Tabata
Izumi Tabata's 1996 protocol: eight rounds of 20 seconds flat out and 10 seconds rest. It was made on a bike and works best on one, on a rower or as outdoor sprints; a treadmill can't change speed in 10 seconds. Four minutes that feel like forty.
- Time
- 14 min
- Main set
- 8 × 0:20 all-out
- Good for
- Bike, Rower, Sprints
Warm-up8 × 0:20 all-outCool-down
The session
- 5:00Warm-upEasy
- 8 ×
- 0:20WorkEverything you haveAll-out
- 0:10RestStop. Breathe
- 5:00Cool-downEasy
How to pace it
In the original study the efforts were well above the intensity of your maximal oxygen uptake, so hard that the protocol ended when the rider could no longer hold the pace, usually after seven or eight rounds. That is the point: if you could do a ninth, it was not a Tabata. Ten seconds is not enough to recover, so each round feels harder than the last.
Who it’s for
Anyone short on time who can go genuinely all out on equipment that responds at once. A treadmill doesn't work: the belt can't change speed in ten seconds. Many workouts called Tabata are much easier than this one.
Running it as a group
A gym or spin class can run it together. Every phone calls go and rest at the same moment, and the rest is so short that a shouted count is easy to miss.
Source
Tabata I, et al. Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO₂max. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 1996; 28(10): 1327–1330.
Host the Tabata in PacePack
Pick it from the program library, share the code, and every phone in the group runs it on the same second, with a voice calling every interval and its effort.
The program library is part of Pro, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan. On Free, host the same timing as a Quick session: 8 × 0:20 with 0:10 recovery, a 5:00 warm-up and a 5:00 cool-down, for up to three runners.
iPhone only for now. Android is coming soon.
