You’ve probably heard about the Tabata protocol: 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest, 8 times through for a total of 4 challenging minutes. Let’s take a deeper dive into why that can (often) be a very good thing.
Straight to the Chase
Izumi Tabata was one of the training coaches for the Japanese Olympic Speed Skating team, and he’s who we have to thank (?) for this style of workout. As he himself defined it here, it’s about “training at the intensity that exhausts subjects during the 7th or 8th sets of 20-s bicycle exercise bouts with a 10-s rest between the exercise bouts.”
The Pros
Benefits are highly lauded, and with reason: 6- to 12-week Tabata training increases the body’s VO2max by 9.2–15.0% and the MAOD (maximal accumulated oxygen deficit ) by 20.9–35.0%. A 2018 review of the Tabata protocol, which included various body-weight-bearing exercises, indicates that the VO2 max is elevated by 5–18% after the training lasting 4–12 weeks.
In addition, “Tabata training might improve arterial function via the same mechanism as conventional aerobic training and may decrease the risk of cardiovascular events.” (However, to be clear, the weight reducing effect of Tabata training seems to be minimal.)
And let’s be honest, most of us are pretty crunched for time. Workouts that are measured in minutes rather than hours can be extremely attractive!
…And the One Con
It’s hard — again, it can feel really hard. This may be off-putting to less motivated people. A few coaches even think this type of training is downright stupid.
Here’s the thing: it’s all about the intensity. Note that the key word in Tabata’s own definition is “exhausts.” He was getting his athletes to aim for 170% V02 max, which is hard — like, really hard! (Take note: this is why, before an individual engages in authentic Tabata training, warming up first for 10 minutes at approximately 50% VO2 max is recommended.)
But remember, he was working with Olympic athletes, a highly driven group. You’ll do best if you tailor your own work level to where you feel your own body should be by monitoring your RPE (“rate of perceived exertion,” i.e. how hard you feel like you’re working). Here‘s a video I put together on that subject.
How It’s Often Used These Days
Again, according to Mr. Tabata himself: “Regarding similar protocol training that uses other types of exercise including running and various body-weight-bearing exercises (e.g., burpees and squat jumps), the published evidence of their metabolic profiles and effects on both VO2max and the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) is insufficient […] the exercise intensity has not been emphasized; only the procedure of the training has been featured, especially among general exercisers.”
The American Council on Exercise fleshed this out further by studying a 20-minute workout using the Tabata protocol with various exercises performed at a somewhat lower degree of intensity. Their conclusion? Based on the evidence, short-burst, high-intensity training “is the real deal.”
They recommend doing this style of workout only two to three times a week, with 48 to 72 hours rest between each session. Even Mr. Tabata cited information that “the improvement of the VO2max after high-intensity interval training performed 2 days/week is not different from that achieved by training with this regimen 4 days/week.” Short version, twice a week is lots.
How to Make It Work
I personally feel the benefits far outweigh the downsides, when the protocol is used sparingly and after a proper warmup, all the while respecting your own body’s limits.
As of September 25th, 2025, I invite you to take all that nasty thinking out of it and join me early on Thursdays at 6:35 a.m. PST for one of my trial short-form (20 minutes) classes: we take a few minutes to get settled in with that particular day’s modality, we warm up, then we all HIIT it hard (get it?) and do one Tabata together.
Sharp-eyed readers may ask: Where’s the second day of interval training each week? As of September 22nd and running at the same time, that would be EMOM Mondays (short for “every minute on the minute”).
See you there!