The Skinny on Tabata Training
Submitted by Got Strength? Blog
Ok, so you saw the teaser video yesterday. That particular vid had some good little notes on what the Tabata protocol is, but I’ll give you the full rundown.
Tabata training is named for Dr. Izumi Tabata, the primary researcher who along with his colleagues at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan performed the following study:
ABSTRACT
1: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996 Oct;28(10):1327-30.
Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max.
Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, Hirai Y, Ogita F, Miyachi M, Yamamoto K.
Department of Physiology and Biomechanics, National Institute of Fitness and Sports, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
This study consists of two training experiments using a mechanically braked cycle ergometer. First, the effect of 6 wk of moderate-intensity endurance training (intensity: 70% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), 60 min.d-1, 5 d.wk-1) on the anaerobic capacity (the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit) and VO2max was evaluated. After the training, the anaerobic capacity did not increase significantly (P > 0.10), while VO2max increased from 53 +/- 5 ml.kg-1 min-1 to 58 +/- 3 ml.kg-1.min-1 (P < 0.01) (mean +/- SD). Second, to quantify the effect of high-intensity intermittent training on energy release, seven subjects performed an intermittent training exercise 5 d.wk-1 for 6 wk. The exhaustive intermittent training consisted of seven to eight sets of 20-s exercise at an intensity of about 170% of VO2max with a 10-s rest between each bout. After the training period, VO2max increased by 7 ml.kg-1.min-1, while the anaerobic capacity increased by 28%. In conclusion, this study showed that moderate-intensity aerobic training that improves the maximal aerobic power does not change anaerobic capacity and that adequate high-intensity intermittent training may improve both anaerobic and aerobic energy supplying systems significantly, probably through imposing intensive stimuli on both systems.
PMID: 8897392 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Ok, so what does that all mean? Here’s what went down. The researchers put their subjects, members of the Japanese speed skating team, through a six-week moderate intensity cycling program. This is pretty similar to what a lot of people do in the gym in an attempt to get in shape and lose weight.
The results of this indicated that the subjects did increase their VO2max (a measure of aerobic fitness). That’s great. They did aerobics and they got better at them.
Next they tested the same subjects on a very high intensity protocol where they sprinted for 20 seconds with ten seconds break, repeated 7-8 times. This is about four minutes of actual exercise. The session number (5x/week for six weeks) was identical. This intensity was VERY anaerobic.
It was observed that their V02max improved by 7ml.kg-1.min-1 as opposed to the 5ml.kg-1.min-1 from the aerobic training. Anaerobic capacity, which they were directly training, increased by 28%. So these athletes, already trained, gained MORE aerobic capacity from the high intensity training in addition to their increase in anaerobic capacity!
What about fat loss? Well, what about it? Here’s a study by Dr. Angelo Tremblay and colleagues at Laval University in Quebec.
ABSTRACT
1: Metabolism. 1994 Jul;43(7):814-8.
Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism.
Tremblay A, Simoneau JA, Bouchard C.
Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Quebec, Canada.
The impact of two different modes of training on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism was investigated in young adults who were subjected to either a 20-week endurance-training (ET) program (eight men and nine women) or a 15-week high-intensity intermittent-training (HIIT) program (five men and five women). The mean estimated total energy cost of the ET program was 120.4 MJ, whereas the corresponding value for the HIIT program was 57.9 MJ. Despite its lower energy cost, the HIIT program induced a more pronounced reduction in subcutaneous adiposity compared with the ET program. When corrected for the energy cost of training, the decrease in the sum of six subcutaneous skinfolds induced by the HIIT program was nine fold greater than by the ET program. Muscle biopsies obtained in the vastus lateralis before and after training showed that both training programs increased similarly the level of the citric acid cycle enzymatic marker. On the other hand, the activity of muscle glycolytic enzymes was increased by the HIIT program, whereas a decrease was observed following the ET program. The enhancing effect of training on muscle 3-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HADH) enzyme activity, a marker of the activity of beta-oxidation, was significantly greater after the HIIT program. In conclusion, these results reinforce the notion that for a given level of energy expenditure, vigorous exercise favors negative energy and lipid balance to a greater extent than exercise of low to moderate intensity. Moreover, the metabolic adaptations taking place in the skeletal muscle in response to the HIIT program appear to favor the process of lipid oxidation.
PMID: 8028502 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
This study on high intensity training versus a more normal endurance program was particularly enlightening. The endurance-training subjects took a 20-week program where they expended a mean of 120.4 MG of energy.
The HIIT program was shorter (15 weeks) and the subjects expended substantially less energy (57.9 MJ). There was a correction made for energy expenditure to equal it out. However, at the end of the training periods the HIIT subjects lost NINE times more subcutaneous (under the skin) body fat than the endurance subjects. They also showed enhanced markers of fat burning activity in their body. This means that not only was more fat burned from the high intensity expenditure the body adapted to become better AT burning fat as fuel.
Look into these and think about them a bit. Tomorrow we’ll go over some Tabata and other HIIT protocols!
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