Spicing up Tabatas

I am writing this blog as a follow up to the 240s of pain. I will describe some ways to make Tabatas even harder this involves adding in an isometric component to your tabatas. So for example when you normally rest 10s you would be holding an isometric position for that time.

Let's start the fun.

Tabata Sit-ups + Evil
Sit-ups + Floor Bridge Hold
These routines are like your normal Tabatas except minus the rest. Ex. You will Perform Set of sit-ups for 20s followed by a set either a two-leg or single-leg floor bridge hold. To perform the floor bridge just lie on your back which you should be doing following the sit-ups with knees bent, feet flat on the floor and toes shoulder width apart , place arms to the side face down. Lift your hips until it is in line with the knees. Hold the top position squeezing your butt together for the set time i.e 10seconds. If this is to easy feel free to do a full on Back Bridge and hold that for 10sec.


 Tabata Squats + Evil
Squats  (main exercise) + Wall Squat (Isometric)
you will perform your 8 sets of squats for 20s with a 10s Wall Sit in between squats , your rest will come at the very end of the 240s i.e you finished the Tabata Squat set.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Wall Sit you basically assume the bottom position of a squat and hold that position assuming you have access to a wall you can also use the wall as semi support for your back as you hold the bottom position of the squat for the set amount of time , i.e in this case 10 seconds.

Tabata Push-ups + Evil
Push Ups +  Plank
Same concept as above this time when you do your Push-ups you will do a plank in between push up sets. You can make the plank harder by doing a one arm / one leg plank variation. A harder variation would be holding the bottom position of the push-up where your about a fist length away from touching the floor/ground.

Tabata Pull-ups + Evil
Pull Ups + Flexed Arm Hang
I don't know what freak of nature would need to make pull ups harder but if your already hitting one pull up a sec or just want to spice it up for an extra challenge. Try out  adding a flexed arm hang (i.e holding the top position of a pull up when your arms are flexed) and holding it for the 10s in place of the rest period. If you try this one out let me know.

Also don't forget to wear a weighted vest if your seeking more of a heart pounding adventure.

My Favorite HFT routines

The below are some of my favorite high frequency training routines 

HFT for Calf Growth

Schedule: perform the following twice-daily workouts for two days in a row followed by a day of rest (2 on/1 off cycle). Continue the plan for one month before taking 5 full days off from calf training.  


Note: Start with your weakest/smallest calf first and perform the following 1A/rest/1B/rest sequence three times. Then perform the same sequence for your other calf. It's imperative that you do these workouts barefoot for maximum motor unit recruitment.

AM Workout

1A) Single leg hop with body weight for 10 reps

Key points: Jump as high as possible, minimize your landing time, and keep knee flexion to a minimum each time you land.

Rest 5 seconds

1B) Single leg standing calf raise for 3 sets x 5 second hold with 5 seconds rest between each rep

Description: While standing on one leg, perform a single calf raise and hold the peak contraction for five seconds by pushing through your big toe. It's essential that you squeeze your calf as hard as humanly possible — try to get it to cramp. After five seconds of contraction, rest for five seconds and then repeat the contraction/rest sequence two more times (be sure to rest 5 seconds between each rep). 

Rest 60 seconds and repeat 1A-1B two more times before switching to the opposite leg

PM Workout

A) Standing double-leg body weight calf raise to failure

Explanation: In the evening, or at least six hours after your first workout, perform one set of calf raises with both feet at the same time (double-leg standing calf raise). Perform each rep as fast as possible and don't pause at any point of the movement, just crank out as many double-leg standing calf raises in one set as you can. Do these calf raises off the edge of a step to achieve a full range of motion.

B) Calf stretch for 2 x 30 seconds with each leg

Description: Stand on the edge of a step with your right leg and let your calf maximally stretch. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and repeat with the left calf. Repeat the stretch with both legs one more time.

Arms
1. Neutral grip Pull-up:
Perform 10 sets of 3-5 reps while alternating it with a chest or triceps exercise. 


2. Palms-up Barbell / Dumbell Row:
 Perform 10 sets of 3-5 reps while alternating it with an exercise for your chest or triceps.


3. Standing Hammer Curl/EZ bar Reverse Curl: 
 6 sets of 6-8 reps works well. Again, you should alternate each set with an exercise that trains your chest or triceps.

Tabata -240 Seconds of Pain

A popular regimen based on a 1996 study uses 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise (at 170% of VO2 max) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated continuously for 4 minutes (8 cycles).

Why should you do this work out? The Tabata program might be the single best "fat burning workout" that I know. It might only be four minutes, but you seem to keep sweating and breathing hard for a long, long time afterwards. 

You need to choose an exercise that uses a large number of muscles , I will include method using external resistance i.e barbell / dumbbells and a method using body weight 

External Resistance  

The front squat might be the single best Tabata lift. The Tabata method might teach you to lift better than a thousand coaches. The bar will be held in the "front" of the body, with the fingers relaxed and the bar resting on the clavicles with the elbows high. Sit down "between the legs." This actually gets easier in the third and fourth minute as you just start to "drop" back through. As you rise back up, you don't need to lock out the knees; in fact, don't even think about it. Just get up and go back down.

