The Ultimate Home Gym on a Budget - The Tabata Method

Dr Tabata is the fella that invented the famous exercise protocol, the Tabata Method, that radically improves fitness while stripping fat from your body with very short, extremely intense workouts. Furthermore, there is no outlay other than a Gymboss timer and the time taken searching online for suitable exercises.

When I say all you need Is the Gymboss timer I mean it (link in Gymboss Timer Overview box). This fabulous timer makes the easy part of the workout exactly that, easy! It does all timing for you so you can concentrate on the difficult part; the four minutes of flat out exercise!

This really is a quick workout!

Tabata Method

For full details on the protocol you should visit my other Hub but I'll give a quick overview here. It's a simple easy to follow exercise protocol. You just have eight sets of 20 seconds exercise followed by 10 seconds rest, simple.

Of course you MUST warm up first, thats essential for any exercise program. The whole Tabata protocol only lasts 4 minutes so combined with a few minutes loosening and warming up and a stretch to cool down you can be done in 12 minutes or so. That’s a quick workout!

Sounds too good to be true and it is because to make this protocol work you have to work flat out, full throttle intensity only. Nothing less will do to get the benefits which include superb aerobic, anaerobic conditioning and fat loss! Not bad in just 12 minutes, although you will need to do these workouts five days a week.

Really though you may think this protocol sounds easy but at falt out intensity it is very hard work. The pay back is superb fitness gains and melting fat loss!

The full weeks Tabata workout equates to one hour per week but with two thirds of that warming up, cooling down and stretching! So you could think of it as only 20 minutes a week of effort!

The Gymboss Timer

This little timer will save you all the frustration of trying to watch the clock as you go for full throttle, flat out intensity. It really will help you get through your tabata's more efficiently and make the whole routine work more effectively!

At just $19.95 it's excellent value. I can't imagine my tabata workouts without mine. I live in the UK and got mine from the US as it proved to be the cheapest option, especially given the favourable exchange rates. Delivery was prompt and I couldn't be happier.

The Gymboss timer is extremely versatile. It can time any interval between 2 seconds and 99 minutes repeated for as many as 99 times! Of course, you could just stick to the tabata protocol.

Sample Tabata Workout

The beauty of this exercise protocol is it's flexibility, you can literally use any exercises you like as long as you do them at full throttle. Any strength exercises should be performed fast and/or explosively. Explosive = flat out!

In Dr Tabata's original study the subjects were cycling, so if you have an exercise bike you're in! If not, and keeping with the promise earlier, just pick aerobic exercises and do those. The eight sets could just comprise of one exercise, burpees for example or be made up of several. So your tabata could comprise

1. burpees
2. sprinting on the spot
3. squat and jump
4. rapid press ups
5. mountain climbers
6. side to side hops (over an obstacle)
7. squat thrusts
8. speed punching

This would be acardiobased workout, you can adapt the exercises to be more strength related using one exercise or mix it up as follows

1. rapid press ups
2. deep squats
3. Hindu press ups
4. one leg squats
5. dips
6. lunges
7. Spiderman press ups
8. squat and jump

This routine targets legs and arms, but you could target any area with your routine. A quick internet search will help you discover exercises you can try out. Check out the rss feed later in the hub for ideas.

The original study was conducted with fit individuals so the good news is that everyone will gain from this protocol. The bad news is that those new to exercise will struggle to get through the protocol.

BUT with a little imagination the Tabata protocol can be altered to accommodate the beginner.

Adapted Protocol

If you are out of shape you can work up to full tabata's starting off with an easier protocol. If you switch the work and rest times around you will rest more than you work and this could be a good start. If in doubt get advice from your doctor!

So the adapted protocol would be eight sets of 10 seconds exercise followed by 20 seconds rest. Over time you could adjust these times to increase difficulty until you reach full tabata's. So you could move up to 12 seconds exercise:18 rest then 14:16, 16:14, 18:12 and finally 20:10. The exercise examples above could be adopted in this adjusted protocol.

If this is still too much you could have a rest period of a minute after the fourth exercise. If using the Gymboss Timer simply add two more intervals and use interval 5 and 6 for rest before completing the routine.

So the first routine from above would look like this

1. burpees
2. sprinting on the spot
3. squat and jump
4. rapid press ups
5. rest
6. rest
   
7. mountain climbers
8. side to side hops (over an obstacle)
9. squat thrusts
10. speed punching

Of course, if you are really unfit and obese one of the exercise sets could be used in isolation so you start with 4 rounds of exercises with 10 seconds exercise and 20 seconds rest. With this much gentler version you really have to work flat out, no excuses.

Also, aim to work towards the full version as soon as possible. You could add exercises so you are doing six instead of four. Then move up to seven and finally eight with the minute break as above. The key is to include progression into the routine and aim to make the full tabata protocol.

So all you need is the Gymboss Timer, a god send at $19.95, an internet search for exercises and 12 minutes a day five days a week. You must work flat out but the pay back is excellent fat loss and fitness that goes through the roof.

By picking your exercises correctly you can target muscles groups and build muscle mass while your cardio fitness goes through the roof. It's a no brainer!

Remeber to start slowly if you're new to exercise! Build up to full tabata's and you will be delighted with the changes!