If you read my posts you know I am a big fan of tabatas. My "triad of death" is a tough one where I have only gotten up to 22 intervals before throwing in the towel. Using a jump rope or the airdyne bike are also favorites and another one is alternating two intervals of rotating an 8 kg (18 pound) kettlebell attached to a 1.5 inch thick rope over my head coupled with two intervals of burpees for the total of 4 minutes. With all that said, I still believe the toughest tabata you can do is the most primal of them all - the sprint - Sprinting full guns for 20 seconds and resting for 10 seconds for a total of 4 minutes.
I did a 4 minute sprint tabata today as it has been awhile and boy did that burn me out - more than any tabata I could think of recently. What makes it tough is that by the time your momentum slows after the 20 seconds, 5 seconds will have elapsed from your rest interval giving you only 5 seconds to catch your breath and get ready blast into your next interval. When you tabata in place with jumping rope, for instance, you can stop on the dime after 20 seconds and have the full 10 seconds to recover - but near impossible to do that with the sprints. Forward momentum makes things tough!
Following the tabata we did the short 2.1 mile trail run. I felt great. My breathing was very relaxed on the trails after the tabata. I have been doing all my runs with the 10 pound hypervest recently so this was my first run sans vest and I felt great! I also took yesterday and Tuesday off from exercise so I felt very well rested when I ran today.
I used my Garmin 405 for the interval timing of the tabatas. I was able to set it up with no instructions and with the GPS it came up with some good stats on tabata and my short trail run. I may have mentioned in another post that the 405 is hardly accurate on the trails but as long as it is consistent in its inaccuracy I just make sure my time improves for the same distance. The weather today in Charlotte was absolutely perfect in the 60s with no humidity. You've got to love the Spring in the Carolinas!
Showing posts with label tabata. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tabata. Show all posts
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Ice Cold Morning Workout - The Triad of Death!
With temperatures in low 20s this morning, my garage gym thermometer was at 44 degrees when I brought in the heater. By the end of my workout it was only 47.6 degrees in the garage. Despite the cold, which I have grown to like, I had a great workout. I have found that doing these cold workouts help me to avoid that cold burning feeling in my chest when I run in the cold. As of now my breathing has adapted.
The first piece of good news this morning was my weight which is near where I want it to be at 169.8. I want to be at around 166-167 by my January 23rd trail race at the Whitewater Center. I don't see that being a problem. Tomorrow I will hit Renaissance Park with my work buddies. Temps are supposed to hit the mid-50s tomorrow at lunch so the nice weather will be a welcomed break from the constant cold as of late.
The other piece of good news today was that I did 13 pull-ups in my warm up this morning - a new personal record. My ultimate goal is 20 but I am not setting a date for it. Losing weight certainly makes doing pull-ups easier.
Today's workout I have dubbed "The Triad of Death" or "TOD" for short. I needed a quick workout so I can be in and out of my garage quickly before getting hypothermia but still kick my butt. The TOD is a tabata (20 seconds full guns interval followed by 10 seconds of rest) with three exercises - thus the TRIAD. The three exercises can be done in any order but I prefer...
1) Jump Rope - I shoot for 50 revolutions per 20 second segment. I usually get to about 47 or 48 but anything over 42-44 is good.
2) Thrusters with two 16kg (35lb) kettlebells. This is basically a kettlebell squat while you press and lower the kettlebell to coincide with your movement. Try for 7 reps minimum.
3) 2 Handed Kettlebell Swing with the 24kg (53lb) kettlebell. Try for 10-12 swings or more.
The first time I did this I lasted only 10 intervals so today my goal was at least twelve or more. I ended up with thirteen before throwing in the towel and dying on on my gym floor. I did this workout with bare feet and after the workout my feet needed to thaw a bit. The floor heater only helps so much over the space of my garage. The handle of my 53lb kettlebell was also ice cold as well. Other than that I love working out in the cold. When you can break a sweat within the 6 minute duration of my workout with the room temperature in the mid-40s (which I did) I know I worked hard.
The TOD is a great test of endurance and will. The thrusters were what really wore me out the most. I did accomplish my goal for the workout so I was quite pleased. This is way tougher than my typical trail run so I figure if I can last a long time doing this workout, my runs should get a heck of lot easier too. Next time we go for 15 or more intervals!
The first piece of good news this morning was my weight which is near where I want it to be at 169.8. I want to be at around 166-167 by my January 23rd trail race at the Whitewater Center. I don't see that being a problem. Tomorrow I will hit Renaissance Park with my work buddies. Temps are supposed to hit the mid-50s tomorrow at lunch so the nice weather will be a welcomed break from the constant cold as of late.
The other piece of good news today was that I did 13 pull-ups in my warm up this morning - a new personal record. My ultimate goal is 20 but I am not setting a date for it. Losing weight certainly makes doing pull-ups easier.
Today's workout I have dubbed "The Triad of Death" or "TOD" for short. I needed a quick workout so I can be in and out of my garage quickly before getting hypothermia but still kick my butt. The TOD is a tabata (20 seconds full guns interval followed by 10 seconds of rest) with three exercises - thus the TRIAD. The three exercises can be done in any order but I prefer...
