Karan Johar may have confused Tabata with “Tamatar” on Koffee With Karan Season 9, but the workout he was talking about is no laughing matter. During a conversation with newlyweds Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda, the filmmaker recalled his experience of trying the high-intensity exercise routine and described it as an ordeal.
“On the fourth minute, I thought, this is what a cardiac arrest feels like. I thought I was going to die. How can you do this to a human? It’s assault,” Karan said, recalling his trainer’s recommendation to try Tabata for 20 minutes. Vijay, meanwhile, admitted that the workout does not exactly put him in a good mood. “Tabata makes me angry. I get angry with my trainer,” he said.
But what exactly is Tabata, and why
can a workout lasting just four minutes feel so punishing?
What is Tabata?
Tabata is a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), a workout method that alternates short bursts of intense exercise with brief recovery periods. It is named after Japanese exercise scientist Dr Izumi Tabata, whose research helped establish the method in the 1990s. The classic Tabata protocol follows a simple structure: 20 seconds of intense exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times. That adds up to four minutes.
The catch is the intensity. In the original research, participants performed extremely demanding cycling intervals rather than simply moving through a series of ordinary exercises at a fast pace. A 1996 study by Tabata and his colleagues compared high-intensity intermittent cycling with continuous moderate-intensity exercise. The interval training involved repeated 20-second bouts of very intense cycling, separated by 10-second recovery periods.
The researchers found improvements in aerobic capacity, which is the body’s ability to take in and use oxygen during exercise. The interval-training group also showed improvements in anaerobic capacity, which relates to the body’s ability to produce energy during intense efforts. The findings helped popularise short, intense workouts as a way of improving physical fitness. However, the original protocol was considerably more demanding than many of the workouts now advertised as Tabata.
How does a Tabata workout work?
The format is straightforward, even if the exercise itself is not.
– 20 seconds of work: Perform the chosen exercise at a high intensity.
– 10 seconds of rest: Recover briefly before the next interval.
– Eight rounds: Repeat the work-rest pattern eight times to complete a four-minute block.
Why is Tabata so difficult?
The combination of high effort and limited recovery is what makes Tabata challenging. With just 10 seconds between intervals, the body has little time to recover before the next bout begins. The intensity can place substantial demands on the cardiovascular and muscular systems, particularly when exercises involve jumping, sprinting or repeated full-body movements. That is also why the method is not simply about doing as many repetitions as possible. Exercise technique, the choice of movement and the ability to maintain an appropriate level of effort matter.
