Your Best Body Workout – 2011 – Week 20 – Day 3

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“The Athlete” by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein

Week #20…Day #3….and this is your last Tabata workout.

For all of you who are new to Tabata, it’s very simple.

• 1 exercise per Tabata set
• Each Tabata is 4 minutes long
• Each Tabata set is made up of 8 mini-sets
• 20 seconds of work per mini-set
• 10 seconds rest between mini-sets
• 100% effort

Weight selection can sometimes be tricky with Tabata workouts. If you go too heavy, you run out of gas and stop partway through the 20 seconds of work. Go too light and it becomes an aerobics class.

What I ask my clients to do is:

• If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back significantly during Tabatas and focus on the number of reps per set.
• If you normally train lighter and do high rep workouts..then I want you to jack up the weight and drop the # of reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.

We’re going to do 2 weeks of these workouts, then back of for a week with some bridge workouts and then back to Tabata for another 2 weeks.

You might hate me during the workouts, but you’ll thank me when you see yourself in the mirror.
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Also helpful to these workouts is an interval timer. Staring at a clock while doing Tabatas is a real pain.

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

1 Arm Swing Snatch – 25 reps per arm  – Dumbbell or kettlebell – choose a light weight – the goal is to warm-up

THE WORKOUT

Tabata #1

Thrusters

• Thrusters (BB or DB) for 20 seconds
• Rest (standing) for 10 seconds
• 8 sets of thrusters
• 4 minutes  total
• Perform as many reps as possible per set

Lay on the floor & catch your breath.

When you can breathe “normally”, I want you to do a short HIIT sprint session consisting of

3 x 10:50 sec sprints.

If you’re in a gym – use an exercise bike, outdoors – sprint up a hill, in your home – use the bottom step of your stairs as a cardio-step machine.

• 10 seconds sprinting
• 50 seconds rest
• 3x

Lay on the floor & catch your breath.

When you can breathe “normally”, we’re going back to Tabata.

Tabata #2

Ab Wheel Roll-Out (or barbell / stability ball roll-out) (article on roll-out)

• Roll-outs for 20 seconds
• Rest (kneeling) for 10 seconds
• 8 sets of roll-outs
• 4 minutes total
• Perform as many reps as possible per set

Catch your breath.

When you can breathe “normally”, we’re doing HIIT sprints again.

HIIT #2

3 x 10:50 sec sprints.

If you’re in a gym – use an exercise bike, outdoors – sprint up a hill, in your home – use the bottom step of your stairs as a cardio-step machine.

• 10 seconds sprinting
• 50 seconds rest
• 3x

Lay on the floor & catch your breath.

When you can breathe “normally”, we’re going back to Tabata.

Tabata #3

Straight Arm Pulldowns – standing – use a rope handle

• Pulldown for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• 8 sets of pulldowns
• 4 minutes total
• Perform as many reps as possible per set

When you can breathe “normally”, it’s HIIT time again.

HIIT #3

3 x 10:50 sec sprints.

If you’re in a gym – use an exercise bike, outdoors – sprint up a hill, in your home – use the bottom step of your stairs as a cardio-step machine.

• 10 seconds sprinting
• 50 seconds rest
• 3x

Lay on the floor & catch your breath.

When you can breathe “normally”, we’ve got one more Tabata.

Tabata #4

Push-Ups

• From the floor if you can do them
• Using a smith machine if you can’t do floor push-ups
• No “girl” push-ups on the knees
• Push-up for 20 seconds
• Rest (floor) for 10 seconds
• 8 sets total of Push-ups
• 4 minutes  total
• Perform as many reps as possible per set

That should be enough for today.

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work + another 9 minutes of HIIT sprints

If you are a total freak of nature, feel free to repeat some of the sets. Use your ability to recover your breath as a guide. If it’s taking longer & longer to breath normally between sets, call it a day.

Alternately, you can throw in 20 minutes of cardio….stretch and go home

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Tomorrow, do some easy cardio & stretching (lots of stretching)

Wednesday, it’s back to the weights

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