The 4 Minute Workout: Do Tabata Intervals Work?
To be successful in endurance events, you require several physical attributes. However, for an endurance athlete needing to perform at a high standard, a high level of aerobic power (commonly known as VO2max) is really a minimum requirement.
Cardiovascular power is extremely important for almost any endurance athlete looking to perform at their full capacity. An advanced level of cardiovascular power allows you to run, cycle or swim faster for an extended period of time.
Reaching a high level of performance in virtually any stamina-based competition takes years of training, which is necessary to build a strong base of conditioning. Nevertheless, there exists growing evidence to suggest that it is possible to significantly improve your VO2 peak in 3 weeks or less.
Interval training has been a large part of runners exercise programmes for a number of years. It involves rounds of intense activity (i.e. sprints) interspersed with periods of low intensity exercise (such as strolling or jogging).
Over the past few years, a division of interval training termed high intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) has established a history of providing fast improvements in VO2 peak – in some cases using workouts lasting merely 4 minutes. High intensity intermittent exercise (which has also become known as tabata intervals – http://muscleevo.com/tabata-intervals-fat-loss/) calls for short bouts of maximal effort lasting 30 seconds or less. Rest periods can last anywhere between 10 seconds and five minutes.
Top exercise researchers believe that high intensity intermittent exercise routines can play an important role in improving your aerobic power in the period prior to a race or event.
As an example, investigators at the University of Barcelona tested a high intensity intermittent exercise programme lasting just two weeks. The training routine involved daily workout sessions containing 15-second maximal effort work bouts, accompanied by 45 seconds of recovery. After just fourteen days of training, VO2max had improved by a striking eleven percent – a change normally connected with programmes lasting far longer.
All the more persuasive is an investigation from a team at Japan’s National Institute of Fitness and Sport. They reviewed 2 training routines, the first comprising conventional moderate intensity exercise (cycling) for one hour, five days each week. The second programme involved HIIE, and was comprised of 8 all-out work periods lasting 20 seconds, with ten seconds of recovery. Despite the fact that each workout lasted just four minutes, aerobic power gains in the high intensity intermittent exercise test subjects were 55% greater than those performing the moderate intensity training.
Similar results have been documented in numerous other scientific studies, some involving just ten all-out work periods lasting 30 seconds each. Even the scientists were astonished at their results, referring to such dramatic improvements in VO2max as surprising, in light of the short duration of each exercise session.
Not only has high intensity intermittent exercise demonstrated notable effects on VO2max, studies show it may also boost your endurance performance. A research group from South Africa’s University of Cape Town Medical School assessed the effect of 5 unique variations of interval exercise on a 40km competition. The duration of the work bouts varied between thirty seconds and 8 minutes. Each cyclist completed a total of six workouts over a 3 week time period, doing their typical training on separate days. You
The thirty second work bouts produced a substantial improvement in performance, while intervals lasting 60 seconds had no effect. Even though research team were not sure why the thirty second bouts were so effective, they suggest that short, more intensive work periods can make a muscle more resistant to fatigue.
