Tag: mountain climbers

A Super Simple New Year Workout Program That Works!

Tabata Exercise

Photo Credit: angietorres

“New Year, New Life”!

At this time of the year, many people are busy contemplating their goals and resolutions for the new year. I’m willing to bet that getting into better health and fitness will be high on that list for most people. If its on your’s list of goals too then let me share with you a simple Tabata program that you will likely stick to in order to get you real results!

Firstly, here’s why a Tabata program is your best bet for a routine you will stick to:

  1. No equipment needed! Just a small Tabata timer that you should bring with you everywhere!
  2. Complete the entire workout in under 20-minutes (including warmup)
  3. Can be done anywhere! Even in a hotel room if  you’re on the go!

Here’s the basic principle to make sure you get results!

  1. Keep it REAL simple. I meant really SIMPLE! Just do this ONE program. (see routine below)
  2. Do it consistently – every alternate day!
  3. Track your results so you know you are taking action consistently! Use this workout tracking sheet to record each workout!

Here’s the new year Tabata program:

  1. Warm Up with alternating Tabata Jumping Jacks and High Knees (4 mins)
  2. The main program is a total body Tabata routine of alternating Burpees and Mountain Climbers (4 mins)
  3. Cool down with deep breathing and total body stretching (10 mins)

(If you’re new here and not sure what the Tabata protocol is – its basically 20 seconds of workout followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated for 8 rounds for a total of 4-minutes)

Do this routine every alternate day for 3 months or until you hit your target body fat % or weight. e.g. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday…..etc

You should be pretty beat and sweating after the warm up and the core workout. If you’re already in pretty fit condition and not sweating after the above, then just repeat the whole routine (including warm up) again.

Simple right?

If you’re game to take up this super simple and super effective program — leave a comment to share your progress! 🙂

I wish you an awesome year ahead and look forward to hearing about you kicking some butt and getting into the best shape of your life for 2012!

Time to Get Brutal!

Ok boys and girls — ready for some fun this week?  If you’ve been sticking to the Tabata intervals, your body should be getting pretty fit by now. So I thought of trying something different for a bit of variety.

I’ve added a new category of workouts to this blog called “Interval Training”. This gives us more options to break out of the usual Tabata routines to try something new to challenge our bodies adaptative response. (a.k.a. getting fitter). This section will include High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts as well as other circuit and interval training workouts. Oh the fun!

For starters — I found this 12 min interval workout from the team at BodyRock.TV. I found it to be awesome fun because of the variety of exercises but at the same time, it was really really HARD! Instead of 20 second rounds of activity and 10 seconds of res for eight rounds  – we’re going to do 50 seconds of activity, 10 seconds of rest for a total of 12 rounds! So the total workout time is going to be just 12 minutes so give it your best.

Aside from your Gymboss interval timer, will need a few other pieces of equipment for the 12 exercises below. These include a pull up bar and a dip station. If for some reason you can’t get access to these, you can replace it with a similar exercise for the same muscle group.

Here’s are the exercises for each round:

1. Chin Ups

2. Prisoner Jump Squats

3. Mountain Climber

4. Clapping Push Ups

5. Jump Lunges

6. Bicycle

7. Dips

8. Forward Lunge Jump Up/ Backward Lunge Jump Up (as one exercise on one leg)

9. Forward Lunge Jump Up/ Backward Lunge Jump Up (on the other leg)

10. Side Crunch – left

11. Side Crunch – right

12. Burpees

A word of warning —  you’re going to be pushed to the limit. So make sure you hydrate and maintain good form to avoid injury.

Write down your total reps for each exercise as your benchmark. You can schedule this workout in your calendar once a month to see how well you do.

Here’s a video demo of the workout:

Tabata Warm-Up Routine

This is a good warm up routine as you rotate between 4 light to intermediate intensity level workouts. No equipment is needed aside from your trusty Gymboss Interval Timer that you can bring with you anywhere.

Jumping Jacks: Stand feet together, arms resting on each side. Jump to position 2 where you land with your legs spread apart and hands together overhead. Then jump back to starting position.

Mountain Climbers: Start from a push up/ plank position. Begin by bringing one knee forward and touch the ground with your feet. Then repeat by bringing the other knee forward while moving your first leg back to starting position. Do this as fast as possible (as though you are running on the spot in a push up position.)

High Knees: Running on the spot but lift your knee to waist level (90 degree angle). Repeat as fast as possible for each round.

Bum Kicks: Running on the spot but lift your heel up behind you until you are almost touching your bum. (Hence “bum kicks” get it? 😉 )