1) Jump Rope - I shoot for 50 revolutions per 20 second segment. I usually get to about 47 or 48 but anything over 42-44 is good.
2) Thrusters with two 16kg (35lb) kettlebells. This is basically a kettlebell squat while you press and lower the kettlebell to coincide with your movement. Try for 7 reps minimum.
3) 2 Handed Kettlebell Swing with the 24kg (53lb) kettlebell. Try for 10-12 swings or more.
The first time I did this I lasted only 10 intervals so today my goal was at least twelve or more. I ended up with thirteen before throwing in the towel and dying on on my gym floor. I did this workout with bare feet and after the workout my feet needed to thaw a bit. The floor heater only helps so much over the space of my garage. The handle of my 53lb kettlebell was also ice cold as well. Other than that I love working out in the cold. When you can break a sweat within the 6 minute duration of my workout with the room temperature in the mid-40s (which I did) I know I worked hard.
The TOD is a great test of endurance and will. The thrusters were what really wore me out the most. I did accomplish my goal for the workout so I was quite pleased. This is way tougher than my typical trail run so I figure if I can last a long time doing this workout, my runs should get a heck of lot easier too. Next time we go for 15 or more intervals!
Monday, November 30, 2009
4 Minute Workout for $14,615
A while back I saw an ad in the back of magazine (I think it was Forbes) while I was skimming it in a waiting room. The ad boasted this machine that looks something like a metal version of Santa's sleigh and was called the ROM. This machine, as the ad read, would give you a complete full body workout in just 4 minutes a day and the cost was a whopping $14,615! Now I know there are some expensive gym machines on the market but this one is out in the stratosphere. On the ROM's website they actually defend the price. They are perhaps going after the wealthy readers of Forbes who have no problem throwing $14,615 at an exercise machine if it will save them time. For myself, I find the price quite ludicrous.
To be fair, I haven't tried the machine and it may in fact provide an excellent 4 minute workout. I do believe that you can get a great workout in 4 minutes as it has been proven with the tabata. A tabata is 4 minute workout where you perform high intensity work for 20 second segments and rest for 10 seconds so in a 4 minute period you will have done 8 high intensity segments and 8 rest segments. If that sounds easy to you, buy a jump rope and a Gymboss Interval Timer and jump as fast as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat this process seven more times. I highly recommend the Gymboss Interval Timer as it lets you program dual intervals and beeps and/or vibrates after each segment. Other great exercises for tabata are kettlebell swings, thrusters, burpees, and sprints (running or on a stationary bike). Be forewarned, if you are not used to doing intense exercise you may have to work up to the 4 minutes. It is not as easy as it may sound. If you are not breathing heavily after the four minutes you probably did not work hard enough. Using a heart rate monitor can help you see exactly how hard you are working. Do this workout 5 days a week for 6 weeks and you should see some great results. Even if your results are only half as good as the $16,415 contraption, you just saved yourself quite a bit of money getting in shape.
For more in depth information about tabatas click here.
To be fair, I haven't tried the machine and it may in fact provide an excellent 4 minute workout. I do believe that you can get a great workout in 4 minutes as it has been proven with the tabata. A tabata is 4 minute workout where you perform high intensity work for 20 second segments and rest for 10 seconds so in a 4 minute period you will have done 8 high intensity segments and 8 rest segments. If that sounds easy to you, buy a jump rope and a Gymboss Interval Timer and jump as fast as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat this process seven more times. I highly recommend the Gymboss Interval Timer as it lets you program dual intervals and beeps and/or vibrates after each segment. Other great exercises for tabata are kettlebell swings, thrusters, burpees, and sprints (running or on a stationary bike). Be forewarned, if you are not used to doing intense exercise you may have to work up to the 4 minutes. It is not as easy as it may sound. If you are not breathing heavily after the four minutes you probably did not work hard enough. Using a heart rate monitor can help you see exactly how hard you are working. Do this workout 5 days a week for 6 weeks and you should see some great results. Even if your results are only half as good as the $16,415 contraption, you just saved yourself quite a bit of money getting in shape.
For more in depth information about tabatas click here.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Lunch Workout 8-19-2009
My first day back from vacation and I thought I wouldn't push it too far so I did a 25 interval tabata. Tabatas consist of intervals of 20 seconds of hard work and 10 seconds of rest. It may sound easy enough but try doing your intervals on an Airdyne bike going full guns for the 20 seconds and you will get smoked very quickly. Ten seconds is not a whole lot of time to recover either.
For this workout I alternated 5 intervals on the Airdyne with 5 intervals of thrusters using the 26 pound Bulgarian Training Bag. I usually try to do 20 minutes worth (40 intervals) but being that it is my first day back I stopped at 25 intervals which is twelve and half minutes.
For this workout I alternated 5 intervals on the Airdyne with 5 intervals of thrusters using the 26 pound Bulgarian Training Bag. I usually try to do 20 minutes worth (40 intervals) but being that it is my first day back I stopped at 25 intervals which is twelve and half minutes.
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