in any round. In other words, if the fewest pushups you did was 5, then your score is 5. The idea helps you pace yourself and make more consistent work across intervals.

But this is what I don't get. I thought you were supposed to go all out during each interval. How can you go all out if you're trying to be even throughout the workout? The first interval all out can be 20 reps, but the last interval all out could only be 5. All out means not pacing yourself, right?

 

[BeauJangles]

But this is what I don't get. I thought you were supposed to go all out during each interval. How can you go all out if you're trying to be even throughout the workout? The first interval all out can be 20 reps, but the last interval all out could only be 5. All out means not pacing yourself, right?

Tabata intervals were originally done with one of the strongest muscle groups in your body (your legs). When your legs tire, they are still capable of moving and producing energy output, particularly on something like a bicycle. Pushups and pullups rely on much smaller muscles that fatigue much faster. Once they are fatigued, they are generally incapable of performing continued reps.

In exercises that are subject to severe muscle fatigue (pushups, pullups) I've found it is a lot more productive to pick a challenging number and aim for it rather than burning yourself out in the first two rounds.

I'm sure someone else can chime in with a more technical answer, but I generally think that completing a rep scheme like 5 pullups for 8 rounds, even if it means having a few extra seconds of rest in the early rounds is much more likely to simulate a proper tabata interval than banging out a round of 10 then a round of 9 then rounds of 2 or 3. In those latter rounds you're spending most of your time resting.

 

[Ghiedo27]

Any interval program is focused on improving your bodies capacity for anaerobic energy and dealing with the waste it generates. Even though intervals are not aerobic in nature, they help you make the most of your aerobic base by increasing the HR you can maintain before going into the "red zone" past your lactate threshold. You're not really going to burn many calories due to how short these sessions have to be.

I don't know why you would score these efforts for pacing. The point is to be going all out. If you can't maintain the exercise in the first place then you shouldn't be doing intervals. You really should develop a solid base before moving into this type of exercise, imo. If by the last section you're only able to do 5 pushups in 20 seconds you should be focusing on the muscle portion and not the energy delivery.