You
have only 30 minutes to hit the gym and train. You have been
training. You are no novice. Your schedule has changed and this is
what you have. 30 minutes.
By
now, you have most likely heard about High Intensity Training, High
Intensity Interval Training, or even Tabata Drills. You may have
heard about them, but what are they? Are they just fads or do they
really work? In short, yes. These training techniques do work and
they work very well. Let's go through the science behind them and
then look over some routines to get you started.
Most
of us train to lose fat, get stronger, leaner, and to perform better
physically. With the goal of cardiovascular training covering most of
these, we can probably accomplish this by focusing on nutrition and
weight training. Although, High Intensity Training (HIT), High
Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and Tabata Drills have proven to
be far more effective and efficient in achieving these goals.
Dr.
Izumi Tabata, a researcher at the College of Sport and Health
Science, developed the theory behind HIT and HIIT. He is clearly the
one for whom Tabata Drills are named.
Intensity
may be defined as that percentage of instant capability to do an
exercise. HIT differs greatly from the training methodology which
has held for decades. That being, the 3 sets of 10 repetitions to
achieve muscle failure.
The
principles of HIT are
Exercise
that is as intense and strenuous as possible while maintaining
proper form
Completed
during a short duration
Low
frequency of workouts, not more than 3 per week
When
doing this, you need to focus on the quality of the movement while
going to muscular failure, not the overall number of repetitions.
These training
methods have been proven to have an increased effect on burning fat
stores. These techniques increase your metabolic rate during the
training event; however, unlike jogging and other traditional aerobic
exercises, HIT/HIIT/Tabata increase your metabolism for up to 48
hours after your session. So, for 1 to 2 days after your Tabata time,
you are still burning fat stores at an accelerated rate. When your
body repairs all that muscle, your resting metabolism will remain at
a higher rate due to the lean mass. How cool is that?
The Tabata protocol
consists of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise followed by 10
seconds of rest, repeated continuously 8 cycles. This training was
done 3 times a week for 8 weeks. After which, studies show the
anaerobic capacity was increased by 28%, while the VO2 max was
increased by 14% (Tabata at al.,1996).
Study results prove
that even 15 minutes of HIT/HIIT is more effective at burning fat
than 60 minutes of jogging. Research conducted at the University of
Montreal showed that even a 15 second interval of intensive workout
is optimal for increasing maximum oxygen capacity in patients with
coronary artery disease (Guiraud et al., 2010).
Are
HIT/HIIT/Tabata Drills a fad? No. They really work and they are here.
Grit your teeth. Knuckle down. Do them. Three times a week. 30
minutes each session. That's it. First, let's go over some important
points to keep in mind
• Keep
training until muscle failure (sometimes even longer) to stimulate
the new muscle growth
• Design
a short and concise training program
• Recovery
period differs from person to person, if you don’t see the results,
it is possible that you are overtrained
• Nutritional
requirements are going to increase. Eat high quality proteins,
complex carbs, and drink plenty of fluids
• This
training is not meant for the novices, patients with cardiovascular
problems and other risk factors
• Sessions
should not last longer than 10-20 minutes for an 8 week cycle
• High
insanity cardio in more appropriate than high intensity cardio
In
practice this is very effective and adaptable. It can be carried out
at running track, in nature, in water, in the gym (treadmill,
stationary bike, elliptical, jumping rope, punching bag, weights, and
many other training aids).
Warm
up and cool down cannot be under stated. Nor can talking to your
doctor first. Seriously, this level of exercise is going to put
massive strain on your cardiovascular system, your skeletal
structure, and your muscles and ligaments. If you have not talked to
your physician about this yet you need to talk to your psychiatrist
because, dude, yer nuts. Seriously, talk to your doctor BEFORE you
try this.
Here
is a short list of exercises to try:
Mountain
Climbers/Dips/Pull-Ups/Russian Twists
Bodybuilders/Bicycle
Crunch
Push-ups/Pull-Ups/Squats/Bicycle
Crunches/ 8 times for a full 16 minute Tabata cycle
Exercises
included in the 20-minute Tabata workout. Try this 3 times per week for 8 weeks.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
Segment
1
|
Push-Ups
|
Bodybuilder
|
Dips
|
Bodybuilder
|
Segment
2
|
Pull-Ups
|
High
Knees
|
Pull-Ups
|
Side
Lunge
|
Segment
3
|
Squats
|
Sit-Ups
|
V-Ups
|
Crunches
|
Segment
4
|
Bicycle
Crunches
|
Butt
Kickers
|
Jump
Lunges
|
Mountain
Climbers
|
As
you can see, these have been put together in groups that are suitable
for Tabata workouts. Whichever exercise you choose, your choices
should use a large number of muscles to get maximum benefit. Think
compound exercises, compound muscle groups, and you should do fine.
