Tabata Interval Madness

So recently I've discovered the beauty (if you consider pain and exhausting workouts beautiful) of Tabata Interval training.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Tabata Intervals, here is a great little summary.

I've designed some Tabata Interval Workouts, and I'm seeing pretty solid results. I was already in pretty good shape from doing two rounds (albeit the second round was broken up a bit by a hectic schedule) of P90X and was looking for a new challenge to spice things up.

Lemme tell ya, Tabata Intervals may not seem like they'd be tough, but given that you're pushing a muscle group as hard as you can for nearly 4 minutes at a time, you get exhausted. When you're training for strength and muscular endurance, this exhaustion is exactly what you're looking for to maximize efficiency in the muscle breakdown/rebuild process (given that you rest the affected muscle groups sufficiently).

This type of workout is extremely efficient because it achieves this exhaustion in a short period of time. It also kills two birds with one stone because your heart rate remains high throughout, giving you cardiovascular benefits as a bonus.

Here are the four workouts I've put together, including two Tabata Core Interval series. I combine each of the four workouts with one of the two core series to create one 70 minute workout of extreme intensity. I only do two of the Tabata workouts per week, so essentially I get two "cycles" per month, and trust me, two per week is all you need. On the off days I do some other cross-training type workout like Plyometrics, Kenpo, and I've taken to running over the past few months.

Remember, each exercise is done for 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, eight times in a row, allowing for a one minute rest in between each exercise. Also, the weights noted on here are the ones I'm currently using, not what YOU should be using. Do what's right for you.

Day 1
Squat Jumps:
Pull Ups:
Standard Push Ups:
Hot Foot:
Full Supination Bicep Curls 25lbs:
Pike Press:
2 Chair Dips:

Day 2:
Mary Katherine Lunges:
Two Arm DB Rows 40lbs:
Fly Pushups:
Weighted 3-way Calf Raises 35lbs:
Hammer Curls 25lbs:
In&Out Shoulder Flys 15lbs:
Side Tri-Rise:

Day 3:
Single Leg Squats:
Chin Ups:
Plange Push Ups:
Hot Foot:
Outward Curls 20lbs:
Shoulder Press 25lbs:
Diamond Pushups:

Day 4:
1-Leg Wall Sits, 10 sec/leg, 25 lbs in each hand:
Congdon Locomotive 30lbs:
Plyometric (clap) Pushup:
Weighted 3-way Calf Raises 35lbs:
Standard Bicep Curl 25 lbs:
Seated Shoulder Flys 20lbs:
Overhead Tricep Ext. 20lbs:


Core Series 1:
Bicycles Forward:
Hanging Knee Kicks:
Weighted Masons:
Bicycles Backward:
Woodchopper 20lbs:
Up and Overs:
Rowers:

Core Series 2:
Crunchy Frog:
Hanging Bicycles Fwd & Bwrd:
Pfifer Scissors:
Reverse Crunches:
Cherry Bombs:
Weighted Banana Mason:
Hanging Plange:


Already, after only one cycle, I've seen an increase in muscletone around my midsection and my lungs feel stronger. As a caution, if any of you want to try these workouts, be prepared to work HARD. They're tough, but if you can get through them, you'll be tough in return.

BRING IT!!!

-RB