I work a full-time full time job and am a part time student. By the time I get home, I barely have time to eat and do my homework before it’s time to head for bed. Because of this, my activity level plummeted when I started school and my weight increased to a level that I had never been at before. I knew that I had to do something about it. But, what could I fit in to my busy schedule? My husband was at the gym for hours a day. I wanted to join him, but couldn’t give up that much time. Being supportive of my desire to get back in shape, he began to research different methods, hoping for something that would not be too time-consuming, but that would still be affective. In his search, he came across an article in Muscle & Fitness (2009). The article talked about a high-intensity interval method called the Tabata Protocol. The entire workout, including warm-up and cool-down, is only 14 minutes. Additional research seemed to support the efficacy of this workout method. So, we began hitting the gym three to four times a week and have had excellent results.

So, what is the Tabata Protocol? It is a muscle-burning, strength workout and heart-pumping, cardio workout all at the same time. Basically, instead of doing a certain number of sets for a certain number of reps with a minute or so rest in between, you go all out for 20 second sprints and rest for only 10 seconds in between. We do eight 20 second sets per exercise. So, in just 4 minutes, you could be done with the exercise portion of a workout. We normally do four different types of exercises though, so our workouts tend to last about 30 minutes: 5 minute warm-up, 16 minute workout, 5 minute cool-down, and a few minutes between exercises. If you’re short on time and still want a good workout, try this simple, but effective, exercise routine.

Thanks for sharing this info. I will have to give this workout a try!