Tabata Exercises - Short & Effective

It's been ages since your last workout and you don't really consider yourself a sports fan? No problem at all. Only determination and stamina are required. TheBeginner-Workout will not overstrain you technically and is still highly effective.

Two exercises are enough to push you to the limit: Jumping jacks, or "jumping jacks," and burpees, which involve squatting from a push-up position followed by a stretch jump. Over the course of four minutes, the exercises are always performed in alternation, always following the principle of 20 seconds of power - 10 seconds of rest.

The workout is a full-body workout and is ideal for building up basic fitness. Four units a week should be enough at the beginning. After about three weeks, the body has become accustomed to the load and the program can and should be changed.

If you consider yourself generally fit or have already completed the beginner's workout, the next step now follows: The basic condition is there - the next level can come. In order to work the individual muscle groups in a more targeted manner, two more exercises are now added to the program: Squats and push-ups.

For the squat, it is important to keep the upper body as upright as possible, to form a slight hollow back and to bend at least deep enough so that the knees form a 90 degree angle. Since many women have difficulty with the classic push-up, an alternative variation can be used here: Instead of on hands and feet, the exercise is performed on hands and knees.

Start with the well-tried jumping jacks, followed by squats, burpees and push-ups alternating according to the 20 seconds - 10 seconds principle. The workload can be increased here to five to six units per week and after three weeks, a change should be made again.

For all passionate Tabata followers, here comes the pro workout. The fitness is there, the form is on a good way - now it's time for the fine tuning. In addition to squats and push-ups, two other exercises from the world of strength sports are added to activate the muscles: pull-ups and lunges.

From now on, the sequence of exercises is squats, pull-ups, lunges, push-ups: both squats and lunges target the muscles in the legs, buttocks and torso. For lunges, simply alternate between taking a step forward and squatting.

Push-ups and chin-ups are excellent exercises to activate the entire upper body. Alternatively, those who can't do pull-ups can switch to jumping chin-ups. Simply jump up to the bar, take advantage of the momentum to pull yourself up and release in a controlled manner.

Of course, the Tabata principle also applies to the professional workout - six units per week should now be no problem. To ensure that the necessary recovery is not neglected, the cycle can be started again from the beginning after another three weeks.

We start with the classic push-ups, which primarily activate the chest, shoulders and triceps. This is followed by a full-body exercise known as the burpee or squat jump, in which you squat down from the push-up position and then jump off with your arms stretched upwards.

In the Mountain Climber - round three - the starting position is also the push-up position. Now bring the bent legs forward alternately so that the knees almost touch the outer elbows. Finally, the crunches in the final round target the abdominal muscles once again - lie flat on your back, bend your legs, position your hands in the area of your temples and move your upper body in the direction of your knees.

The second workout focuses on the leg and back muscles. We start with an absolute fat burner, namely the squat. Form a slight hollow back, keep the upper body upright and go down as low as possible. Hardly any other exercise is as effective when it comes to burning fat and increasing fitness.

Lunges follow: Take one step forward and now squat. As with the squat, this exercise particularly targets the quadriceps and gluteus, or buttock muscle. Then the back and biceps are activated with pull-ups.

Jumping jacks follow. With this classic exercise, you can really step on the gas again and challenge your body holistically.

The first two workouts each contain four different exercises. With a 20-second load and 10-second rest, eight sets are completed in four minutes. Those who have completed all four exercises in the first round can immediately look forward to the second round.

The focus of the third workout is once again increasingly on the leg muscles. And there is a reason for this, because the quadriceps and gluteus are among the largest muscle groups in the body. Consequently, a lot of energy is burned during leg training.

The following exercises are available: Spinning, sprinting or jumping rope. After deciding on two exercises, they are always performed in alternation: Four rounds of sprinting and four rounds of rope jumping, this is how a possible composition could look like.

With one Tabata workout per day you are already well positioned. In order to address all muscle groups evenly and to have some variety, however, a different workout should be selected every day. If you go full steam ahead six times a week, you can also take a day off to regenerate your muscles with a clear conscience.