I thought every now and then I'd post notes on my "love/hate exercises". These are exercises I hate doing because they leave nowhere to hide, and they crush me. And yet, because I hate them I must also love them, as what better sign is there that they are working?
I have applied many different exercises to the Tabata protocol, but far and away the worse two (and therefore the best two) are sprints and burpees.
Sprints are "fun" to do as Tabatas because 20 seconds (the work period) is roughly the time of Michael Johnson's world record in the 200 meters (19:32). So find a 200m straightaway and mark it off with cones. For your first interval, run like you are trying to beat MJ. When the timer goes off, note in amazement how far away you are from where he'd be standing. Walk during your 10 second rest. On the next interval, sprint back to the original cone, your goal being to get to it. You won't. Repeat a total of 8 times. Pure death. The best tip I can give you is this: as everything else is pounded out of you conciousness, try to focus on your form. Picture your knees, your arms, your hip drive, instead of the misery.
I can't decide if burpees are less painful, as painful, or more painful than sprints. It's that close. Even though I've written about them in many other posts, let me repost a bit here:
After five weeks of the program, I have a love/hate relationship with burpees. They are great, but I suck at them and they kill me. Make sure you're doing the right kind of burpee (here's a demo clip). Let me emphasize a couple points:
- Drop down into a full squat while putting your hands to the floor before you kick out.
- Kick out and drop into the pushup simultaneously.
- "Kick in" at the same time as you are pressing out of the pushup (even after five weeks, I still suck at this part).
- From the squat, leap as high as you can and then drop into the next squat, all in one fluid motion.
I think the above tips are all key to both good form and speed. Also, as you progress in the workout above and you start to die, try to focus on the fluid progression of each movement to the next. It will be very tempting to kick out first, then do a pushup (while catching a bit of rest in the upright pushup position), or to land the jump without flowing into the next squat (again catching rest, or at least a breath). There are a million ways to cheat. Resist the urge. Focussing on form and fluidity will help you get the most from the workout.
Above all, remember this: the key to getting the most out of Tabatas is to do each and every work period as hard as you possibly can. Do not pace yourself so you have gas for the last (or third, or whatever) interval.
