Tabata Training For Micro Workouts

Tabata Workouts has been a trend for a number of years now and it has helped develop some pretty incredible results. The way it works is that you go hard for 20 seconds and rest for 10; repeat this for a total of 4 minutes or the equivalent to 8 rounds. Some do sprints, push-ups, squats, sit-ups, burpees and other forms of conditioning exercises. 

It's another idea to look at Micro Workouts where you don't have to do something very long but it's intense enough to really get you going. I approach it a little differently where I would take certain exercises (mainly isometrics and animal moves) and work them good instead of just typical bodyweight movements and fast paced exercises. For instance, yesterday I did an Isometric Workout using the Tabata Style timing but went for a total of 5 minutes instead of the typical 4. This consisted of holding the horse stance and the fist plank, going back and forth. The fist plank is a bit harder to hold than the palm version because of balance and the engagement of the tendons, ligaments and the core muscles. Managed to get through it very well and although it wasn't very challenging, it's still a good micro workout to build strength in a different way.

Isometrics aren't always just holding a position for a few seconds and moving on. They can be taxing when you really put them into perspective. When you do them Tabata Style, you don't just change an exercise on the fly, you have to be in control of the hold as well. A much harder Tabata Isometric Workout would be for the Core which consists of 3 exercises (The third is where you do one side and then the other) that really tackle the abs, lower back and obliques like crazy. I learned it from Red Delta Project which you can find here...No sit-ups or crunches, just pure intense isometrics that could make you feel more sore than dynamic movements.

Another approach to Tabata Style is doing the timing in reverse (10 on, 20 off instead of 20/10) and work certain exercises that way. I've seen Johnny Grube do this with his Rogue Bike for Sprint Training and regardless of how I feel about his idiotic rants, I respect his training style and it inspires me to do similar things (remember my workouts using the sandbell and step-ups? Those were inspired by him) so I took that approach and did a workout for 8 rounds of 10/20 doing Bear Crawls which is pretty intense and will get you huffing and puffing like motherfucker. As you know, Bear Crawls are one of the most rugged exercises to get you in shape quick, this is a great way to tackle them in a short period of time. 

Micro Workouts save you a bunch of time and can get in a workout in less than a few minutes than many can in an hour or more. Short and intense training builds a level of conditioning that gives off a different feeling. Explosive and resting very little in comparison to a 10 rep set and resting for like a minute. When it comes to Isometrics, it's being able to hold and switch very quickly and although 20 seconds may not seem like that long, depending on the kind of exercise, it can be so intense it feels like being hit with a crowbar and you're not even moving. Whether Isometrics or Movement Training, it can jack your heart rate up fast and build on explosive power and strength that lasts. Give it a go and see how you do. 

Hybrid Isometrics For Crazy Strength

 When it comes to Isometric Training, we generally learn 2 distinctive styles: Overcoming & Yielding. Overcoming Isometrics is using great force against something immovable such as a wall or a curl using a strap. It's one of the more common uses of isometrics as it teaches how to maximize the tension with such great force that only a few seconds will be needed. You can do longer durations of Overcoming Isometrics with less intensity which can aid in hypertrophy and endurance. Yielding Isometrics are in a nutshell, various exercises where you're fighting gravity and you keep a certain position or posture for a period of time such as a plank, wall sit, horse stance, hanging from a pullup bar or a stopping point in a pullup. These are more likely done using areas of Yoga or Qi Gong where posture type training focuses on the energy in your body while externally creating load. 

Both styles of Isometrics have their pros and cons and various people prefer one or the other like those who are fond of the Iso-Chain (Overcoming Isometric Device) and those (like a certain Blue-Collar roughneck) who like to hold horse stances and push-up positions for time in order to build long-term strength and conditioning (Yielding Bodyweight Isometrics). Personally I like the Overcoming style because I can generate as much force as possible for a few seconds and get better results. From time to time I'll do Yielding like holding a stance for 3 minutes or so, 1 minute fist plank or mid-range fist push-up, 3 minute bridges or several 1 minute sets of wall sits. Both work really well regardless.

