If you’re not a morning person, you might want to consider converting for the sake of your workouts—especially if you’re trying to lose weight and achieve a lower body fat percentage. To do so, you’ll need to boost your metabolism, which is responsible for converting the food you eat into energy, 

While there are many rumored ways to rev it (some effective, others less so) research shows that Tabata training is one of the best.

“Tabata is a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) method originally developed by Dr. Izumo Tabata and his research team in 1996,” says Everett Miner, NASM-CPT, owner of Miner Fitness. “The protocol consists of 20 seconds of all-out effort followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 8 rounds (4 minutes total). Over the years, Tabata has evolved into a versatile training method that can be adapted to suit various fitness levels and goals.”

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How Does Tabata Boost Metabolism? 

This metabolic boost is driven by three primary physiological mechanisms: increased hormonal response, improved mitochondrial efficiency, and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC),” according to Miner. The latter means you burn calories even after your workout is done.

Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) 

Because Tabata is high-intensity by nature, your body has to work that much harder to obtain additional oxygen even after you workout, a process necessary for restoring ATP and phosphocreatine (PC) levels, removing metabolic byproducts, and returning to homeostasis, Miner says. 

“This elevated oxygen demand leads to a prolonged calorie burn for hours after exercise, a phenomenon known as the afterburn effect,” he adds. 

Increased Hormonal Response

Research also shows that high-intensity intervals, such as those in Tabata-style training trigger the release of catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine) and growth hormone, which play a key role in fat oxidation and energy metabolism, Miner says.  

Improved Mitochondrial Efficiency

Tabata has also been shown to increase mitochondrial content which improves both aerobic energy metabolism and endurance capacity better than traditional steady-state cardio, leading to enhanced metabolic efficiency.

How to Make a Tabata Workout

A traditional Tabata workout consists of one exercise performed at maximum effort for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 8 rounds (4 minutes total).

1. Choose an exercise.
2. Perform 20 seconds of max effort
3. Rest for 10 seconds
4. Repeat for 8 rounds (4 minutes total)

However, most people benefit from alternating between two exercises. This gives muscles a brief recovery so trainees can perform safer and higher-quality reps while still maintaining that overall intensity.

Tabata Workout 1

Do each exercise for 4 minutes (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, 8 sets), then move on to next exercise.

1. Kettlebell Swing
2. High Knee
3. Triceps Triceps Dip
4. V-Up or Jackknife

Tabata Workout 2

1. Pushup
2. Squat to Overhead Press
3. Burpee
4. Mountain Climber

Related: The Fitness Hack Personal Trainers Swear By to Get Better at Pushups

Modified Tabata Format

Here’s a modified Tabata format crafted by Miner that keeps the intensity high while improving endurance for muscle groups.

1. Choose two exercises (e.g., squat jumps and pushups)
2. Perform exercise 1 for 20 seconds; rest 10 seconds
3. Perform exercise 2 for 20 seconds; rest 10 seconds
4. Repeat the pair 4 times (4 minutes total)
5. Rest for 1 minute, then move on to another exercise pair if doing multiple rounds

Pairing Tip: When structuring exercise pairs, it’s likely beneficial to either:

1. Combine upper and lower body movements (e.g., pushups and squats) to distribute fatigue across different muscle groups.
2. Use an antagonist/agonist approach for upper body exercises (e.g., pushups and pullups) to balance pushing and pulling movements, ensuring better muscle engagement and recovery between intervals.

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