SELF HEALTH + HEALING

The creator of the immensely popular Tabata H.I.I.T method shows you how to get more training done in less time.

Japanese professor Izumi Tabata has become a household name in the world of fitness and high-performance training, thanks to his clinically tested, four-minute interval training system.

M&F: How effective is tabata at burning fat vs. higher-volume programs?

Professor Tabata: We haven’t done specific experiments on burning body fat. However, our research has looked at calorie burning. So we know that Tabata not only burns the same calories in four minutes as an hour of steady-state exercise (biking or jogging), but there’s also a significant “after burn” effect, where an additional 150 calories are being burned up to 12 hours after you leave the gym.

"Want to skip your workout? We're going to bust every excuse you've got."

Everyone knows there are so many good reasons to work out. It helps your heart and bones stay strong, keeps you limber, increases endurance, helps maintain weight, and gives you more energy — not to mention bragging rights when you can beat someone in an arm wrestling match. Unfortunately, the list of excuses to skip workouts is almost as long. We’re too tired, too busy, too stressed, too broke. It’s too hot or too cold.