High intensity vs low intensity fitness plan
Back in the days, when it comes to fitness, people were big on long hours of workouts and exercises. Jogging was the ultimate fat-burner and the length of time was considered the basis for the efficiency of every workout session.
Here’s a video demo of a beginner’s workout based on Tabata Method:
Tabata Fitness For Beginners Demo
But times have not only changed, it also got faster! Studies have shown that a person can burn more calories and gain bigger results with short, high intensity workouts than when you do long hours of low-intensity routines that can sometimes bore a person to death. It’s no wonder people have not succeeded with their gym memberships and all that.
The confusion began when, in the past years, studies on fitness have reflected that lower heart rate leads to the “fat burning zone”. The misconception was, you’ll have to work your way up to that zone through a low intensity workout that can last for hours. However, research had proven that the higher the heart rate, the faster the calorie is burned.
The Tabata Method For Fitness
Tabata method was started by a Japanese researcher , Dr. Izumi Tabata. In the `90s, Dr. Tabata worked with Olympic skaters and discovered the effectiveness of high level intensity exercises done within a small amount of time.
The Tabata Method is a 4-5 minute high intensity, full energy workout of 20-10 seconds interval done in 8 reps. Since the body must be given the full workout within 4-5 minutes, the person executing it must go all out in all those number of minutes.
A person must do a 5-10 minute warmup before proceeding to the heavier workouts.
2 Top Reasons Why You Should Go For The Tabata Method For Fitness
1.Time
People are busy. There’s always something that needs to be done, completed, attended, taken care of or to wait for. Even though we all know that our health must be a priority, we still find it challenging to spare time for exercise.
If the entire workout, which includes the warm us, will only be for 15 minutes, it’s more likely that you can be consistent in it than in signing up with ridiculously expensive gyms and fitness programs that you can’t allot so much time for.
2. Results
Note that any fitness program is doomed if you will not commit to the whole plan which usually includes a specific diet plan.
If you commit to the entire fitness plan, the results may be quicker.
Why is this so? Because of the Excessive Post –Exercise Oxygen Consumption or EPOC which low intensity exercises cannot achieve for you.
When a person does the Tabata method or perform a high intensity interval training routine, the body is able to produce lactic acid which needs to be cleared after the exercise. The body hits an overdrive after the exercise in an attempt to flush out the lactic acid that had been produced. This means that the body’s metabolic rate remains high even after the workout.
Here’s a feature article on Forbes:
High Intensity Fitness Gives Better Results
While Tabata method-based fitness workouts are good for rapid weight loss, this should not be the primary goal for it; instead, combining it with all sorts of exercises such as strength training exercises can give your body an excellent total conditioning workout.
Want to know how to properly perform workouts based on Tabata Protocol? Sign up for with Dangerously Fit and we’ll teach you everything you need to know about weight loss and physical conditioning.