Training guide
Tabata means 20 seconds of very hard effort and 10 seconds of rest, 8 times: 4 minutes. In the 1996 study it's named after, 7 people pedalled a lab bike at about 170% of their VO2 max (the most oxygen the body can use) until they were exhausted by the 7th or 8th effort, 5 days a week for 6 weeks (4 exhausting days and a lighter fifth). It raised both their aerobic fitness and their anaerobic capacity, the energy muscles can release without oxygen in a short, all-out effort.
Most gym and app "Tabata" borrows only the timing. Done with bodyweight moves, 20/10 training still raised fitness in small trials, as much as longer steady exercise in some and less in others, but it isn't a fat-loss shortcut.
This guide covers the original studies, how today's versions differ, what 4-minute protocols do, who should be careful, and a follow-along 20/10 workout.
In 1996, 7 people did 7 or 8 efforts of 20 seconds on a lab bike at about 170% of their VO2 max, with 10 seconds' rest, until exhausted. After 6 weeks, VO2 max had risen by 7 mL/kg/min (millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute) and anaerobic capacity by 28%.
The 20/10 pattern came from the head coach of Japan's national speed-skating team. Tabata describes the method as developed for athletes, and defines it by its intensity, exhaustion in the 7th or 8th effort, not by the timing alone.
Classes use bodyweight moves and several 4-minute blocks. Only 5 of 30 studies citing Tabata said they used the original protocol, and active men managed only about 4 efforts at the original intensity.
Bike Tabata raised VO2 max as much as 20 minutes of steady cycling in untrained young adults, and bodyweight 20/10 raised fitness by about 8 to 11% in small 4-week trials. In another trial, vigorous running did better.
Tabata calls the energy cost of the short session negligible, a review found weight-loss claims unsupported, and 12 weeks of bodyweight Tabata didn't reduce body fat.
Tabata's research group warns that the exhausting version may not be safe for people unused to hard exercise. Build up from regular moderate activity, and if you're inactive and have heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms when active, check with your GP first.
Tabata's team compared two protocols used by Japan's speed skaters, on a bike, in 9 people. The 20/10 one, 6 or 7 efforts of 20 seconds at about 170% of VO2 max to exhaustion, used up the whole anaerobic capacity and took oxygen uptake to its maximum in the final 10 seconds. Efforts of 30 seconds at about 200% with 2-minute rests reached neither limit. The protocol came from discussions with the team's head coach, Koichi Irisawa.
Seven people trained on a mechanically braked exercise bike for 6 weeks: on 4 days a week, 7 or 8 efforts to exhaustion; on a fifth day, 30 minutes at 70% of VO2 max followed by 4 efforts that didn't go to exhaustion. The load went up whenever someone could do more than 8. VO2 max rose by 7 mL/kg/min (about 15%) and anaerobic capacity by 28%.
A separate group cycling for an hour a day at 70% of VO2 max, 5 days a week, went from 53 to 58 mL/kg/min, with no change in anaerobic capacity.
The 1996 abstract describes its volunteers only as seven subjects; where fitness was reported, in the 1996 endurance group and the 1997 study, the volunteers were fit, with an average VO2 max of 53 and 57 mL/kg/min. Tabata later described the method as originally developed for athletes, "evolving from the study of athletes". These were tiny studies without randomisation, and they didn't test bodyweight circuits, fat loss or health.
Tabata defines his method as cycling hard enough to be exhausted in the 7th or 8th 20-second effort, pedalling at 90 revolutions a minute. Done at walking pace, he writes, the same timing "can be expected to result in no improvement" in VO2 max, and he calls the published evidence for running and bodyweight versions insufficient.
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How the lab protocol compares with most classes and apps:
Of 30 studies citing Tabata from 1996 to 2017, only 5 said they used the original protocol, and intensity was set in at least 8 different ways. When 13 active men tried the original intensity, they managed about 4 efforts, not 8; at 115% of their aerobic power, they managed about 7. Critics of one replication suggest about 120% of maximal aerobic power to reproduce the original pattern in ordinary people.
In 55 untrained young adults, 8 weeks of bike Tabata 3 times a week raised VO2 max by 18%, the same as 20 minutes of steady cycling (19%) and a session of 30-second intervals (18%), in 14 minutes a session instead of 30. It was the least enjoyed of the three. Critics noted the protocol didn't match the original.
In recreationally active women, 4 weeks of 8 rounds of 20/10 of one move (burpees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers or squat thrusts), 4 days a week, raised peak oxygen uptake by about 8% in the 7 who did it, like treadmill running in another 7 (7%), and greatly improved muscular endurance. Functional 20/10 intervals raised VO2 max by about 11% in 4 weeks in 15 people, and over 16 weeks in 55 men, whole-body 20/10 matched treadmill intervals and moderate continuous training for VO2 max.
