Sometimes I take for granted that everyone isn't a trainer.
I forget that everyone doesn't know how to get a really effective and results producing fat loss workout in four minutes.
In fact, people who haven't tried it don't believe me.
My clients, on the other hand, know that the hardest workouts are the shortest.
The hardest workout I ever did was running a mile in four minutes and twenty two seconds. It was much harder than running a mile in ten minutes. Same mile, totally and complely different experience.
The trick to getting in an effective fat loss workout in four minutes?
My clients do more work in four minutes than most people do in an hour.
Is it really possible to get this lean with four minute workouts?
A four minute workout isn't easy. It's actually much, much harder.
But for many of my clients, these short, four minute "Tabata" workouts are their favorite.
They are the hardest workouts, but they're also some of the most fun.
The four minute Tabata workouts have been around ever since Dr. Tabata did his landmark research on these specific intervals for sports performance.
Smart, cutting edge, personal trainers have secretly been putting this to work with their fat loss clients for years.
On the flip side, I use these four minute workouts with my clients so often, that I forget that most people don't know how to put together four minute workouts that are effective at all.
I take for granted that everyone should know how to put together a four minute workout that truly blasts the fat off of your body.
If you want it all done for you, my friend Ryan Lee put together a "robot" that builds custom four minute fat loss workouts for you.
http://www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com/
My clients don't do four minute workouts every single day.
Some days they do 45 minute fat loss workouts.
Some days they do 20 minute fat loss workouts.
Every couple of weeks, we spend most of the hour long training session talking about their food plan, or dealing with the emotional issues that come up when you're pursuing a really important goal.
Then we may only have four minutes left to work out. And they get an awesome workout. If they have ten minutes left, we do the four minute workout, rest two minutes, and do another four minute workout. That's a really awesome workout.
Sometimes my clients lives get too busy to do a full hour workout three times per week.
Do you ever get busy?
We don't give up on their goals. I just have them do four minute workouts until things get back to normal.
I usually have them do two of the four minute workouts. It takes ten minutes total.
If they can find the time to do a couple four minute workouts, a few times per week, they can keep getting results.
If I don't have time to do a full hour workout, what do you think I do?
I do a four minute workout. Or I do two four minute workouts.
Four minute workouts kick ass because they fit into your life.
In fact, if you don't have a four minute workout in your back pocket, you're screwed.
At some point, life is going to get crazy. You won't have time to get to the gym and get your hour workout in. And what do you do? You miss your workout.
You could have just gotten in a four minute workout at home.
A four minute workout that's just as effective as your full hour workouts.
I wouldn't use it as your only workout
But there are some very successful and famous trainers who do only use this with their clients.
I have my clients do 45 minute or 20 minute workouts most of the time, with strength training, a circuit, and intervals.
But when time gets tight (and it always does) we do these seriously kick ass four minute workouts.
And because of these four minute workouts, we always get a good workout in.
And that makes all the difference.
http://www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com/
P.S. These four minute workouts are also are my wife's favorite workouts!
By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds
Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss
Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and a 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado. Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.
© Joshua Hillis 2008
Josh, I love your blog. I’ve tried Tabata intervals and they ARE killer. I regularly do short fast intervals and lift prosgressively heavier all the time, but I have also read (I think in a NYT article) that interval training boosts the body’s ability to burn fat during long steady state cardio. Is there any place at all for long cardio in a fat loss program (say a 45-60 minute run once a week) or is it always a waste of time? Thanks!
Great question! And I seem to be getting this question a lot lately, so it’s got to be on people’s mind’s.
Look, I know sometimes I make it sound like long slow cardio is the source of all evil in the universe, that it’s the worst thing ever, and should be avoided like it was the plague,
I wave that banner because I’m trying to make a point.
I have to push the point so that people hear that it’s not the Holy Grail of fat loss.
It’s not the worst thing in the world.
It’s just not very time efficient.
It’s less effective than high intensity cardio.
It’s less effective than sprints.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. That doesn’t mean it’s bad and wrong.
In fact I think that long slow cardio is awesome for meditation and stress relief.
If you’ve got extra time, I think it’s great. Just make sure that you keep up on your lifting, that you keep getting stronger.
I remember that NYT article. Cool study. I’ve never experimented with that with my clients.
So, any examples? or is this post simply an ad?
I believe you were begging for this comment, but I’ll do it anyway:
I’m pretty sure your wife would prefer it to last longer than four minutes. 🙂
While four minutes isn’t my magic number, I usually run my clients through quick interval sessions with both plyometrics and weights at ten to fifteen minutes. I’ve had very few clients that did not shed off fat like crazy and most got addicted to that style of training!
By the way, you’ve got a great blog and I’m glad I found it! I’m looking forward to learning more so I can put it to use for myself and for my clients!
This si grate i have seen grate results using this the 4 minute session alo being a rugby player it is quite suited to my sport brilliant thanks for sharing
Michael, I don’t give away the actual workout programming for free.
Adam, she’s amazed at the results she gets four minutes =)
MuscleBits, you’re totally on point. And what you are doing is probably very similar to what I do most of the time. I totally dig circuits of 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes.
The four minute workouts are only when we are hurting for time, and need something that’s going to pack the same punch, in less time.
I’m glad you dig reading the blog!
Alan Muscle, I’m stoked you use it and it’s worked for you!
Here in Glendale/Denver, CO we have a pretty popular rugby league. The rugby stadium (I think the only municipal rugby stadium in the US) is a hop skip and a jump from my house and I’m totally digging watching rugby.
I’ve only had the opportunity to train one pro rugby player, but the dude was savage and it was awesome working with him.
As always, a good read. One thing that I assume is still important is a warm up and a cool down? If so – this pushes the 4 minutes out somewhat. Should I still do a 5 minute warm up before the 4 minute workout? Cheers.
Im sitting here shouting AMEN!! and yet often do the sloooooooooow cardio as it’s not always about the fat burn up in herre but the MEtime and the stress reduction.
great post.
MizFit
Yes, I totally agree with you on high intensity workouts. I see way too many people wasting time in the gym.
It is all about the intensity of exercise. Quality versus quantity.
I’m hearing great reviews about Ryan’s new body robot program.
thanks for a great post! I will tell my dad to give this a try 😉
Hushful, great question.
I would do a five minute warm up before a four minute workout.
It still ends up being shorter than a five minute warmup before a sixty minute workout.
I’d prob do a warm up of something fun. If you have a b-ball hoop in the driveway, I’d do a five minutes of shooting hoops. If someone likes to dance, they should dance for five minutes. If they like yoga, they could do five minuts of yoga. If they like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, they should do five minutes of hip escape drills.
But ultimately, I’m pointing to a paradigm shift. That the meat of the workout can be shorter, and you can spend more time doing anything that you love to do.
On the flip side, I love this kind of workout. So the primary reason for me to do a shorter workout is schedule. There are lots of days I can’t fit in as much working out as I would enjoy, but I can still get the results I’m after (and even the feeling I like to have from a workout) with a short amount of time.
MizFit and Jim, I’m glad you like it!
FL4I, I hope your dad likes it!