it's tabata time: week 1 prep

I must admit: I not only took time-off from work but also time-off from being active in my typical ways. I did not run. I did not lift. I skied my butt off, but getting back to both the gym and the roads has been tough. My motivation  has gone totally MIA. Whomp whomp.

Yesterday, when deciding that day's lifting workout, nothing seemed appealing. Bench press, blah. Tricep extension, meh. Arnold shoulder press, wah. Every second I spent figuring out my workout decreased my motivation to even go. But I needed to go, I needed to sweat, I needed to bust the funk I was feeling. Enter: tabata training. It's pretty much circuit training... but at a higher intensity. It's high-intensity-interval-training, but without the cardio machine. It's perfect for anyone at any stage in their process to get fit: it can be done at home or in a hotel room if you're traveling, it doesn't need to use a ton of equipment, intensity is effort-based, and the exercises you can choose are endless. If the gym is intimidating... tabata at home! If normal lifting sets are boring you, add some tabata to spice up your life!

For the next six weeks, I am going to focus on tabata training at the gym. While the main purpose is strength training, these workouts will also jumpstart my cardio fitness as well. That's definitely a plus as well as I'm beginning my marathon training cycle and it isn't looking too pretty.

A tabata set has four intervals. Each round of interval lasts 20 seconds with a 10 second rest in between rounds; each complete set of tabata lasts 4 minutes. I will be starting with 4-5 sets each workout, with 3-4 minutes rest in between each complete set. In the coming weeks, I hope to increase the number of sets I can do. My sets will follow this template:

• Barbell movement
• Dumbbell movement
• Bodyweight movement
• Movement of Choice

Now, I present to you  my first week of tabata...

Week 1

Day 1: Chest/Tris/Bis

• bench press
• chest flyes
• tricep dips with weighted plate
• alternating dumbbell bicep curls

Day 2: Legs

• wide stance squats
• front + back lunges
• up-down box jumps
• one-leg Romanian dead lift

Day 3: Shoulders/Back

• shoulder press
• one-arm row
• assisted pull-up
• Arnold press

Day 4: Core*

• hanging leg lifts
• Russian twist-up's
• plank
• plate-heads on stability ball

*I know my core set does not have a barbell movement... I just couldn't think of a core exercise that uses a barbell! If you know of one, let me know and I'll try it out :)

Look out next Friday for week number 2!

Stay moving, my friends :)