Hybrid Isometrics however is a completely different animal that utilizes both styles at the same time and create such incredible strength that they're a bit more difficult than one style or the other. Imagine going against gravity but at the same time hit a sticking point that generates a lot of force to stay in place. Even very powerful guys who can do solid isometric work would have trouble holding a Hybrid version for more than a minute because you're not just engaging muscles, there's certain coordination involved and it takes another level of the mind/muscle connection for it to work. I would bet that even someone who can hold a 5 minute plank wouldn't even come close to that if they used a strap for the Hybrid version. Shaking like a leaf in a matter of seconds would be an understatement.

The great benefit you can get from Hybrid Isometrics is that they don't take long to feel everything. Because of the strength needed to stay in place but also push or pull against something immovable, you're getting the best of both worlds and can create another level of strength and endurance that could carry over to everyday life. Below are a couple examples of Hybrid Isometric Training that you can try. The first is the Hybrid Push-up where you would wrap a strap around the upper area of the back and press against the strap with bent arms in the push-up position. This works your whole body like crazy especially the core muscles just to stabilize you while you maintain incredible tension. The second is what I call the Isometric Zercher Squat where you put the strap around the inner area of the forearms (as if you're holding a barbell in the front of the body) and you get into a squat position (preferably mid range or a quarter squat) and drive upward. This really tackles the tendons and ligaments in the legs and strengthens the lower back and core muscles for stabilization. 

If you did just a couple sets each for a maximum of 30 seconds at a time, you'll be getting the workout of your life and feeling muscles you didn't think you could feel. Just a couple minutes and you'll feel like you just ran a marathon, it's about as intense as it can get. There are other exercises you can learn on Hybrid Isometrics by grabbing the book Overcoming Isometrics from Red Delta Project. One of the best books out there today on the subject of Isometric Training. 

Holy Shit It's Bigfoot

 If you get the reference, kudos to you. Can you last 3 minutes in the Bigfoot Exercise Challenge? 

It may not look like much but it is for sure a great exercise for the legs. It is a little out there especially with the name but the effects of it are more than what people think. When you first see it, where the hell is the resistance, what does the range of motion initially? Give it a go and see what happens.

Pretty quickly you'll feel it in your thighs and your ass. If you can do it for a good length of time, you'll feel quite the sensation (even within 30 seconds). It is no joke especially if you want to condition the legs along with strength & durability. Here's the reality, many people even at a higher level of training don't always know what works and what should be thrown in the trash (CrossFit anyone?). A lot live in this dogmatic world that consistently believes that more weight comes to more results, the greater range of motion means more results and that compound movements such as the Squat & Deadlift are the kings of developing the lower body. Don't get me wrong, those lifts are essential to many things such as powerlifting, strongman training and certain aspects of sports specific training but they're not Mount Olympus caliber either. 

Here's a shocker for you: Many movements end up being in a partial range of motion. Not only that, but also because of the dynamics and mechanics of a lot of movements, there are a ton of Semi-Unilateral & Semi-Bilateral moves that are similar to the Bigfoot Walk. Think about it for a second like a martial artist or a wrestler, if their stance is too wide, his power and speed won't be as effective plus they can be caught easier in specific positions. With a firm and balanced stance (watch a wrestler like Dan Gable or Jordan Burroughs), it's a little more closed in, it's not spread out and out of unison. Similar to a Hockey Player, he needs that balance on those skates, if his range of motion is out of sync with controlling the puck, he's going to tear a groin, skates will go berserk and he can't be at his best or even at the most basic level of play. 

This particular movement is a lot more useful to do for real life and sports. It's weird to look at but it's not any weirder than crouching and walking through bushes or practicing various stances in wrestling or other combat sports. You're only squatting down a bit but instead of coming back up, you stay in that position and move around or hold for a period of time, simple but not as easy as it looks. People with knee issues (small levels) could benefit from this exercise. It creates constant tension and you're shifting from one leg to another. 

This is just another look at the wide range of exercises you can learn from such as the ones from Movement 20XX that incorporate full body application and progressions that hit many muscle groups and can get you in killer condition and long-term strength whether you're an athlete, a complete beginner, older trainee or just those who want to be in shape for the long haul. Some of these may be too advanced for some but overall, these exercise will take you to places in your fitness journey you may haven't experienced before. 

Be adventurous, take up the challenge if you can. If you can't last the full 3 minutes that's ok, build up to it little by little. Keep striving to be better and keep being amazingly awesome.  

