So we all are busy these days right? Time is a premium when you are trying to have your best f-ing year right?! Well, like I mentioned in a previous post, Tabata intervals are a great way a vigorous pump in wayyy under an hour. Hell, you could do 2 rounds of these suckers and be done in 8 minutes if you are sneaking stuff in on a lunch break or in between saving the world.
So the deal goes like this for the standard Tabata interval. After a warmup(of course) you do 20 seconds of work followed by a 10 second rest then continue until you have done 8 rounds per movement. If your’re doing the math, that equates to 4 minutes per round. Pretty simple stuff right? And if you have one of these new fangled Dumb phones then you can get an appetizer like “Round Timer” that will give you the time and rest period for the rounds desired. It works pretty good i guess.
So here is a sample of a basic session.I will give examples of progressions and always start with a basic one. Keep in mind intervals are for people with some physical conditoning base. If your just starting out, be patient, you’ll get there soon.
Move 1-Squat. So many variations here. I was doing 180 turn squats so as soon as i got into the lowered position, i drove back up and pivoted to be facing 180 degrees in the opposite direction and then complete and squat and continue onward. Other variations include one legged squats, sumo squats and jump squats. variety, challenge and fun.
Move 2-Dips-I was actually doing them on the parallettes but realize that a good ol’ dip on the porch was pretty accessible for more people. Challenge yourself within this as well. put your legs out straighter for more challenge all the way up to having your feet not touching, wherever you’re at. So you could be done here or..head to the next round.
Move 3-Lunges– Another very basic move on its own or again you can add progressions. Here i’m doing some rotary movement, spiraling out over the front leg with the rock. Again its up to you and your level, desire, and time. Variety is great, mix it up and keep the body guessing and maybe the neighbors too if you have them. Any of these can be done with or without clothing for dramatic effect. This day was about 5 degrees so I opted for clothing cuz you know..shrinkage and all.
Move 4-Pulls. Here i’m doing chinups with legs out. These catch up to you pretty quick after a few rounds so beware. Here many folks might have to opt for a straight up dead hang or knee to chest leg raises. But some others could try the below variation too if you want.
So now your’re at around 35 minutes. Again you can stop here or keep going..
Move 5- Deadlift. Here i’m doing one of my favorites, the 1 legged RDL(Romanian Deadlift). This is a great move all around. Again you can go backwards and opt for a bodyweight deadlift or you could progress as well. I also did some rounds with sandbags too.
Move 6-Pushups or presses- Again so many options here depending on your level and what you have available for space, time etc.
I used the parallettes and damn these were hard as you go even deeper than normal, was really struggling at the end!
Now if time allows you could warm down, or do some skill work, or head out for a shred or whatever you want. I actually did some parallettes work and a good warmdown then I hit the spinach and nuts with some aminos before heading to the next adventure or work in this case which what the heck, can even be an adventure if you love it!
mocean365action.com 
Good stuff with humor too! Haven’t tried to work/play this yet but going to try it out and mix it up given my own physical condition. Like the “don’t kill yourself right away” you can do it encouragement in whatever time you got with whatever tools you got and reminders about making sure you stay fueled. Also liked that you put out some cautions for knowing your limits and moving on up gradually. Nice article for printing out and tacking up for those parts of the day when unexpected time shows up. Question – what’s the litmus test to know when to break – sweat or pain – and where can we find rocks like that? OK to let you know how it goes, get some feedback and maybe help in fine-tuning? Would be great to hear how this works for other folks!
Linda,
Thanks so much for the feedback! It reminds us that someone out there is stoked on the time and effort we are putting into this despite our loathing of computer time..yet i digress..
As far as effort and exertion there are a few factors to consider, the biggest one is where are you at now, in regards to your fitness level? If you are just starting out on interval type training or higher intensity then i would suggest starting very basic with the moves and listen to your body and how it feels during and after..up to a day or two after. were you completely out of breath and feeling like you were going to die? Were you so sore you can’t walk and don;t want to try this again? Think balance and think about listening to your body.Its amazing how instinctual we actually are when we give ourselves the attention that we deserve! It is far better to start out building good muscle memory and keeping proper engagement during the moves(which i’ll get into more in subsequent posts) and allowing some time to heal and recover.
Another thing to think about is what do you want out of this? maybe you just want to break a good sweat and have some fun in the sun? or maybe you really want to get after it and push yourself to new levels. Desire is not just limited to the bedroom but very much with how we move. There will be certain days that we can ramp it up more than others and vice versa. Its one of the numerous benefits of a lifelong connection to physical movement. The pressure isn’t on so much when you realize that once in a while you just don’t desire to go to your highest level. You might just want to have fun or your body might be telling you that you need to back off and thats ok vs. the “quick fix” mindset that is stressing out worrying, that you won’t get those six pack abs in 30 days if you miss one session!
So please hit us back and let us all know your progress and hell maybe snap a pic or two of you doing it so you can get some people fired up too!
Huge mahalo from the Mocean Project crew.
An update already! 3 days and two workouts under my belt..The “whenever” flexibility is working great. First time, got home from work, slipped out of 8-5s, hit the front porch and flipped the switch.The front steps were perfect for dips and the driftwood great as a focus to keep me balanced on the squats and lunges. Some much needed breathing to clear my head. Working on moving up from dead tree hangs. Always a chellenge for me. Mixed in some yoga poses between moves for good stretches and music towards the end to add to the sweat zone. Nothing like some dancing on a dark night to keep folks walking by riveted! All that sweat made the long solo walk perfect. My body is singing a bit today in the arms and shoulders after 3 times out!
Thanks guys, the whenever and wherever makes making the time easy. Looking foward to new moves .
This is a great one! Got done working in my office all day and decided to squeeze this workout in between helping the kiddo with his homework and getting dinner ready. Got my handy dandy smart phone out and I was off! Switched out the pull ups with planks and everything that I did could easily be done in the confines of my office while the kiddo did his nightly reading assignment. Would have loved to be out in the fresh air, but was happy that I got the workout in and it fit easily in with my schedule. I realized that there were so many movements you could choose and modify from and it’s surprising how much work you can get out of 20 second reps. My arms are still burning an hour later. A lot of possibilities for fitting this in each day.
your damn straight! you can fit it in anytime, anyplace..heck do two rounds to start the day and two rounds at the end. There are also other rest and work period combo’s to experiment with as well. Glad you made it fit into your schedule and thanks so much for the great feedback and keep us posted of course! peace