What the devil? Sunday is not "Did you know?" day!
Well it is this week. Look for our Sunday CFer tomorrow, Monday, which would make her our Monday Sunday CFer.
Why do we do Tabata-style workouts?
Maybe because it is close to the Holy Grail of conditioning? One training methodology to target both Anaerobic and Aerobic conditioning...and it's only 4 minutes a-pop! That'd be sweet...you mean I don't have to do the distance running/biking (LSD) for endurance and then on other days do the power stuff? I can get them both in 1 workout? Interesting, explain more.
The Tabata Protocol is named after Izumi Tabata who worked with the Japanese speed-skating team. Through their research (in the mid-1990s), they found that skaters who did Tabata five days a week for six weeks improved their aerobic capacity by 14%. The Tabata group also improved anaerobic capacity by 28%.
That sounds good...but compared to what? A control group did aerobic training (running for 60 minutes for the same number of weeks) showed an improvement in aerobic capacity of 9.5% and no effect on anaerobic capacity.
Read that part again....the Tabata group showed gains in anaerobic (which would be expected) AND gains in aerobic (VO2)...greater than those who did traditional aerobic training (ie, running LSD)....that certainly is unexpected.
Imagine if someone said to you, "We're going to do aerobic conditioning...ready...it's 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds rest...for 8 rounds...which will be a total of 4 minutes." Most people would scoff!
So why do people still only believe that they can improve aerobic, "cardio", or endurance with that 30-60 minute trot?
"Counter to popular belief kettlebells, obstacle courses, and CrossFit WODs performed at similar exertion levels can surpass bike riding and running at conferring increased aerobic capacity!"(Glassman, Metabolic Conditioning, CrossFit Journal)
Glassman goes on to point out that high-intensity efforts (like the 4-minute Tabata) produce dramatic aerobic benefit without the muscle wasting associated with endurance training.
Exactly....just because beliefs are popular doesn't mean they're accurate.
Remember, too, Tabata can be accomplished with any exercise....biking, rowing, swimming, running, lifting, bodyweight....anything....just make the 20 seconds of work high, high intensity!
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4 comments:
Amen...Science is only scientific until someone comes along and proves that what was once scientific is now only yesterday's myth! LWJ 10-4-2009
Does that mean I can train for my next half marathon without putting in all those miles???!!!
Just think how much they would have improved if they went with the Nawata Protocol.
Yeah, I don't think there's much rationale for the Nawata other than, "it sounds sick, let's do it!"
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