A Four Minute Complete Workout

For the time poor who want a fast exercise option, Tabata is definitely worth looking into. With the claim of taking just four minutes from your day for a complete workout, Tabata may be intense but if it really takes less time than it takes to get changed into your workout gear why not give it a go?
Jason Sawyer

Tabata training in a nutshell
Each Tabata has 8 intervals of which you exercise at a very high intensity for 20 seconds. After 20 seconds, you have 10 seconds to rest. Tabata is a form of high intensity training and one of the benefits is that it can boost your metabolism and get your heart rate up in a matter of seconds.
The science behind it is the reason for its prominence and any functional movement can be subbed into the rep scheme such as: squats, pull ups, push-ups, sit-ups, running, rowing, skipping, boxing jumping, lunging, kettle-bell swinging etc
The history behind Tabata
In 1996, Dr. Izumi Tabata published the results of a study demonstrating, that the aerobic and anaerobic pathways could be trained simultaneously. This was a significant finding, as most authorities had regarded the two pathways – and training for them – as compartmentalized. Aerobic training was largely long slow distance (LSD) work, and anaerobic training was typically regarded as some hard-to-measure dark component left to the explosion sports.
Dr. Tabata settled on eight sets of 20 second work intervals alternating with 10 second rest intervals as the most effective interval times for improving VO 2 max. CrossFit founder, Greg Glassman, also points out that high-intensity efforts produce this dramatic aerobic benefit without the muscle wasting brought about by endurance training.