In and Out in 4 minutes

Everyone complains that they don't have enough time to workout but the truth is you can get an awesome workout in about 10 minutes of total work. It's called the Tabata Protocol. In 1996, Dr. Izumi Tabata published a study based on research for Japan's Olympic speedskating team. Dr. Tabata had the speedskaters using an interval pattern that required them to exercise at short bursts followed by a quick rest before doing another high intensity interval. What Dr. Tabata found was this type of training improved both the aerobic and anaerobic capacities of the athletes better than your typical 45-60 min steady state cardio. 

To grasp the strengths of Tabata (or any other interval training approach) you need to understand aerobic and anaerobic respiration (that's breathing geniuses). The basic difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise is oxygen, aerobic means with oxygen and anaerobic is without. Aerobic exercise is typically lower intensity but for longer periods of time, think swimming and running longer distances such as 5ks and marathons. Anaerobic exercise is typified by short intense bursts of energy such as powerlifting and sprinting 100m. Neither type is better than the other they simply address different needs. There is a lot more to understanding aerobic/anaerobic exericse (VO2 max, glycogen levels etc.) so Google it some time.

The regminen is simple but brutal: 20 seconds of intense exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest, that's one round or set, to do a complete 'Tabata' is to do 8 rounds of this interval pattern (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off) for a total of 4 minutes. That's one 'Tabata'. In the original research the athletes were using stationary bikes but you can do anything you want. Best advice is to focus on exercises like burpees, squats, pushups, and jumping rope. The goal is that you should doing your 20 sec work intervals at 100%. If you are not panting you ain't doing it right. DISCLAIMER: It will suck.

Of course with any workout you need to warm up for at least 5 minutes to prepare your body. Going from sitting on your bum to 100% can have devastating results on your heart and muscles. So that's how you can get a quality workout in only 10 minutes.

Lastly, there are some cool Tabata timer apps you can download for your iPhone and Android devices. I like this one .  

After titling this post I immediately thought of In N Out burgers, the greatest burgers on earth. They are totally worth doing extra Tabatas and throwing up for. Boom!