What's Another Way To Skyrocket Our Physical Fitness?

 There's a saying that The Sky's The Limit to what our potential could be. What if we went beyond that into the realms of the universe? What if we reached beyond the stars and found a way to take our potential to another level? Hell in this day and age we built rockets that shoot up into space yet in order to do that, we need a foundation in order to build these things, a base if you will. Being steady is another step like the rocket because if it isn't steady and flops around, it's not going anywhere. When it comes to training, we also need a base or a foundation to get on that track to greatness. We don't start out great but we build on the tools needed to become great.

Ancient Martial Artists use the word grounding as the foundation, in the western world, we call it stability. It's the source of all our power. A tree cannot grow without the aid of water and soil. Without the support, our power, our strength is as useless as a shoelace in a pool game. To hit our hardest and jump our highest, being still and firm is our first level of mastery. To create something awesome in motion, stillness is the groundwork. Some of us can develop it naturally, others it may take some time and learning to understand how our body's handle the prerequisites. We are shooting out into the universe after all but in order to do do that, we have to master the earth first.

This is one of those missing links to many people's regimens. We try to push harder and harder and not realize that we are setting ourselves back more than we are going forward. We become more limited than expanded. Just like the rocket, if there is a miscalculation, that thing will crash and burn. It needs to possess the qualities to reach it's fullest potential otherwise disaster strikes. Many methods work, there's no question about it but very few will take you to places that you didn't think were possible.

I want to help you find the tools you need to reach the potential that goes more than what others may say about you or what you say about yourself. We all have aspirations to be strong, fit and full of energy, but where's the ground work, where's the foundation. Whether you're an everyday person, an athlete, a farmer or a shoe salesman like Al Bundy, there's potential that's waiting to be unleashed. 

One way to see through this is taking on a course like Athlete 20XX where there's so much room to improve yourself on yet also room for failure but success comes from failing and failure is one of the best teachers we can ever have. Not telling you to fail on purpose but to help you find your success and give you some cool stuff to do in order to succeed.  

Lay the ground work and build on unleashing the strongest version of yourself. It won't be easy and it may not come naturally to you but with discipline, a creative mind and a thirst for physical knowledge is within the palm of your hands. Be successful and keep striving to be amazingly awesome. 

Is It Possible To Keep Up With Yourself Or Your Goals?

There are aspects of the fitness world that we try to emulate such as being so inspired by someone else that we do our damndest to be like them, train like them and follow their style. The truth is, being somebody else takes away your own individuality and rely on other forms of settling into your aspirations. Now, we can try to imitate them and pretend we are them but can never be exactly like them. 

We have trouble keeping up with ourselves so we're going to completely switch gears and become someone else completely? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with wanting to change in order to grow and evolve. Sometimes we have to switch things up in order to become better versions of ourselves. Do we even know how to keep up with ourselves? Do we always know the direction we're going? No. We hit forks in the road, we may pick up someone along the way and there might be a new destination along the horizon we don't know about.

Setting goals is always admirable whether in the long term or the short term. We make goals such as PRs, certain length of time of a program, a number of pounds to lose or gain or we go for a number of reps or sets in a given workout. Are those goals sustainable and able to match up, or are they so unrealistic that we can't keep up with the demand? Sadly, very few go the first way and the majority go the second route and they don't even know it. It doesn't make them gullible or weak either, at times it's so demanding on us from others that we just simply can't do it and end up paying a price for it. 

I did have aspirations to train like the greats and had set goals but once I understood how unrealistic they were, during certain periods it was too late and I either got hurt or came close to blacking out. I can't be exactly like a Bud Jeffries or a Eero Westerberg, hell even a fucking Matt Furey but I can be me the best way I can and continue to learn. I admire these guys especially Bud, he was the real deal and if there's anyone worth being like (personality wise), it's him. The goals and demand I made for myself with intention but progressed methodically and intuitively paid off in more ways than one. I can go hard but not get injured, move well but not go to extremes like an acrobat and practice what benefits me, not what someone tells me what benefits me.

We have our own aspirations, our own goals, our own individuality and demands that concern our long term payoff as a person. We can't always keep up the demands of someone else, we take things as best as we can and not try to sprint during a marathon, it'll just wear us down and tear us apart in the end.