The other great Tabata exercise is the "thruster." The thruster is one of the greatest lifts no one has ever heard of in the gym. Take two dumbbells and hold them at shoulder height. Squat down, keeping the dumbbells on the shoulders, as you rise up, press the bells to the overhead lockout position. You can either press as you rise or use the momentum to help "kick" the bells overhead.

It helps to be able to see a wall clock with a second hand during your four minutes of fun. Stop at twenty seconds, rest ten seconds, and go again. Watching the clock helps with your focus and also in keeping count of the eight cycles...

Body weight Resistance 

Here is a longer Tabata workout example. This workout consists of 4 separate Tabata Intervals, each 4 minutes. The total workout will last 16 minutes. Always begin with a moderate warm-up and cool down session. And if you are not already in good shape, check with a doctor before trying.

* Jump Rope ( or Sprint in Place ) 

* Push ups

* Squats

* Chin-ups or Pull-ups

“Tabata Something Else”

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.

The Tabata protocol can be applied to almost any exercise. The most obvious choice is outdoor sprinting. For example, sprint 20 seconds, then rest (walk) 10 seconds, and continue until you have completed 8 x 20 second sprints. Always begin with a moderate warm-up and cool down session. 

A winter friendly option can include a variety of exercises.

• Jump Rope (sprint in place)
• Pushups
• Squats
• Medicine ball slams (or sledgehammer swings)

The 20/10 second work-to-rest ratio is rather convenient however. You can easily time this workout with a large digital clock or personal interval timer such as the Gymboss which retails around 20$ or look up interval timers online there are various links and also apps for your electronic device like Iphone / Itouch 

Conversations tips for Relationships

Above is model from the book Crucial Conversations

We all have idiosyncrasies, habits, and proclivities—some of which are the source of our genius and some of which drive everyone around us batty. And sometimes, the genius and the quirkiness flow from the exact same attribute.

I say this as prelude because, while I will advise you to hold a crucial conversation, I will also encourage you to work on yourself first. Clarify your motives before even attempting the conversation. If your motive is to "fix" or "change" your partner, you're more likely to be disappointed than effective. If instead your goal is to share feedback then accept his/her  freedom to accommodate or ignore it, you will not only come across entirely differently (i.e., not needy or pushy), but you will be more likely to have influence. Ironically, if your motive is to control, you not only fail to gain control, but you lose your influence. If you give up trying to control others, you gain influence in the bargain.

With that said, here is some advice about how to hold the conversation itself.

Hold the right conversation. Often, we fail at the outset because we dive into the wrong topic. For example, we talk about content—what just happened—when we want to talk about a pattern—something that happens regularly. This could happen because you address something your partner just said to you when your real issue is a pattern of these sorts of comments over time. Your goal needs to be to have a pattern conversation. And that calls for a special approach.

Timing is everything. Don't wait until you're bugged to talk. That's what most of us do with our pattern conversations. We wait for yet another instance of someone behaving badly then we pounce on it; not to address what just happened, but to dump our laundry list of grievances from ages past. If you want to talk about a pattern, pick a time that is not clouded with a recent transgression. It not only helps you be in a proper mindset, but it helps avoid giving the other person an opportunity to make excuses about the pattern by pointing to special issues in the present instance. For example, you might say, "I had to walk out just now because I have a conference call in half an hour!"

Make it safe. You have all the right information in your question to create safety at the beginning of this conversation. Read it again. You clearly care about your partner. You respect him/her. You want something from him/her that he/she is likely to feel flattered giving, so that's what you need to make clear as you start.

For example, you might say, "I'd like to talk about some ways I could have a better relationship with you. I value the relationship we have, and I'd like to be even closer and more comfortable. I admire you, sometimes to the point of feeling intimidated around you. And yet, there are some things in how we interact that don't work for me. I'm hoping it is okay to share how I see it and find out how either you, or I, or both of us could communicate better.

Ask permission. One of the best ways to ensure others feel safe is to sincerely ask for permission before launching into the crucial conversation. If your partner might be uncomfortable with this level of communication, it is all the more important to help him/her feel in control by asking his consent before launching into your concerns. All you need do is add, "Would that be okay?" to the above monologue.

Change media. It may be possible that your partner will be too uncomfortable to have this conversation face-to-face. If that is the case, you may want to try mixed media. If you choose to write a letter, I would make the same "make it safe" statement from above then add, "I think the best way to express some of what I wanted to say is in writing—so I've written this out. But my hope is that we can discuss it afterward if you're comfortable doing so. If not, then I understand and will be fine keeping things the way they are now." You'll notice that the last phrase tests whether you have surrendered your hope of controlling him/her or not. Be sure you have or your words will ring hollow.