2017 January Tabata Challenge Day 3

Wendy Repovich of Eastern Washington University writes in the abstract of her report on short term, short duration, HIIT and Tabata-style exercises that the Tabata protocol of 20 seconds of give-it-all-you-have followed by 10 seconds of I-gotta-be-crazy for eight rounds is an effective training model.

Her study looked at this method for a short duration of testing. That is, the test period lasted for three weeks. Exercise days were Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This study was aimed at specifically intra-abdominal fat, IAF. IAF is the fat deep inside the body cavity. This is the stuff that is packed around our internal organs. Yes, we need some, but not anywhere near the extent that far too many people have. This is the stuff that gives us that big ol’ “beer belly” look. Who wants that? Really? No way.

We already know that increasing VO2 max, improving body composition and strength, as well as numerous other benefits come from this style of training. A great extra which Dr. Repovich found was that cognitive function improves, too.

Yes, getting moving, getting the heart beating, having some time outside in the fresh air all help. Were you aware that exercising also helps your brain create new brain cells? It sure does. There is an exhibit at the Maryland Science Center, a fantastic place to go if you’re in that area, which demonstrates this very nicely. I saw it several years ago and was told that the exhibit was one of the Center’s permanent displays. At any rate, strenuous activity actually makes you smarter. It builds your brain while building your body.

Some of the points Dr. Repovich et al left unanswered include doing Tabata protocol workouts on consecutive days and for more than three weeks. Folks, if you are doing this with me, you are part of science! Well, maybe not, but you are darned sure getting a great workout.

As for the 2017 January Tabata Challenge, the repetitions are increasing in both numbers and my capacity to perform is getting better. This is only, only, day three.

Post your comments. I want to see your results and how you feel with these changes to your life and person.

Links:

http://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2014/10/?utm_source=dc.ewu.edu%2Fsrcw_2014%2F10&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages

http://dc.ewu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=srcw_2014

2017 January Tabata Challenge

WHAT ARE TABATA DRILLS?

Tabata Izumi is the man responsible for the Japanese Olympic Speed skating team several winter Olympics ago. They did very well, if I recall. This routine will require a Tabata timer, which is free to download. We may as well consider it a Tabata-style workout. There are those who will scoff at calling this a true Tabata workout since we are not going to get anywhere near the 170% VO2Max that is required blah blah blah. If this comes down to only two minor differences, one of which is a certainty (just mentioned) and the other is speculative, then whoop-dee-doo. What is the speculative issue?

Alright, fair question. One fitness expert and blogger in Canada has posed the possibility that such high-intensity interval training may not actually burn any fat. However, even in Tabata’s study, which I have read and which many other writers have also read, state the following. Two groups did two different types of training. One did traditional moderate intensity 60-minute aerobics for 5 days of the seek. The other group did four days of the cycle 20 seconds as hard as you can with 10 seconds to question your sanity. This cycle was repeated for a total of eight cycles for a total of four minutes. On the fifth day the Tabata group did a 30-minute steady state aerobic cycle followed by a four minute cycle.

The Tabata group showed an increase in both their VO2Max and anaerobic capacity. What that means is their aerobic capacity, both sprint and endurance, increased AND they gained muscle capacity in the process.

This month I am going to put up or shut up about Tabata. If you are anything like me, overeating has really caught up with you … and me … ouch. What was an encouraging 220 to 215 with fluctuations became a slap in the face 240-pounds. Yes, I did. So, here we go …

WORKING GROUPS

All the major muscle groups are going to be worked in Tabata style drills five days a week. I will record and post my workouts at the No-frills, No-Excuses, No-Cost Gym (my cramped basement, driveway, and local track & playground). Due to these factors, this routine is tailor made for the Road Warriors among us.

By doing the major muscle groups in this way, pull-ups, push-ups, crunches & leg lifts, and squats, we are actually engaging nearly all of the muscles in the body. Certainly, all of the major muscles and the largest ones, at a minimum. Why is that important? These are the ones that are going to consume the most calories during our non-exercise hours once they are trained and hardened, Greek god-like muscles. Seriously, when the muscles of the back, shoulders, chest, legs, and butt are all working right, are strong, and are firm they are going to require more calories from our bodies just to exist. Muscle takes more energy to exist than fat. Period. Fact.

As a result, the greater and stronger our muscles, the higher our resting metabolism. This means more calories burned during our non-exercise time. Too, cool, huh?

WHO BENEFITS

These folks who spend more time living in hotels and out of luggage than their own homes, of which I was one, have it tough. They are at risk for gaining too much weight due to fast food, travel snacks, and irregular hours. Hotel facilities vary even within national chains. So long as there is a place to do pull-ups or a door-jam to put up a portable pull-up bar and space to use a jump rope in, you have all that you need. Before we dive headlong into this, as I am prone to, let’s cover some very important ground rules first.

