Teach time-strapped students how to Tabata

Tired of listening to your students complain that they don't have enough time to keep active? Well, here is a training solution that might provide a solution - the Tabata. The Globe and Mail published a great article today about it titled "The Four-Minute Workout."

Tabata is a type of high-intensity interval training. It was originally developed by for Japan's Olympic speed-skating team and is named after Izumi Tabata, a former researcher at Japan's National Institute of Fitness and Sports.

Teach Your Students How to Tabata
Here is an adapted Tabata workout that you can use with your students. The entire Tabata workout will take 16 minutes to complete. It consists of 20 seconds of activity for 8 sets per exercise, with 10 seconds of rest per set. You will act as the timer.

You know your students best - determine number of sets according to your students' fitness levels and abilities. The workout below is an example. Start with low sets and increase number of sets as students get more fit.

1. Choose 4 bodyweight exercises, eg. squat, lunge, push up, sit up, burpee, skipping, etc.
2. Create a Tabata workout handout to record number of reps completed per set within 20 seconds.
3. Students complete all 8 sets of each exercise before moving to next exercise.
4. Encourage students to try their hardest and keep moving during the full 20 seconds of each activity.
5. Students record number of reps done for each set in their Tabata chart.
6. Once workout is completed, students record their highest and lowest numbers to determine average score for each exercise - their Tabata number.
7. For future Tabata workouts, students will try to hold their Tabata number for all 8 sets of each exercise.
8. If students can hold their Tabata number, they can increase their number by 1 rep for next session.
9. If students can't hold their Tabata number, repeat number until they can hold for all 8 sets.

As always, it's important to remind students that a varied approach is their best bet for fitness but if you're short on time, the Tabata is a great alternative.