The Best Tabata Workout For Weight Loss (good for beginners too!)

Tabata training is a short, interval-style workout that's designed to be fast, effective, and fatiguing. They;re easy to fit into a busy day and a great way to work up a sweat quickly!

Use a tabata workout for weight loss, a cardio hit, or as a metabolic finisher at the end of your workouts!

For anyone looking for a quick, intense sweat session, tabata workouts can be really helpful!

Because they're so short, there's no time to lose focus on the taste at hand.

As a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, I use tabata training with my clients to break up their workday, boost their workout volume, or add a wicked finisher to the end of their workout.

Benefits Of Tabata Workouts

• max effort will leave you breathless & sweaty
• they're effective
• done in just four minutes so easily worked into your day

Tabata workouts are ideal for moms who want to boost their activity level but can't commit to extra workout sessions.

For instance, you can do them quickly while the baby sleeps, eats or is playing in the yard. Four minutes, that's it.

What Is A Tabata Workout?

Tababas are a way of high intensity interval training.

It takes one exercise in which you perform as many repetitions as possible for 20 seconds. Then, you rest for 10 seconds and repeat. 

This continues for a total of eight rounds or four minutes.

Meaning, if you chose to work on your squats, you would perform squats for twenty seconds, rest ten seconds, and squat again for twenty seconds.. for eight rounds. While it may sound simple, by round three or four you're definitely pushing fatigue.

Thus, tabata training is a great way to put in max effort in a minimal amount of time. in fact, it's an amazing Five Minute Fix to the "I don't have time to work out" workout problem.

What To Expect From A Tabata Workout

Most tabata workouts will leave you feeling breathless, sweaty, and tired. Basically, they're a wicked way to burn fat.

They are geared towards being challenging and keeping you moving for most of the four minute timer.

Don't expect to be using your biggest weights for a tabata workout, in fact, it's much better to start smaller and work your way up.

Since you can expect to be fatigued, you want to make sure you can finish the interval with decent form.

However, much of this depends on the exercise choice for the tabata workout.

Plyometric or combo exercises will be more challenging in a tabata workout than a stationary, low-impact exercise.

Tabata Workout Tips

• When using a tabata workout for weight loss (and any time really), make sure to use a stop watch and ensure your rest times are on point. The reason that tabata workouts can be so effective for weight loss is that they're intense. If you rest longer than ten seconds you'll lose that intensity.
• Make sure to go "all out" during your work time.
• If you can, warm up briefly to reduce your injury risk (here's a fast warm up!).
• Try your best to keep pushing until the very end without slowing down.
• Pay attention to your breathing and try to keep it even.
• Keep an eye on form, as you get tired form will slip and poor form is an easy way to get an injury.

Tabata Workouts For Weight Loss

There are two ways to use the tabata workout exercises below:

Choose one exercise below and perform as many repetitions as you can in twenty seconds. Rest for ten seconds and continue that sequence for a total of eight rounds (or four minutes).

Choose two exercises and pair them back to back. Perform as many repetitions of one exercise in twenty seconds. Rest for ten seconds and then perform the next exercise for twenty seconds. Continue to alternate exercises for a total of 4 minutes.

Squat & Press

• Begin by holding dumbbells at shoulder height. Take your feet more than hip distance apart.
• Push the hips back and bend the knees as you drop into a squat. Push up through the feet and as you stand up begin to raise the dumbbells over your head.
• Bring the dumbbells back down to chest height and repeat.

Mountain Climbers

• Begin in a full plank position.
• Round the back slightly as you bring one knee into the chest.
• Push the leg back and onto the floor as you bring the other knee in.
• Continue alternating quickly.

Ninja Get Up

• Begin in plank position with a dumbbell between your hands.
• Jump the feet in so that they land outside your hands.
• Come into a deep squat as you pick the dumbbell up off the ground (keep holding the squat).
• Place the dumbbell back down and jump the feet back.

Step Out Lunge

• Stand upright and step one leg out to the side.
• Keeping the heel on the floor, push your bum back and sink down as low as you can.
• Drive the knee out and keep the other leg straight. Push up and in through the working leg.

In & Out Squat

• Stand with your feet hip distance apart.
• Squat down.
• Ass you press back up, take the right foot out to the side so you've taken your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Perform a wide stance squat.
• As you press up, bring the leg back to the starting squat position.
• On the next repetition, take the other leg out wide.
• Continue alternating.

Inverted Pike Press

• Come into a downward dog position with your feet wide.
• Drive the elbows back as you bend them and bring your head toward the floor.
• Press back up to the top of the movement by shrugging your shoulders and straightening your arms.

Plank Row

• Come into a plank position, and spread the band around your hands until there is tension.
• Row up without shrugging shoulders or losing plank position.

Reverse Plank To Hip Pike

1. Set up in a seated position on the floor with your feet on sliders and your hands an inch behind your bum with the fingers pointed to your glutes.
2. Press into your hands and lift the bum off the ground as you pull the hips back and as high as you can, crunching with the abdominals.
3. Lower the hips slightly and push the legs away from the body until straight while simultaneously raising the hips into a reverse plank.
4. As you raise into the reverse plank position, open up the chest and come into a posterior pelvic tilt. Hold briefly and repeat.

Beginner Tips For Tabata Workouts

If you're new to working out, make sure to choose low-impact (non-jumping) exercises. Though this may seem like it's less effective, if you don't have a baseline of strength, jumping can injure you quickly.

Master the exercise with good form before you do any timed rounds. Form matters no matter how fatigued you get.

Do your exercises with just your bodyweight before moving up to any resistance.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tabata Workouts

Other Fast Workouts & Fitness Tips To Help You Lose Weight

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• At home workouts to follow along to

HIIT workouts are perfect for busy moms who don't have time to do a full program. They're fast, intense, and effective.

They help boost your activity level and challenge your muscles. And since they can be done anywhere they also help you stay consistent.