Tabata Couplets: Burpee & Squat is a free advanced-level TABATA workout lasting about 12 min. It uses Burpees and Air Squats, needs no equipment, and can be scaled up or down for any fitness level.
Run this on a real TABATA timer with audio cues — free in the iOS app.
Get the appAlternate movements (4 rounds each) or complete all rounds per movement back-to-back.
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Get the iOS AppThis is a Tabata session: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, eight times through for a four-minute block. The protocol comes from a 1996 study by Dr. Izumi Tabata and colleagues on Japanese Olympic speed skaters, and the intervals are meant to be genuinely maximal rather than merely brisk.
Count your reps in the first round and treat that number as the target for all eight. The conventional score is your lowest round, which is a deliberate check on going out too hard. If round eight is less than half of round one, you started too fast.
This session assumes a solid aerobic base and reliable technique under heavy fatigue. The volume is high and the rest is minimal. At this level recovery is usually the limiting factor rather than training capacity, so avoid stacking sessions like this on consecutive days.
Scaling is how this workout stays useful across a range of abilities. Pick the version of each movement that lets you keep moving at a steady pace, and note what you changed so the next attempt is a fair comparison.
Burpees — easier: step back and step in rather than jumping, and skip the jump at the top. Harder: add a push-up at the bottom and a tuck jump at the top.
Air Squats — easier: squat to a chair or bench to control the depth. Harder: add a jump at the top, or slow the descent to three seconds.
No equipment at all. Everything here is bodyweight, and floor space roughly the size of a yoga mat is enough. This one works in a hotel room, a garage or a corner of the living room.
Warm up before you start the clock. Five to ten minutes of easy movement plus a few light reps of each movement in the workout is enough, and it matters more on short, intense sessions than on long ones.