Tonight I have a very special treat for you! Remember how in the last post I talked about this thing call High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)? Well, truth be told, I know what it is, but I don't know much about it. But lucky for you I know someone who does!! Let me introduce you to
Tracy Hernandez:
Pretty amazing, right?! Tracy is a long time friend of mine and very much into fitness. She is a certified CrossFit Level 1 Trainer at CrossFit Timpanogos in Lehi, Utah, a general workout/CrossFit junkie, and a triathlete. She loves weightlifting and really dislikes running, but does it anyway because it is supposedly good for her. If you have any questions for her, you can email her at tracyhernandez1@yahoo.com.
We'll actually be hearing from Tracy a bit more over the coming days. She's got a lot of information she is willing to share! It's pretty awesome!!
So, I'm not going to waste any more of your time, here is Tracy talking about HIIT/Tabata and she shares with us an awesome tabata workout. Take it away Tracy:
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Disclaimer: You should consult a physician before beginning any exercise routine.
Thanks Kim! It's really awesome to be able to share a post with your readers.
Have you ever used the excuse that you don’t have time to workout? Maybe that comes from the false idea that a workout has to be really long to be effective. Today, we dispel that myth with a fabulous full-body workout that you can complete in just 16 minutes (when you include the warm up, it will be about 20 minutes).
The workout is premised on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). What is HIIT? According to Wikipedia, it is “an exercise strategy alternating periods of short, intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods.” The HIIT sessions are not long – most last less than 20 minutes, and they will improve your conditioning as well as your body’s ability to burn fat.
This workout is called “Tabata” (pronounced “tuh-bah-tuh”). It’s a HIIT routine discovered by Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata in 1996. Each round of Tabata consists of 8 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest, for a total of 4 minutes of each movement. In our workouts below, we are going to do 4 rounds of Tabata, for a total workout time of 16 minutes.
Workout #1 incorporates push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and squats, and Workout #2 is a Tabata workout with variations of running. You could also do it with cycling, swimming, weightlifting, or a variety of other exercises. Just follow the same format of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest, for 8 intervals (4 minutes). During the 20 seconds of “work”, go all out – try not to rest at all during those 20 seconds for maximum benefit.
Disclaimer (this is a repeat from above, I just want to be sure you read it): You should consult a physician before beginning any exercise routine.
Tabata
You are going to perform 4 different exercises, in 4-minute blocks for each exercise. Each 4 minutes will consist of 8 intervals of 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest. You want to complete as many reps as you can within that 20 seconds, and try to maintain the same number of reps for each of the 8 intervals. Do not rest more than 10 seconds between each interval—you will be tired, but this is supposed to be high intensity training.
You will do the same exercise for all 8 intervals (4 minutes) in a row. Do not switch exercises until the 8 intervals are complete. After you have completed 8 intervals of one exercise, rest for exactly 1 minute before moving on to the next exercise. This workout will be easiest if you have someone who can run a clock for you, and alert you at the end of each 20 second work interval and each 10 second rest interval (I usually say “go” when the 20 second work interval begins and “rest” when the 10 second rest interval begins). If you don’t have anyone who can run a clock for you, keep an eye on a wall clock or stopwatch, or you can also download a CrossFit app on your phone called “My WOD” for $0.99. It has a Tabata interval timer; when you start it, it will count down with a 3-2-1-Go beep, then it will beep at the end of each 20 second work interval and your 10 second rest interval for 8 rounds.
If you want to “score” the workout, your score on each exercise will be the lowest number of reps that you completed in any given 20-second interval. So, for example, if you do 15 reps on the first 20-second interval, but by the eighth interval you can only do 5 reps, your score is 5. Scoring the workout will help you track your progress as you get strong and can do more reps when you repeat this workout later.
A detailed description of all these movements can be found here, or by watching this YouTube video. (Coming very soon!!)
Tabata Workout #1
3-minute warm-up: 2 minutes of brisk walking/jogging. 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 squats (these don’t count toward the workout, you’re just warming up the muscles). 10 forward bend/hamstring stretches. 30 seconds of wide arm circles – 15 seconds forward, 15 seconds backward.
Pull-ups*
8 intervals - 20 seconds of pull-ups, 10 seconds of rest
- Rest 1 minute -
Push-ups
8 intervals - 20 seconds of push-ups, 10 seconds of rest
- Rest 1 minute -
Sit-ups
8 intervals - 20 seconds of sit-ups, 10 seconds of rest
- Rest 1 minute -
Squats
8 intervals - 20 seconds of squats, 10 seconds of rest
*If you cannot do pull-ups, do “jumping pull-ups”—find a bar and place a stool or box under the bar tall enough that you can reach the bar with arms slightly bent. Using both your legs and your arms, jump until your chin is above the bar.
If you don’t have a pull-up bar, here are some ways you can scale it: (1) Squat Machine inverted body rows – if you are at a gym, find a machine similar to this.
Set the bar at a height between your waist and your shoulders. Place your feet on the floor facing up toward the bar, grip the bar keeping your body in a nice straight “plank” position, and pull yourself up to the bar. If you set the bar lower, your feet will be farther out and the movement will be harder. If you set the bar higher, your feet will be closer under your body and the movement will be easier.
(2) Hand rail inverted body row. If you’re not at a gym, try to find something similar to that machine in real life – a hand rail, a piece of equipment at the nearby park, etc. and do the same movement. Something like this:
There is also a great description of a “handrail pull-up” or “inverted row” on the LIVESTRONG website.
Tabata Workout #2
3-minute warm-up: 2 minutes of brisk walking/jogging. 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 squats. 10 forward bend/hamstring stretches. 30 seconds of wide arm circles – 15 seconds forward, 15 seconds backward.
Run/Jog*
8 intervals - 20 seconds of sprinting/running/jogging as fast as you can, 10 seconds of rest
- Rest 1 minute -
High Knees Running
8 intervals - 20 seconds of running/jogging with “high knees” – bring your knees up so your thighs are parallel to the floor, 10 seconds of rest
- Rest 1 minute -
Backwards Running
8 intervals - 20 seconds of running/jogging backwards, 10 seconds of rest
- Rest 1 minute -
Skipping
8 intervals - 20 seconds of skipping (just like in elementary school – try it, it’s fun! – and it will work your calves and quads), 10 seconds of rest
*If you cannot run or jog, just walk as quickly as you can.
