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3 Ways to Add Tabatas to Your Workout

3 Ways to Add Tabatas to Your Workout

Want to make your lifting routine better at burning body fat? Just add Tabatas. Here’s how.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated May 31, 2024

Now that you know what Tabatas are (thanks to this article ), how do you go about using one of the best fat-burning HIIT workouts there is?

You can always do one of my training programs that features the technique — like SS8 , XS8 , or Tabata Builder — but perhaps you already have a set workout routine and just want to add Tabatas to it. No problem.

Because Tabata intervals only take 4 minutes to complete (8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off), they’re easy to work into any routine. Below are three main ways to seamlessly incorporate Tabatas into your weekly training schedule.

1. Do Tabatas at the End of Your Workout

This is the traditional way of mixing weights and cardio: Do all of your lifting, and then finish the workout with cardio. The lifting may take you somewhere between 45 and 60 minutes (sometimes more, sometimes less), and the Tabatas can last anywhere from 4 to 32 minutes, depending on your fitness level.

If you’ve never done Tabatas before, start with just one round (8 sets of alternating between 20 seconds of all-out effort and 10 seconds of complete rest). You can choose any number of exercises for Tabatas, but here I recommend a basic bodyweight calisthenic (ie, jumping jacks, jumping rope, sprinting in place) or lower body movement (ie, air squat, lunge, bench step-up).

If you’re at more of an intermediate level with Tabatas, do 2-4 rounds using a different exercise for each one. This will take you 8-16 minutes total, plus a minute or two between rounds to catch your breath.

For highly advanced people, I recommend anywhere from 4-8 rounds of Tabatas – which will take 16-32 minutes total, plus rest between rounds.

When doing multiple rounds of Tabatas, mix up the exercises to make sure you’ll be able to go

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