RodrigoPeres.com: July 2013

Shortcut to the land of WEIGHT LOSS - 4, 4 minutes away...

How are you all? It has been quite some time since my last article but I was very busy setting up my PT Studio, I share the premises with my wife, (check PhysioFix.co.uk for all of your injuries, aches and pains), the studio (Performance Centre) is 90% ready... I have a really cool wallpaper, the ocean and sky scenery. it took me 5 days to do it all and over 3hrs to do just two of the panels as the wall is curved a full of edges. It was

Battling Rope Tabata - RodrigoPeres.com

worth the back pain, it looks great now.

Anyway, where were we? Ehhhh, oh yes, shortcut to weight loss in 4 minutes, let’s get started.

Your shredding shortcut is not for the weak, and definitely not for the faint of heart! You must put all you have into it… ALL of it!

I always say to my clients in Launceston and members of the gym in Plymouth, there is NO shortcut when it comes to losing weight. #1 Eat right, #2 Train hard and often #3 Be patient #4 No quick fix as it will leave you a scar on the long run. However, if you already have a “reasonable” level of fitness and looking for a shortcut here it is!

By the way, it doesn't involve crazy diet or pills that are a waste of money and time.

Many people spend between 30-90min doing brutal cardiovascular workouts: running, biking, swimming, straining and sweating, all in the name of getting lean. In fact, you might not even be overweight, you just want to lose that last flab bit for summer or especial occasion. What about if I tell you, you can do it all in just 4 minutes?! Well let's say 11-14min, which include warm up and cool down.

I will list a few workouts you can do in 4 minutes that will change your opinion about doing long boring CV workouts. Were you told that to burn fat you have to exercise at low intensity for a longer period of time? Think again!

A bit of history first!

Like most great discoveries happens by chance/accident (like Brazil), Dr Izumi Tabata (田畑　泉), wasn't seeking bodyweight effects. Instead, he was trying to help the Japanese national speed-skating team gain a powerful leg up on their competition with an idea pioneered by the team’s coach, Irisawa Koichi.

The subjects in Tabata’s study, conducted at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, adhered to the “Tabata” method five times per week; a second group performed only steady-state cardio for the same duration.

After six weeks, the Tabata athletes increased their VO2 max more significantly than the steady-state trainers; they also gained 28% anaerobic capacity while the steady staters made no anaerobic gains.

It was a sound victory for interval-style cardio. Until then the entrenched thinking was that you’d have to focus on one facet during exercise — either endurance or maximum power. Dr. Tabata’s discovery shattered this thinking, and was viewed as a genuine breakthrough; since then his method has proliferated in fitness, sports and even certain pure muscle-building circles.

HOW TO DO IT.

PLEASE NOTE: If you prone or have a history of stroke/heart attack, high blood pressure consult with you DOCTOR first. Tabata protocol should be approached with due caution. Yes it is SHORT but don’t let the duration fool you!

1 - If not using CV machine, use your phone/computer/tablet and set the timer to beep every 20 and 10 seconds x 8.

20sec = HIGH INTENSITY > > > all-out max speed/intensity/effort

10sec = Rest

X 8

Beginners and not so fit, just do 3-6 intervals and progress slowly

Alternating days - 3-5 x per week - 24/48hrs rest

2 – Make sure to warm up properly, otherwise I can guarantee you will pull a muscle during the session. If you include sprints at 17-20kph, warm up doing a few at 13, 14 and 15kph first.

3 – Remember commit to it… keep focus! ALL-OUT MAX EFFORT for 20sec. Your mind is going to shout at you STOP but don’t listen, DON’T GIVE UP. (When your mind tells you to stop eating cakes/chocolates, do you listen?)

It will only trigger the necessary adaptations if you push beyond the limit.

4 – Choose your exercise – first few sessions use one type of exercise at a time, when you become proficient, you can incorporate 2, 3, 4 exercises on the same session.

5 – Cool Down

Exercise Example

Treadmill > Set the speed to the maximum YOU can do. If 12kph is your max, that is fine, but if you can sprint at 20kph you must do it at 20kph.

After 20 seconds of ALL-OUT MAX effort just stand on the sides of the treadmill and rest for 10sec (must be only 10sec). Repeat another 7 times for a total of 8.

Road Running > Make sure to set your phone to beep! Sprint and get to your TOP speed within a few seconds and maintain it for 20sec. Walk for 10sec and repeat. Simple! (if you are not dribbling by the end of it, it wasn’t hard enough)

Bicycle > Set your resistance, medium to heavy, if it is too light you will bounce all over the place and it won’t be challenging enough. Adjust as you go along… if cycling outdoors, just keep you cadence/rpm high and in heavy gear as well.

Slow down for 10sec and repeat.

Body Weight Exercise | Resistance

Start by choosing simple exercises and progress to more complicated ones.

You can do the Tabata Training by performing Press ups only, Squats, Jumping Squats, Split Lunges, Sit ups, Pull ups, Chin ups etc…

You can make it a bit more functional. Burpees (one of the best), Burpees+Push ups and so on.

Combined

Sprint > rest > Push ups > rest > repeat 4x

Burpees > rest > Sit ups > rest > repeat 4x

Cycle > rest > Split Lunges > rest > repeat 4x (I dare you!)

Row > rest > Shoulder Press > rest > repeat 4x

Sprint > rest > Push ups > rest > Row > rest > Sit ups > rest > repeat x 2

Burpees > rest > Pull ups > rest > Cycle > rest > Jumping Squat > rest > repeat x 2

Do you have more time?

If yes, then do 4 minutes x3

1 – Sprint 8 intervals of 20/10sec

REST 1 full minute

2 – Upper Body Exercise 8 x 20/10sec

REST 1 full minute

3 – Lower Body Exercise 8 x 20/10sec

Get the idea! Now you can even build your own Tabata Training.

Remember

> Check with your doctor first!

> Warm up

> 20 seconds MUST BE at max effort

> Panting not fainting

> Only rest the 10 seconds

> Focus

> Progress slowly, 4-6 sets, just one exercise

> KEEP FORM, posture, technique

> Cool Down

> Rest between sessions

Did you know

After 6 weeks, the tabata athletes increased their VO2 Max more significantly than the steady-state trainers. They also gained 28% more anaerobic capacity while the steady staters made no anaerobic gains.

During a “normal” cardiovascular workout, most people keep their heart rate inside the TRAINING ZONE, in most cases that is 40-90% of their maximum heart rate. Guess what, Tabata’s subjects worked beyond their target heat rate zone, specifically to 170% of their VO2 max.

Spread the Word