fox4:Can a 4 minute workout get you in shape?

This article provides a video and one interesting comment:" "4 minutes for the average person is not enough to get in really really good shape, really lean, but you will get big cardio/metabolic benefit for sure," he says.
So can Tabata be enough as a routine or is it just a complement?

More on the website:
http://www.fox4now.com/news/local/152346585.html

Hot To Squat: This Will Only Hurt for a Minute (or Four)

Another article which emphasizes the benefit of Tabata training and HIIT. However I'm not convinced that doing push ups is enough to reach the expected 170% of VO2max.. What do you think?

Read the full article here:

http://303magazine.com/2012/05/hot-squat-will-hurt-minute-four/

Extract:

"Tabata trains the body both aerobically and anaerobically. Aerobic simply means “with oxygen”. An example of this would be cycling or jumping rope. Aerobic exercise is known to strengthen and condition your cardiopulmonary systems (heart and lungs), improve circulation, and burn fat. Anaerobic exercise, or “without oxygen”, would include powerful movements such as sprinting, strength training, and explosive plyometrics.
After Tabata, your excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), or “afterburn” increases. Translation: burn calories in your sleep. Possibly for two to three days. Think of creating a fat-melting furnace inside of your body."

Healthcare global: Get fit in four minutes with Tabata workouts

It is interesting to see that the trend about Tabata training doesn't stop.
In this article, the author summarized the concepts of HIT, HIIT and Tabata training and enlights the benefits.
Link to the article: LINK

"Tabata training is a combination of both HIT and HIIT workouts, and its selling point is that it can be completed in just four minutes. It came about after a Japanese scientist, Izumi Tabata, conducted a study comparing the effects of moderate intensity training and HIIT workouts. After six weeks, those exercising moderately were showing great improvements in their aerobic system, but those following a HIIT programme improved both their aerobic and anaerobic systems."

New workout tool ViPR and Tabata Training

The ViPR, one of the hottest workout tools in gyms all over the world, is the co-creation of two Edmonton fitness trainers.

Since January, fitness trainer Teresa Ong, owner of Rogue Fitness www.roguefit.ca, has been running a ViPR HIIT fitness class that uses the ViPR with Tabata training drills (intense interval training/circuit training).

Check the article: link

Tabata sprints: which distance to cover? How to calculate?

With 8 bouts of 20 seconds with 10s rest, what is the distance you should run to comply with the 170% of VO2max as per the Tabata protocol?

Well, it depends of your experience in sprinting and MAV (Maximum Aerobic Velocity), and fitness level.

But for instance, if you MAV is 15,13 km/h and you run the  21.1 kms (half marathon) in 1h44mn40sec, 170% of VO2Max should be approximately 170% of MAV and therefore, the distance to cover will be around 140m. This is very challenging to perform in 20s, especially for the last bouts. But this is the secret of the Tabata training, very high intensity!

The formula is something like this:

Theoritical distance to cover in 8 reps : MAV (in km/h)*9.452

Practical distance to cover after the session : MAV*9.452*0.8

example : for a MAV of 16km/h, you should cover 1208m in total (ie 151 for each reps of 20s!) but practically a good target is 986m, which is 121m for each bouts of 20s.

By experience, the distance you will cover will be less (“target”) than the theoretical one (“distance”). Don’t start too fast but try to keep the same distance at each interval. This way the average intensity could be 170%, with 2- bouts at 200%, and last 3-4 at only 150% for instance.

I For your first attempts of Tabata training with sprints, you should target only 4 repetitions to get used to the intensity of the effort and to avoid injury. For the 2^nd try, at least 48hours later, raise up to 6 repetitions. And finally, for the 3^rd attempt, you should be able to complete the full cycle. With practice, both physical skills and experience will increase and you’ll perform more correctly.

Example: my MVA is approximately 16.8km/h and for Tabata the distance covered is ~1000m instead of theoretical 1272m. After 6mn of warming up (average cardio=71%) the Tabata session is done at 89% average and 91% maximum. Another 6mn of cooling-down at 79% average. That’s it, 18mn of efforts with only 4mn intense, for a better result than one hour of classical endurance cardio!

Tabata and Get The Most Out Of A 20-Minute Session

In this article, explaining how a 20mn short session can benefit for your training, there is one of the option using the Tabata protocol:

http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2012/05/01/get-the-most-out-of-a-20-minute-session/
Tabata Intervals: Swim, ride, or run at an easy tempo for 16 minutes, then complete 8 x 20-second all-out sprints with 10-second passive recoveries between sprints.