The short answer
What the original study did
The protocol comes from a 1996 study on a cycle ergometer. Each session was seven to eight sets of 20 seconds at about 170% of the power needed to reach VO2max, with 10 seconds of rest between sets, until exhaustion. Subjects trained five days a week for six weeks1.
VO2max went up by 7 ml/kg/min. Anaerobic capacity, your ability to produce energy fast without oxygen, went up by 28%. A comparison group doing an hour of moderate cycling five days a week also raised VO2max, but their anaerobic capacity did not change1. That is what made the protocol famous: about four minutes in total, rests included, trained both systems.
Most "Tabata" workouts are not the original
170% of VO2max is harder than the effort it takes to reach VO2max at all: a true all-out sprint. Researchers measured a typical class-style Tabata workout: four 4-minute rounds of body-weight and jumping exercises, 20 minutes in total. Heart rate averaged 86% of maximum, and oxygen use was estimated at 74% of VO2max. Subjects rated it "hard"2.
That is a solid workout. It is just a different one from the study: harder than a jog, but well short of the supramaximal efforts that produced the original results.
Is it better than steady cardio?
Not necessarily. In a study of 55 untrained young adults, three groups trained three times a week for eight weeks3:
| Group | Session | VO2max change |
|---|---|---|
| Steady state | 20 min cycling at a moderate, steady effort | Up 19% |
| Tabata | 8 x 20 s at about 170% of VO2max, 10 s rest | Up 18% |
| Longer intervals | 13 x 30 s hard, 60 s easy (20 min) | Up 18% |
All three improved by about the same amount. The Tabata group rated their training the least enjoyable of the three3. For someone just starting, the best workout is the one you will keep doing.
How to do Tabata well
Pick a movement you can go all-out on safely
A bike, rower, ski machine or uphill sprint lets you push hard without your form falling apart. Avoid heavy lifts or complex movements: technique breaks down fast when you are this tired.
Warm up properly
Ten minutes of easy movement, building up, with two or three short harder efforts before you start.
Keep the structure
Eight rounds of 20 seconds as hard as you can, 10 seconds rest. Then cool down easy for five to ten minutes.
Do it once or twice a week
Treat it as a hard session. Leave at least a day before your next hard workout, and keep your other training easy.
Try this workout
The original Tabata, done properly
Who it is for: Healthy, already active people. Read the note above first if you have a heart condition.
- 1Warm up. 10 minutes of easy movement, building up, with two or three short harder efforts.
- 2Main set. On a bike, rower or ski machine: 8 rounds of 20 seconds as hard as you can, 10 seconds rest. The original used a cycle ergometer at about 170% of VO2max 1.
- 3Cool down. 5 to 10 minutes easy.
- 4Each week. Once or twice, with at least a day before your next hard workout.
Put it into practice
Sources
All research- 1Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2maxTabata et al., 1996. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 28(10):1327-1330.
- 2Exercise intensity and energy expenditure of a Tabata workoutEmberts et al., 2013. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 12(3):612-613.
- 3The effects of high intensity interval training vs steady state training on aerobic and anaerobic capacityFoster et al., 2015. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 14(4):747-755.
- 4VO2max trainability and high intensity interval training in humans: a meta-analysisBacon et al., 2013. PLOS ONE 8(9):e73182.
- 5Effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIT) and continuous endurance training for VO2max improvements: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trialsMilanović et al., 2015. Sports Medicine 45(10):1469-1481.
General fitness information, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, check with a professional before starting a new kind of training.