you’ve heard of high intensity interval training (and who hasn’t), you’ve probably heard of Tabata: a specific interval training protocol designed to deliver maximum results in minimum time.

But hands up who knows what it really is? Or why it’s said to be so effective and how you can incorporate it into your training routine? We set out to discover the answers. It is named after Professor Izumi Tabata, who was working as an advisor to the Japanese Olympic speed skating team when he was asked to analyse the effectiveness  of the head coach’s high intensity training technique. What he found was remarkable: very short, ultra-intense bursts of energy seemed to improve fitness better than other forms of high intensity interval training. “Other forms of high intensity interval training have you working harder for longer but for worse results,” Tabata, Dean at the Graduate School of Sport and Health Science at Ritsumeikan University in Kusatsu, Japan, told Muscle&Fitness. “In clinical trials, Tabata improved both aerobic and anaerobic capacity.  I concluded that it’s not the intensity that results in improved fitness but the shorter recovery time. And it’s this specific system of 20/10 that is the most effective at improving aerobic and anaerobic fitness.” 20/10 refers to 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds recovery.  With Tabata, this is repeated eight times so your total training time is  just four minutes. The continuous nature of the protocol means your aerobic energy system has to work extremely hard. In fact, it never gets a chance to rest completely. And each 20-second work period is balls-to-thewall, placing a massive demand on your anaerobic energy system. Why four minutes? A protocol much longer than this would see the intensity drop below the level needed to force results from your body. THE FOUR-MINUTE WORKOUT Tabata is hugely efficient—a tempting prospect for those of us who are pushed for time and don’t want to spend hours in the gym. But how does it produce results in such a short amount of time? Tabata puts maximum stress on the aerobic and anaerobic systems, which pushes athletes to their limit and helps them to derive maximum benefits. It’ll have you working for far less time than traditional endurance cardio or volume-based hypertrophy training, which allows more time to recover.  Training volume will be minimised but f itness gains won’t be damaged. This all sounds good but make no mistake: if you want Tabata training to work you need to sweat for your gains. “Intensity is the key stimulus that provides the training results,” says Richard Scrivener, presenter and master trainer for Premier Training International. Put simply, Tabata has to feel extremely difficult for it to work. Tabata is catching on: British Cycling and many Premier League football teams use it to boost fitness. But what about bodybuilders, strength athletes and mixed martial artists? In one study using MMA fighters, researchers found that Tabata raised lactic acid levels to between 8-20 millimoles per litre, a range likely to be greater than that experienced in a fight, and was therefore deemed to be effective at preparing MMA fighters for the metabolic demands of competition. UCMMA fighter Nick “Headhunter” Chapman trains for endurance, strength and power. He regularly follows either the specific Tabata protocol or variants that incorporate very short, explosive bursts and minimal rest. “I incorporate Tabata protocols into my conditioning six weeks out from a f ight,” says Chapman. He sometimes  does six rounds of five minutes, doing 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off throughout each round. Five minutes is the length  of a round in MMA so it duplicates that. “It’s awful! But it works,” he says.