How useful would doing Tabata once a week be?

Just been out and done a session. Just as hard, if not worse than I remember. I could barely get my bike back into the flat with jelly legs i had acquired!

Assuming I get an OK to batter myself from the heart doc on Monday, I plan to build in a weekly tabata session on the turbo in my long road back to fitness.

Well that’s another set done. 17.2kmh at 2 degrees. Didn’t die, probably should go faster.

I did 1x1000m, 2x800m, followed by 2x600m on a running track last night for the first time ever.
Feel a little tired today 🙂
Quite impressive seeing how fast the proper runners were though.

Edit – if you’re capable of doing any other training after this, you’re doing it wrong.

That’s how I understood it.

I do find it funny that some bloke thinks this up, tests it out, gets results, publishes it – then people come along and change it 😕

Most people seem to be quietly ignoring the 4 times a week bit of the protocol too 🙂

Is it a useful tool for weight loss?

I partake in Tabata monday, tuesday, wednesday & thursdays. Albeit doing sprints on foot. 12 rounds of 20 seconds sprint / 10 second rest at 21kph @ 2 Degree incline on treadmill. Suits me to a tee as I’m utterly dangling by the end of it. Seems to have helped my 1.5 mile run time aswell so I’ll continue to do it for the forseeable future.

^^^ How do you get the treadmill speed to respond fast enough?

So, being intrigued by this (subject to limitations posted above), I;ve found a neat little tabat/interval timer online.

Ideal for people use via laptop on the turbo.

http://www.tabatatimer.com/

iDave – set fast and step off to side for the rests.

iDave, as stever said, just jump off & on again. Be sure to hold the sides when you first step on though, or else you’ll end up as a youtube viral video.

When I used to go to the gym I sometimes used to do deadlifts using the tabata protocol. Omg now that was hard. Obviously with reduced weight than my normal deadlift but it was still torture.

i did a tabata session tonight, hard…

5 min warmup
20/10 x8
mountain climber
pressups
squats
burpees
then repeat

this got the heart and lungs bursting out of my chest, but my legs and arms wernt really feeling it if im honest and i was missing some of my regular exercise

so i imediatley did another tabata set of the following
calf raises (basically for a breather)
body weight shoulder presses
chinups
hanging leg raises
and repeat for the 8 in total

hard hard hard, really wiped me out having only 10 secs rest inbetween

i think the first tabata session is a good warmup all round session to get the heart lungs and muscles going

I cant see how you can do two tabata sessions back to back in the same sessions.

I do one or two sessions a week to compliment normal training.

Do 4min warm up ,then 20 secs hard 10 secs easy x8 4 mins easy and 8 again. 4 mins warm down.

Do them on the turbo with road bike … all on big ring (53) and I am foooooked after them. Its almost 2 days after the session that my legs hurt the most.I literally have nothing left in the tank.

Not many seem to be doing them on the bike on this thread.

IanMunro – Member
Most people seem to be quietly ignoring the 4 times a week bit of the protocol too

My query about doing them once a week is because i enjoy the time i spend doing over exercise. I’d rather not lose that, but would be interested in a different type of session to compliment what i’m currently doing.

When I shift my latest cough/cold I’ll have a go at this on the turbo.

Dave, when you say do no other training on top of if, I assume you’re referring to extending the session or then spending another hour in the gym or whatever. I.e. do your warm up > 4 mins tabata > warm down > end of? Repeat 4 times/week and do as you like on the days inbetween?

Did a set on the turbo last night, ripped me to bits!

Don’t think I’ll go for the all out 4 weekly sessions, I’m trying to do intervals of varying lengths going into the road season, I’ll definitely be doing more though.

doing 8 seperate tabata exercises is far easier than say 8 of the same
for instance i’d probably not finish a flat out set of 8 burpees, that would be like 80 burpees in 4 mins maybe…ill have to try that!

if your not that fit then gains from one session a week you will see improvment but would plato fast and your doing it the hard long way.
not really possible for me to run cycle and do 4 of thse workouts a week, id be destroyed and i have a job and family etc

Don’t think I’ll go for the all out 4 weekly sessions,

Unless you do it ain’t Tabata training.

And the protocol is only properly tested on a stationary bike.

If you mess about with the protocol in ANY WAY WHATSOEVER you are ‘doing exercise’, not Tabata training.

Exercise science is the same as all other science – you do experiments, you get a result. With luck it’s repeatable. Then it’s a protocol.
You change any of the variables you have a new experiment, so it would be surprising if you got the same result. Of course you may get a better one, so good luck !

I was just curious how much pain could be generated in 4 minutes, a lot it seems!

I need to read back through the whole thread, I ride in 4 days a week, (my turbo’s at work in the gym) I’m kind of thinking about doing a Tabata set after an easy ride in first thing, I’m guessing it requires a rest day every other…..I’ll read back

Not sure I want to chuck all my eggs in the Tabata basket at the mo, I understand it’ll improve overall fitness, but for a long hill climb finish or a long attack surely a set of longer intervals 5-8 minutes would be preferential? maybe? and for crits, longer 20minute tempo sessons with very short intervals chucked in for the corners / attacks?

anyone know where i can get a timer MP3 for a blackberry

so i imediatley did another tabata set some more interval training of the following

if you do tabata as it should be, you don’t do anything else afterwards

Bit of a thread resurrection, but I just got sent the following and thought it might be of interest to some on this thread.

http://www.mattmetzgar.com/matt_metzgar/2012/02/amazing-sprint-8-study.html

I’ve used tabata training once a week since about October.

