Tabata interval timers are commercially available and with a quick search you can easily find free timers as well, some even featuring some inspirational music. Tabata Training can be done with a number of different exercises the idea is to use an exercise that gets the whole body involved or at least the major muscle groups. Tabata training will not exclusively replace conventional interval methodology, but serve as the basic building blocks for weekly microcycles and macro phases. Tabata strikes a delicate balance between instrumental technique + raw sound manipulation to exorcise the sounds of his past.
Tabatas are named after a Japanese researcher (according to the internetses, anyway) and it means 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, for a consecutive eight rounds. A Tabata workout is an interval training cycle of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated without pause 8 times for a total of four minutes. The Tabata program might be the single best "fat burning workout" that I know.
In Tabata's study, the researchers found that guys who used the routine five days a week for six weeks improved their maximum aerobic capacity (a measure of your body's ability to consume oxygen--the more oxygen you can take in, the longer and harder you'll be able to run) by 14%. And according to another Tabata study, that formula isn't just more effective than traditional aerobic training, it's also more effective than typical interval training.
In my experience once a trainee has been exposed to Tabata they raise their game elsewhere in the weights room. I would advise trying Tabata's once or twice a week(depending on your conditioning level) to start with. The Tabata protocol has been used by major members of the Japanese Speed Skating team for several years. To ensure a correct count of the intervals, there are timers on the market made especially for Tabata Intervals. If you are out of shape or have heart disease, the Tabata protocolis probably not for you. Some people wonder if Tabata might have posted even better results by allowing 1-2 days for recovery between workouts, as other literature suggests.
I learned about Tabata intervals from Brian MacKenzie, owner of Genetic Potential, a fitness facility in Newport Beach, California. The Tabata protocol for strength training may address one issue in health- fat loss- but it does not address endurance or stamina. One of the hardest aspects of doing a Tabata workout is staying focused for the whole four minutes. The advanced athlete should aim to follow the original form of the Tabata protocol using a work to rest interval ratio of 2:1.
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