Do You Have 4 Minutes To Burn Belly Fat?

If you’ve been reading my newsletter for some time now, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of the 4 minute interval circuit called Tabata intervals.

In case you’re new to Tabata intervals, or just need a refresher, I’ll give you a quick recap:

Tabata intervals are 20 seconds of maximum effort exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. You perform 8 straight rounds of this for a total of 4 minutes.

Dr. Tabata, and his group of researchers originally performed a study where they took a group of people and exercised them in this interval fashion (20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest for 4 minutes) using a cycle ergometer.

The study lasted 6 weeks and the results were pretty awesome.

*Tabata et al

Effects of moderate intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max.

After only 6 weeks and exercising 4 minutes a day, participants had a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity and a 40% increase in Aerobic Capacity when compared to SIXTY minutes of aerobic work at 70% of VO2 max. This was the highest recorded aerobice improvement in exercise science history.

So you can see how interval training is far superior to steady state cardio, not only for fat loss, but for building aerobic capacity.

That’s right interval training is 40% more effective at improving aerobic fitness than direct aerobic training.

Since this study came out, a lot of fitness professionals, including myself, have used the 4 minute Tabata protocol with multijoint body weight, dumbbell, kettle bells, barbells, medicine etc… The possibilities are endless.

Also another study shows why interval training is far superior to steady state cardio.

*Tremblay et al

Impact of exercise intnesity on body fatness and skeletal metabolism.

Metabolism. 1994 Jul43(7):814-8

The premise of this study was to compare 20 weeks of steady state  endurance work and 15 weeks of interval training.

The results were eye opening, basically the interval group which trained for only 15 weeks compared to the endurance group who trained for 20 weeks, burned 9 times more fat than the endurance trained group.

Just remember to give maximum effort, because you know the benefits of intense interval work, right, intense interval work raises your metabolism for 48 hours after the exercise session. The result: post workout fat loss.

Also there are other issues with long boring steady state cardio:

Excessive amounts of endurance activity have long been known by doctors and scientists to:

• Lower immune system function (which is a reason why many cardio addicts and endurance athletes are constantly sick all year, especially during the winter)

• Increase the production of dangerous free radicals

• Lead to a degeneration of the joints (especially the hips, knees and ankles)

• Increase inflammation throughout the body which can lead to chronic and fatal diseases

Now this doesn’t sound like a healthy option to me and especially something that must be done up to 45 minutes a day to see sub-optimal results! And the better you get at it the less calories over time you will burn.

So now that you kniow the truth, try Tabata interval training with sprints, jump rope or even bodyweight movements like pushups, squats and squat thrusts.

An example would be:

20 seconds Squat Jumps

10 second rest

20 seconds Push-ups

10 seconds rest

20 Seconds Split Jumps

10 seconds rest

20 seconds mountain climbers

Repeat Twice for a Total of 4 minutes rest 1 minute and repeat for up to 4 more times for a total of twenty minutes.

We utililize other intervasl protocols such as 30 seconds on 30 seconds recovery, 120 seconds on and 120 seconds recovery. Or we simply go through six different movements for 30 seconds each with no rest between exercises for a total of 3 minutes, rest 1 minute and repeat two more time for a total of 12 minutes.

As you can see the options are endless and you dont need a treadmill or any equipment, you can do it right in your own living room.

So I know everyone has at least 4 minutes to lose fat, so take advantage of this information and stop making excuses and also please stop using steady state cardioin your fat loss efforts, I really would hate to see you waste your time and worst yet get injured!

No Excuses, Just Results!