I started by doing the normal go as hard as you can then die approach, but reading into it all efforts are meant to be consistent, hence the 170% of VO2max effort level. If you’re dying in the last few and not maintaining form and power then that’s not following the protocol as it was intended.

You can also use the formula 1.2*FTP*170% if you don’t know what your VO2max level is, (and of course have a powermeter).

Not sure I want to chuck all my eggs in the Tabata basket at the mo, I understand it’ll improve overall fitness, but for a long hill climb finish or a long attack surely a set of longer intervals 5-8 minutes would be preferential? maybe? and for crits, longer 20minute tempo sessons with very short intervals chucked in for the corners / attacks?

I also want to know this.. i work on longer intervals (4mins) and just wondering if this is useful at this time of year (for the road racing season)?

Interesting. Another set done. Harder but still not struggling to complete. Really glad when it’s over and counting down to the end from about the 3rd rep, but still maintaining reasonable form. How does one translate 170% to RPE?

Swam 500m after, so sue me 🙂

I also want to know this.. i work on longer intervals (4mins) and just wondering if this is useful at this time of year (for the road racing season)?

Yes, 4*4 off 2 minutes recovery is a classic Nordic session that the majority of XC-skiers use. Again done at a certain power level this is the new “sweet spot” training. Normally done at FTP-5%.

Tabata is so 2010 😆

As RPE it’s off the scale as the time period is so short.

However as an example my Sufferfest RPE10 is 420 watts based on an FTP of 300, using 1.2*FTP*170% you get 600 odd watts per tabata interval

I guess so. Struggling to square the circle of consistent effort with how goosed you are at the end. The fatigue is definitely cumulative. The first one’s easy, it’s almost bound to be, you’re only working for 20s so haven’t had time to get into too much debt. The last ones you’re into deep gasping territory.

@Swedish chef > Have you found a bit difference doing these tabatas? I remember reading in bikeradar a few ppl ditching them as it only helped their top end fitness and not something to do all year round

trickydisco – Member
I also want to know this.. i work on longer intervals (4mins) and just wondering if this is useful at this time of year (for the road racing season)?

From the paper posted on the previous page:

“6 wk of training using high-intensity intermittent exhaustive exercise improved ·VO2max by 7 ml·kg-1·min-1 and the anaerobic capacity by 28%.”

Tabata makes me feel shakey and sick so I think I do it correctly. I am certainly not doing much more than a cool down afterwards.

I use tabata on Tuesday’s I “only” have a 30 minute window for training, therefore it fits my schedule well. They can also be done at hotel gyms etc to good effect which is a bonus when away on business.

I would not do them 4 days a weeks though as I see no benefit in the type of racing I do, (XC/CX/marathon), plus I feel they’d do damage to my immune system over the long term as they are too intensive.

Yes I felt they worked well in the CX season when I was racing twice at the weekend and just rolling Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, so on Wednesday’s I did tabata to maintain that great feeling you get of having huge lung capacity.

Not sure I want to chuck all my eggs in the Tabata basket at the mo, I understand it’ll improve overall fitness, but for a long hill climb finish or a long attack surely a set of longer intervals 5-8 minutes would be preferential? maybe? and for crits, longer 20minute tempo sessons with very short intervals chucked in for the corners / attacks?

I also want to know this.. i work on longer intervals (4mins) and just wondering if this is useful at this time of year (for the road racing season)?

+1. My intervals on the turbo are between 6-8mins long with 2/3mins off and my weights are based around 2 mins on, 1 min rest for 20mins before some more slower/more endurance style weights. I have noticed a difference having done the longer intervals – the 2mins on at the gym is now much easier.

Jumping squats seem to be having a good effect on my riding, as has lots of mountain climbers and bridges.

First road race of the season in a weeks time, far too early in the year for me and i’m nervous…and about a month behind my training too.

and not something to do all year round

exactly, i wouldn’t say i’m good at it and not a sports scientist but need to look at periodization and constructing a program that meets aims – reading above would make some sense to me to do tabata 6 weeks then to exploit any gains and to include specivity switch to intervals that feel more appropriate

– issue here is does stuff that seems specific actually give less gain ?

DGOAB – 6-8min intervals are good, obviously, but I’d have thought you’d also want to be doing intervals that will replicate what is happening in a RR when the shit hits the fan? 5-45 sec all out, varied recovery durations etc?

Sorry to interrupt, but can you do tabata on rollers?

idave, the intervals are done at perceived efforts ie, 1 min at 7/10, 1 min is 7.5/10, 2 mins at 8/10 with ‘attacks’ at various points at 10/10 and then back to the effort i was at. I think this should help with the changing pace of RRs/attacks* However, i’m using a reasonably old turbo and find i can run out of gears as the resistance isn’t great so my 10/10 effort on the turbo doesn’t match what a 10/10 effort outside would be. I’m looking forward to lighter nights when i can get outside for intervals/sprints.

*but the reality is i’ll be hanging off the back rather than attacking as anything over 35kph at the moment means i’m dropped. 😥