In 58 young adults, 16 minutes a week of 20/10 bodyweight intervals raised fitness as much as 90 minutes a week of a circuit over 6 weeks, though fitness was estimated from a bike test rather than measured.
In 68 young adults, 4 weeks of whole-body Tabata 4 times a week improved push-ups more than vigorous continuous running, but running improved endurance more (19 of 26 people clearly improved, against 9 of 27 with Tabata), and only its gains lasted 2 months. Across 19 trials, bodyweight intervals raised aerobic fitness a little less than running or cycling training.
Across 53 randomised trials, intervals of 2 minutes or more and at least 15 minutes of hard work a session did best for VO2 max. In 40 moderately trained men, both 15-second and 4-minute intervals beat steady training of the same total work. We found no trial comparing Tabata with the Norwegian 4x4 directly.
Tabata calls the energy cost of the short session negligible and its weight-loss reputation a rumour, and a review found weight-loss claims unsupported. In 36 people with overweight or obesity, 12 weeks of progressive bodyweight Tabata raised fitness and muscle thickness but didn't reduce body fat.
A 20-minute session of four bodyweight blocks used an estimated 240 to 360 kcal in 16 trained volunteers, but that was worked out from heart rate, which overstates the effort in circuits.
Bodyweight 20/10 builds muscular endurance: push-ups improved a lot in two trials, and one 12-week trial found thicker leg muscles. For strength and muscle, strength training does far more (our strength guides).
In one trial the bike Tabata was the least enjoyed of three programmes, and enjoyment fell in every group over 8 weeks; in another, bodyweight 20/10 raised enjoyment and intentions to keep going. Tabata suggests gentler or shorter versions would be easier to enjoy.
In 40 adults averaging 72 with metabolic syndrome, gentler bodyweight intervals, 60 seconds at 75 to 85% of maximum heart rate with 2 minutes' rest, 3 times a week for 8 weeks, raised exercise capacity by about 20% and lowered blood pressure and blood sugar against controls. One small trial, and far from the original intensity.
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Tabata's group warns that the exhausting version "may not be safe for some individuals, especially who are not familiar with high intensity exercises", from accidents to raised blood pressure, and Tabata calls it very demanding, suited mainly to highly motivated athletes. Sudden big jumps in hard exercise can also cause rhabdomyolysis, a rare breakdown of muscle that can harm the kidneys.
The 20/10 timing is the original study's; several blocks with a minute between follows the one measured class (Emberts 2013); the frequency agrees with our high-intensity interval training (HIIT) guide and Tabata's 2019 review. The rest is our editorial starting point.
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The movement on the figure: Jumping jack
Starting points, not prescriptions. Each names its source, or says it's our suggestion.
The original was hard enough to exhaust people by the 7th or 8th effort, and in the lab, active men managed only about 4 efforts at that intensity. Bodyweight moves don't get near it: one measured bodyweight session averaged 86% of maximum heart rate and an estimated 74% of VO2 max. Our editorial target: the last 2 or 3 rounds of each block are a real struggle, with every rep still clean.
The original was one block a day. Four blocks in 20 minutes has been measured in trained volunteers. Our editorial starting point: 1 block, building to 2 or 3 with a minute of easy movement between.
Tabata says twice a week appears enough for the aerobic gains, and in a trial of 1-minute intervals, twice a week raised fitness about as much as three times (10.8% against 13.6%). Our HIIT guide suggests 1 or 2 hard sessions a week for most people, up to 3, with easier days between.
Our editorial starting point: about 5 minutes building from easy to brisk, with one practice effort, and a few minutes of easy movement afterwards. Our warm-up guide has the evidence.
Eight rounds of 20 seconds hard and 10 seconds very easy or stopped, building towards genuinely hard efforts over several weeks rather than starting all out.
Moves like those in the bodyweight trials, 20 seconds on and 10 off, alternating two moves in a block as our workout does (one trial used a single move per session, another a new move each minute).
3D demoJumping jackBeginner · No equipment
3D demoBodyweight squatBeginner · No equipment
3D demoMountain climbersIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoReverse lungeIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoBurpeeAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoStanding punches (shadow boxing)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoJump squatIntermediate · No equipmentSame timing, no jumping: use these with sore knees or feet, a higher body weight, or if you leak when you jump.
Our Tabata-style workout times three 20/10 blocks. For fitness, the bike intervals and the Norwegian 4x4 have the most trial evidence; the build-up interval walk is the gentlest way in.
Three 4-minute blocks of 20 seconds hard and 10 seconds easy, with bodyweight moves and a minute between: the timing of the Tabata study, at home.
22 minIntermediate10 movesA wallA 20-minute no-equipment HIIT workout: jumping jacks, jump squats, mountain climbers, burpees, skips and bear crawls.
20 minIntermediate10 movesNo equipmentA 25-minute interval session on a bike or rower: one-minute hard efforts with two minutes easy, building from 4 to 8 rounds.
