Before I started doing CrossFit in 2007, I was blissfully unaware of the term "tabata," but now it's part of my everyday vocabulary. Lucky me.

The Tabata Protocol consists of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest. The cycle is repeated eight times for a total of four minutes of work. It's named after Izumi Tabata, Ph.D., a former researcher at Japan's National Institute of Fitness and Sports.

According the man himself,

"[Six to 8 very hard 20 second intervals with 10 second rest periods] may be one of the best possible training protocols..."-- Izumi Tabata, Ph.D.

This Men's Fitness article -- "The secret of Tabata: this 14-minute workout may be the best you've ever had!" -- gets into a some of the science.

"The key to the Tabata Protocol's effectiveness appears to be the short rest intervals between sprints. Conventional interval-training guidelines suggest keeping a 1:3 work-rest ratio. That is, your rest periods should last three times as long as the duration of your sprints. But the Tabata Protocol's work-rest ratio is 2:1, which means your rest periods are only half as long as the time you're working."

Want to try a tabata workout for yourself? Give the classic CrossFit "Tabata Something Else" a shot... and good luck to you!

Tabata Something Else
8 X [20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest] for each exercise.
There is no rest between exercises.
pull-ups
push-ups
sit-ups
squats

Melissa Joulwan is one of our newest members, and also the blogger behind The Clothes Make the Girl.