1.    Form First, Strength and Stamina will follow – Always maintain your form. If you are breaking form, you are done. Even if there is more time in the exercise portion of the cycle, take the time to recover. Tabata’s experiment used trained athletes. Most of us are probably not. Many of us are likely getting back into the swing of things after taking too much time away from exercising, like me.

2.    Accept Your Limits – tAccept them to a point ... This keys in with Rule #1. Not everyone can do a pull-up. Not all of us can do a full-range squat. If your body tells you that there is no chance in hell that it will let you do something, listen to it. You should know the difference between a pain that says you haven’t done something in a while and a pain that says you shouldn’t do something. Period. Pay attention to your body and your doctor.

3.    Enlist a Friend – Most any routine can be done alone; however, having a buddy there to go through this you will help in so many ways. The two or three or however many of you will motivate, support, laugh at and with each other during all of this. What else could you ask for?

4.    You are Using the Master Blaster’s Intensity Techniques – Joe Weider, the Master Blaster himself, came up with several of the intensity techniques that you and I are using and experiencing in these exercises. Forced Reps, Negatives, Cheats, and so forth were institutionalized and normalized by Mr. Weider. These were used by Lou Ferigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger and numerous other lifters over the decades. As a result, we will need [to be reminded how important] recovery time [is between workouts] when starting off. Over-Training is not a myth. It does lead to injuries. Injuries lead to time away from training as well as convincing people to stop.

What NOT to do

1.    Count repetitions – Many people focus on just the number. They either miss it and get discouraged or hit it and stop. Just keep moving with good. Solid form for the 20 second intervals.

2.    Give up – You are liable to not feel so great after your, and my, first couple of sessions. Believe me, I get it. So does my teenage football-playing, martial arts practicing son. The day after is going to hurt! See it through, though. Build the mental and physical toughness

WEIDER PRINCIPLES

As I mentioned above, Joe Weider developed a number of principles that have formed the foundation of knowledge in weightlifting and fitness. The four that are of primary importance are Continuous Tension, Cheating, Negatives, and Rest-Pause.

Continuous Tension – Do not allow a muscle group to rest or to have spring-reflex at the top or bottom of a movement. Control speed in both the positive and negative ranges of movement of your exercises.

Cheating – Using momentum, or some sort of an assist, to complete the repetition safely and with correct form.

Negatives – Muscles can handle more weight in the extension range of motion than in the contraction. This is an intensity technique that will force more muscle fibers to be spent than simply training to muscle exhaustion and is considered an “over-load” technique

Rest-Pause – Taking of brief rests during an exercise period in order to complete more repetitions.

The goals of these are to  push beyond positive muscle failure, PMF. This is when an exercise cannot be completed with strict form. For example, pull-ups. I can only do, say two good pull-ups. But, I know that there are more muscle fibers to be engaged in the muscle groups involved. What do I do? I grab onto the pull-up bar and hop to get my chin over the bar, cheating. Then, I lower myself as slowly as I can manage, negatives. I let go of the bar for a moment or two then repeat the last two movements, rest-pause. By engaging these principles, I am actually using, or breaking, more muscle fibers than I would have if I had just stopped at positive muscle failure when it occurred from continuous tension repetitions.

It is impossible to stress the importance of proper form. These techniques will push your body beyond what it is capable of, or what you believe you are capable of. Things will hurt the next day. Be ready for it. Get over it. Push through it.

ROUTINE

All that being said, here are the meat and potatoes of our routine.

Pull-ups

Push-ups

Crunches, Leg Lifts

Squats

THE BEGINNING

To get this party started, here is my first video. Note that I am back at the beginning myself. We can do this together. Videos will likely be raw and amateurish for a while as I am no video editor. When the weather permits I will also use the bleacher backs at the local track or the local playground.

The videos will have to link in from elsewhere ... I will have that done ASAP. There is a size limit on the luggage for this flight. I will find a way around it and put the links into the comments below.

See ya out there!

Updated 1/3/2017
LINKS!!  Here are the links to the videos of my doing this routine.
Pull-ups        https://youtu.be/OceEXHOEzZg
Push-ups      https://youtu.be/Lxsx8L7LDq8
Crunches & Leg Lifts
                     https://youtu.be/_Xb92Z9bUMM
Squats          https://youtu.be/PD-YUUBDzsU

Exercise versus Depression

Does exercise make you feel better? We know that it does. It is also proving to be at least as effective as some antidepressants.