Here
is a longer list of exercises that you can use as a jumping off
point to designing your own HIT/HIIT/Tabata Drills workout:
Burpee:
Start standing, then crouch to a low squat position with the hands
on the floor. Then, kick feet back to a plank, then down into the
bottom of a push-up. Push off the ground and quickly return to the
squat position. Last step? Jump up as high as possible before
squatting down again and jumping back into the next push-up. Add a
pull-up and you have just about hit everything, head to toe! This is
what I call a Bodybuilder.
Jump
squat:
Stand with the feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward. Sit back
into a squat
(hips below parallel, please!) then drive the whole body up
through the heels, shifting weight onto the balls of the feet as you
lift off. Be sure to land on the balls of the feet and immediately
bend the knees into a full squat. Make sure the knees aren’t
wobbling side to side while squatting or landing from a jump.
Lunge
jump:
Start standing with the feet together and lunge the right foot
forward, bending the knee about 90-degrees and keeping the torso
vertical. Then, jump
straight up, and while in the air, switch legs and land in a
lunge with the left foot forward.
Dumbbell
front squat:
Hold a dumbbell at the sternum (the center of the chest) and do a
basic
front squat. Place feet a little wider than shoulder-width
apart, hips stacked over knees, knees over ankles. Inhale and unlock
the hips, bringing them back as the knees begin to bend. Keep the
chest and shoulders upright, and continue until the hips are
slightly less than 90 degrees from the ground. On the way back up,
engage the core and drive through the heels to return to standing.
Kettlebell
swing:
Stand up straight, with feet a bit wider than hip-distance apart.
Grab hold of the kettlebell
with both hands, keeping the palms face down and arms in front of
the body. Keep the knees slightly bent and drive the hips and bell
back (it’s not a squat, so the knees shouldn’t have to bend that
much), lowering the body just a bit to an athletic stance. In one
fluid motion, explosively drive the hips forward while swinging the
kettlebell, engaging the glutes and core.
Push-up:
Get into a plank position with hands planted a little bit wider than
shoulder width apart. Keep the elbows close to the body throughout
the movement. Ground the toes into the floor and engage the abs and
back so the body is neutral. Lower
the body in one straight line until the chest touches the floor.
Keeping the core engaged, exhale, and push back to the start
position.
Overhead
neutral grip press:
Stand with the feet shoulder-width apart core tight. Raise the
dumbbell, kettlebell, or barbell up to the shoulders with palms
facing each other and the elbows below the wrists. Press
the weights upward until the arms are fully extended overhead,
and then lower back to the shoulders.
Sprints:
To get extra speedy, make sure form fits function. Hold the correct
posture, with eyes up, chest tall, shoulders relaxed, and arms
swinging up and down with the elbows at 45-degree angles.
Stationary
bike or rower:
Hopping on the bike for a quick spin is pretty self-explanatory, but
the indoor
rower is a bit trickier. First, strap feet into the foot
stretchers, sit up tall, and grab the handle. Roll forward until
legs are completely bent and arms are reaching forward. From this
starting position (called the “catch”), explosively drive the
legs back. When the legs are nearly extended, swing the torso back
and pull the arms in so the handle is almost touching the rib cage.
From here (aka the “finish”) recover by stretching the arms
straight out, returning the upper body to a straight, vertical
position, and bending the legs back to the catch.
Russian
twist:
Sit on the floor with the knees bent and feet together and lifted a
few inches off the floor. With the back at a 45-degree angle from
the ground, move
the arms from one side to another in a twisting motion. Go super
slow, twisting the shoulders completely from side to side. Or, try
bicycle crunches as an alterntive.
Ski
abs:
Start in pushup position with hands under the shoulders and core
engaged. Jump
the feet to the left side of the body, as close to the upper
torso as possible. Jump the legs back to a straight plank position
and repeat on the right side.
Please,
tell me how it works for you. If there is anything you want to know
more about, just let me know.
