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Tuesday, June 17, 2008 The Tabata Method By Diana Hsieh @ 11:31 PM Wowee. Tonight, I tried my first exercise session using the Tabata Method. (I learned of it thanks to some blogging by my old friend Joshua, under the guidance of another old friend Kirez.) Here's how it works, according to an excellent introductory article: It's simple: take one exercise and perform it in the following manner: 1) For twenty seconds, do as many repetitions as possible. 2) Rest for ten seconds 3) Repeat seven more times! That's it! You're done in four minutes! Oh, and that thing you're trying to brush off your face? That would be the floor. I did a four-minute block of front squats -- just carrying an extra ten pounds of weights. (I didn't want to overload myself.) And yes, by the end, my face did need to be scraped off the floor. I was breathing like I'd just run a series of sprints, and my quads were quivering like a bowl of jello. (Even an hour later, my legs were still weak!) After I recovered a bit, I did a set of easy pushups on my TRX suspension system. (My shoulders felt huge afterward.) Next I did a set of bicep curls, then a set of situps. Those last three sessions were challenging, but nothing like the squats. Also, I should mention that to track my time, I used the very handy Tabata-Clock on my laptop. I suspect that I'm going to be quite sore tomorrow. But if not, then I know that I can ramp up the weight! Labels: Health   E-mail Diana Hsieh    PermaLink ()    Comments [11]

Comments on "The Tabata Method"
	Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 0:47:13 mst Comment ID: #1 Name: j. head Crossfit uses the Tabata method in a lot of its exercises. I am no fitness guru, but I have been using Crossfit for about two years and it is still the funnest and least time-consuming way to stay in shape. However, if you are not used to the olympic lifts, you could hurt yourself very easily in the beginning without guidance. The website is www.crossfit.com The administrators of the site also seem to be very freedom loving, frequently posting links to pro-freedom articles.
	Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 5:06:30 mst Comment ID: #2 Name: Eric G. E-mail: egmutza(at)hotmail.com Thanks so much for posting this! After months and months of reading about Objectivism, I'm finally at a point where I'm putting it into practice in my own life. Job 1 is to start taking care of my body and get physically fit. Going to the gym just isn't practical for me, but this sounds perfect. Great timing!
	Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 5:40:24 mst Comment ID: #3 Name: Diana Hsieh E-mail: diana(at)dianahsieh.com URL: http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog Well, I'm only a touch sore this morning, so I can definitely increase my weight load -- gradually, of course!
	Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 7:26:54 mst Comment ID: #4 Name: Clint URL: http://dummyfencing.typepad.com My trainer has us do this sort of thing usually though at the end of a workout. Most often with either treadmill sprints (increasing the speed by .5 on each repetition) or with kettlebell swings. It's the high intensity intervals that will destroy the fat and build muscle. His favorite question is, "who has less bodyfat, a sprinter or a marathoner?" Congratulations Diana! Keep up the good work (in all respects as I've greatly enjoyed your blog over the last few years)!
	Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 9:25:30 mst Comment ID: #5 Name: charise E-mail: charise.mirabal(at)gmail.com URL: http://motherhussy.blogspot.com I'm currently in the throws of "post-baby-need-to-look-decent-in-a-swimsuit," and aside from doing cardio at the gym don't really know what direction to go. Thanks for the great information and inspiration, I think I'll try doing some face-melting weights this afternoon. Can't weight (har,har) to hear about your next work-out!
	Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 12:06:39 mst Comment ID: #6 Name: Clint URL: http://dummyfencing.typepad.com Charise, Also check out CorePerformance.com as they have lots of good articles, particularly on interval training. "Cardio at the gym" is how people are taught, but is ultimately far less useful than weights and intervals. Good luck!
	Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 15:06:57 mst Comment ID: #7 Name: Monica E-mail: monicabeth10(at)gmail.com URL: http://sparkasynapse.blogspot.com About a half hour ago I did the 10 minute one he recommends for beginners: doing a round of 5 pushups, 10 situps, and 15 squats all in succession as fast as possible -- and seeing how many of those rounds one can fit in 10 minutes. I have two words: Holy Jesus.
	Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 20:47:40 mst Comment ID: #8 Name: Resident Egoist URL: http://blog.i-egoist.net For some reason, this post just post just makes me silly happy. I guess it's good to know that Objectvists out there aren't just preaching against the mind/body dichotomy. As for the "Tabata" method, I've never heard it called that way: always known it as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). I always hated hours-long cardio sessions, and was lucky enough to find HIIT very early when I started weight training. It definitely kicks your ass, but it turns your body into a fat furnace without the time-investment of regular cardio.
	Friday, June 20, 2008 at 14:57:12 mst Comment ID: #9 Name: Dana H. "Who has less body fat, a sprinter or a marathoner?" What's the actual answer to this? Elite sprinters and marathoners all look pretty lean to me, though the sprinters obviously have more muscle mass. According a research study linked to by the following blog entry, masters middle distance runners are leaner than sprinters, but the research didn't cover marathoners: http://www.mattmetzgar.com/matt_metzgar/2007/02/the_case_for_mi.html
	Friday, June 20, 2008 at 18:55:39 mst Comment ID: #10 Name: Amit Ghate URL: http://amitghate.blogspot.com/ I'll second the crossfit recommendation. I've been doing it for about two years now and am very happy with both the process and the results. And in my experience with the tabata workouts, rather than trying to increase weight, just try to increase reps (i.e. if you averaged 13 squats over the eight rounds, aim for 13.5 or 14 next time). You'll be surprised at how much a small increase in output will change the level of fatigue and lactic acid buildup (and therefore soreness the next day). Here's a video from their site which may serve as inspiration (lyrics of accompanying music may not be suitable for kids): http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_TabataSquats.wmv
	Friday, June 20, 2008 at 19:03:31 mst Comment ID: #11 Name: Diana Hsieh E-mail: diana(at)dianahsieh.com URL: http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog Thanks for the suggestion, Amit. Those girls were rockin'!!!
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