Interval training is a great way to lose weight and kick your heart rate into gear. Tabata and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) are perfect for getting your heart pumping, as they require you to exert high amounts of energy and effort in quick bursts of time. With MYZONE’s MZ-3 belt, you can stay on top of your workout effort without missing a beat and keep track of your heart rate throughout the workout. For these types of exercises, you’ll want to stay in the yellow and red zones to keep your effort levels high.

Tabata

Tabata is an interval training style that originated from a 1996 study in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise authored by Izumi Tabata. The study found that intense four-minute workouts done five days a week for a six-week period improved VO2 max, or maximal oxygen uptake, and anaerobic energy supply. This means that the shorter the workout, the more intense it needs to be. Currently, the Tabata method is often used in sessions lasting longer than four minutes, making those workouts adaptations to Tabata.

Facts About Tabata

Work: 20 seconds

Rest: 10 seconds

Heart Rate: Above 100%

Total Workout Time: 4 minutes

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT is an interval training style that spends more time in the upper end of aerobic capacity. This is something you wouldn’t be able to do if you tried to do 10 minutes of really high-intensity exercises. HIIT is meant to be a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio, meaning 1 minute work, 1 minute rest or 1 minute work and 2 minutes recovery. You can mix it up and do 2:1, meaning 2 minutes work and 1-minute rest. The harder the work interval, the longer the rest will have to be. To learn more about HIIT, check out this post.

Facts About HIIT

Work: 1-2 minutes

Rest: 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Heart Rate: 80-95% of maximum heart

Total Workout Time: 20-40 minutes

Both HIIT and Tabata have positive physiological adaptations, including improved fat burning, insulin sensitivity, and skeletal muscle oxidation. They’re great ways to keep your body strong and in shape especially if you’re in a time crunch. Tell us what types of interval training workouts you like by posting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Make sure you use #myzonemoves, #myzone or #effortrewarded so we can find you!