25 minIntermediate1 movesCardio machineThe Norwegian 4x4, a well-studied interval session for raising VO2 max: four 4-minute hard efforts with 3 easy minutes between, on a bike, rower or treadmill.
40 minIntermediate3 movesCardio machine, A wallA 25-minute walk with short faster bouts: notice your heart and breathing speed up, then settle. A gentle way to get used to the feelings of effort.
25 minBeginner5 movesCardio machine, A wallIts Saturday is an optional interval day; the Tabata-style workout can fill it at home (our suggestion).
If you already do moderate activity regularly and have no symptoms, the World Health Organization says you can build up to vigorous activity gradually without seeing a doctor first; see one if new symptoms appear. On a beta blocker, go by how hard it feels, not your heart rate (our HIIT guide).
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Stop and call 999 (don't drive yourself to A&E) for:
Get advice the same day for:
If you feel faint or sick after a block, march slowly and stop for the day (our suggestion). Stop a move for sharp or increasing joint pain and use its no-jump swap.
Tabata defines it by intensity: exhaustion in the 7th or 8th effort at about 170% of VO2 max. Done as walking, the same timing wouldn't raise VO2 max, and only 5 of 30 studies citing Tabata used the original protocol. A 20/10 bodyweight circuit borrows the timing, not the intensity.
The 1996 study compared about 4 minutes of supramaximal cycling to exhaustion (4 days a week, with a lighter fifth day that included 30 minutes at 70%) in 7 people with an hour a day at 70% of VO2 max in a separate group, and measured only VO2 max and anaerobic capacity. In later trials, 20/10 training matched steady training in some and fell short in others.
Tabata calls the energy cost negligible, a review found weight-loss claims unsupported, and 12 weeks of bodyweight Tabata didn't reduce body fat.
At the original intensity, active men managed about 4 efforts. If you finish 8 equal rounds, you weren't at that intensity, and for most people that's fine (our reading).
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It was developed for athletes, from a speed-skating coach's training, and the original ran on weekdays in a lab. Tabata says twice a week appears enough, and his group warns that the exhausting version may not be safe for people unused to hard exercise.
Eight rounds of 20 seconds of very hard effort and 10 seconds of rest, 4 minutes in all, named after Izumi Tabata, who studied it in 1996. In the original, the efforts were on a lab bike at about 170% of VO2 max, hard enough to be exhausted by the 7th or 8th round.
In 7 people training for 6 weeks, VO2 max rose by 7 mL/kg/min and anaerobic capacity by 28%, while a separate group cycling for an hour a day at moderate effort raised VO2 max by 5, with no change in anaerobic capacity. It was a small study of a protocol from Japan's national speed-skating team, and Tabata later described the method as developed for athletes.
Usually not. Classes use bodyweight moves and several 4-minute blocks, and most people can't reach the original intensity: at that level, active men managed about 4 rounds, not 8. Only 5 of 30 studies citing Tabata said they used his protocol.
It's one very short, very intense kind of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Most HIIT uses longer efforts, often 1 to 4 minutes, at a hard but sustainable effort.
For fitness, yes, in small trials: 8 weeks of bike Tabata raised VO2 max as much as 20 minutes of steady cycling in untrained young adults, and bodyweight 20/10 training raised fitness by about 8 to 11% in 4 weeks. But in one trial, vigorous continuous running did better.
Not on its own: Tabata himself calls the energy cost of the 4-minute session negligible, and 12 weeks of bodyweight Tabata didn't reduce body fat in people with overweight. A 20-minute class of four blocks used an estimated 240 to 360 kcal in 16 trained volunteers, but that figure came from heart rate, which runs high in circuits. What you eat matters most.
It builds muscular endurance when you use bodyweight moves, and one 12-week trial found thicker leg muscles. For strength and muscle, strength training does far more.
Both raise it, but pooled trials favour longer intervals and more total hard work for VO2 max. We found no trial comparing the two directly; for VO2 max, the 4x4 is the better-studied choice.
Once or twice a week, up to 3, with easier days between. Tabata says twice a week appears enough for the aerobic gains, and in a trial of 1-minute intervals, twice a week raised fitness about as much as three times.
Build up first: Tabata's own research group warns that the exhausting version may not be safe for people unused to hard exercise. Get used to regular moderate activity, start with one block at about 7 out of 10, and check with your GP if you have heart, metabolic or kidney disease or symptoms. A trial in adults around 72 used gentler intervals: 60 seconds hard with 2 minutes' rest.
A bike, rower or air bike is closest to the original. At home, choose big-muscle moves you can do safely when tired, such as jumping jacks, squats, mountain climbers, lunges and burpees; step jacks and a fast march are the no-jump options.
Tabata fixes both work and rest: 20 seconds on, 10 off. An EMOM fixes the reps and gives you the rest of each minute, and an AMRAP fixes the time and lets you choose when to rest. Our EMOM and AMRAP guide covers both.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