There really is very little that feels as good as when you finish an exercise session. You are sweaty, hopefully, which means that you had exerted yourself for a given period of time. You might have been pulling deadlifts, running laps, swimming, body weight exercises, or whatever your thing is. The one common factor is that feeling of having accomplished something. Physically, maybe you are feeling worked, drained, or have that sensation that says tomorrow walking will be painful. 

Something else is going on inside your head that more and more studies are showing, is fighting depression and anxiety. Exercise causes the brain to release specific neurotransmitters into your system.

How

Neurotransmitters are how your brain cells talk to each other. Monamine Neurotransmitters are vital for the healthy function of our brain, but also for the healthy function of our psyche. Monoamine neurotransmitters include norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5H-T). These are essential for proper brain function and are being studied extensively due to their impact on mood. 

Monoamine Neurotransmitters 

What are these? Simply put, these are the exercise neurotransmitters which include serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Exercise has an effect on the other types of neurotransmitters as well but the monoamines are studied extensively because of their affect on mood. 

What do they do? What parts of your system do these compounds effect?

Dopamine has a direct impact on our cognitive processes such as attention and working memory and motivational behavior. This is the primary neurotransmitter involved in reward pathways. It is considered important in minimizing the effects of drugs of abuse.

Norepinepherine/Noradrenaline is involved in mediating cardiovascular effects, arousal, concentration, attention, learning and memory. More of this makes learning that much easier. 

Serotonin is present in the CNS, but is also found in platelets and the gastrointestinal lining This neurotransmitter impacts several behaviors to include mood, appetite, sleep, cognition, perception, motor activity, temperature regulation, pain control, sexual behavior and hormone secretion. 

The immediate effect that we experience when working out is that these neurotransmitters function as analgesics and block the pain of what we are doing at that time. This is the reason for the “runner's high”, that sensation of bliss while going through a long session. They also alleviate psychological pain.

Versus drugs

Exercise does so much more than just get us up and moving. It really does have the potential to break you out of your funk. Studies snow that exercise can be as effective as some medications in beating depression and maintaining a healthier, more positive state.

In 1999 Archives of Internal Medicine published the results of a study showing this. In that study 156 men and women with depression were divided into 3 groups. One group was given Zoloft, one group exercised, and the third group was given both the medication and an aerobic program to follow.

Results show that 60% to 70% of the participants were reported to have no longer been classified as having major depression. The third group, the exercise and medication group, having the most positive results.

Following up with the study participants 6 months later it was found that positive results were still being experienced. Of the original group, 133 were contacted and found to be less likely to fall back into depression after 6 months of regular exercise.

Exercise duration 

As little as 10 to 15 minutes 3 to 5 times a week shows some benefits. Ideally, 30 minutes up to 6 times a week or 60 minutes 3 times a week is what you should be doing. Regular exercise is the most beneficial according to studies.

All types of physical activities reduce stress. Some examples include:

• Biking
• Dancing
• Gardening
• Housework especially sweeping, mopping, or vacuuming
• Jogging
• Low-impact aerobics
• Tennis
• Swimming
• Walking
• Yard work, especially mowing or raking
• Tai Chi
• Yoga
  

To sum it up, there is a growing pile of evidence that exercise combats depression and does so at least as well as some drugs and without the side effects. We also know that it has several benefits. Regular exercise has been proven to:

• Reduce stress
• Ward off anxiety and feelings of depression
• Boost self-esteem
• Improve sleep
  
• It strengthens your heart.
• It increases energy levels.
• It lowers blood pressure.
• It improves muscle tone and strength.
• It strengthens and builds bones.
• It helps reduce body fat.

I Challenge You!

This is going to be a simple challenge in that it has few moving parts. The catch is, it will be harsh.

The fitness challenge which I am planning is a combination of the high intensity interval training (HIIT) and endurance. As I have been writing, the HIIT training is going to force my system to become more efficient at using oxygen and removing lactic acid. This part of the training is also going to rapidly increase my leg strength and muscular capacity. That is, according to all the scientific studies I have been reading. Also, my own experience in the past with Tabata drills and other HIIT routines.

The bicycle riding is an endurance and cardio event. We are familiar with how the low impact, moderately paced cardio workouts burn fat after 20 minutes.

By combining the two routines we, if you also take this challenge, will see a significant drop in body fat along with an increase in our overall aerobic capacity.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Drop Set Pull-Push Routine; Interval Runs (2 mile minimum); Bicycle Crunches (2 min)

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Bicycle Riding, for me, 20.4 miles


If you are still reading this, then the challenge is for you to get up and get going. I am going to be posting my progress. You can substitute the bicycle ride with a long run/jog or a good swim. Join me with this for 4 weeks.

Join me and post your progress. I am starting off with a body weight of 216 pounds and a body fat percentage of 22%.