2 different tabata methods....which one seems to be more effective?

[bwhite55]

i've seen 2 different methods of tabata. i've seen one where they do one set of an exercise and then move straight to the other exercise after the 10 second break, and then they'll move to another one after that set, etc. then i've seen one where they'll do the full exercise for the full 8 sets before moving on to the next exercise, and only givin the 10 second break.

i'm wondering, since i haven't been able to do alot of tabata since i don't have an interval timer(getting one on thurs), which one seems to be more effective? i would think that the one where you go from exercise to exercise from set to set would be more effective because you get a lil bit more of a rest compared to doing all 8 sets of one exercise. but then again, isn't the point of tabata to not let your body rest too much? im gonna try both of them to see which one works for me, but i was just wondering what you guys thought of this.

[spirez]

The one where you change exercises after each set is just interval training.

The point of tabata is to make the muscles work without oxygen and therefore increase anaerobic conditioning. You won't get the same effect if you swap after each round.

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/tabataintervals.html

[bwhite55]

thanks much.

[spirez]

I just found an example of a guy using 20 seconds work/10 seconds rest with intervals. He has 5 exercises and usually repeats the whole circuit 5 times:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Daom_Qqbo

[bwhite55]

the power rope that he was talking about...how effective is it?

and for tabata, it'd be the same exercise for 8 sets, then would you take a break before doing the next one or would it be best to go straight into it? sorry for all the questions, i'm new to this type of stuff.

[spirez]

Depends how you feel and what the exercises are really. I've done tabata squats and gone straight into push-ups as they are completely different muscle groups.

You could follow the protocol on the ross training link:

* Jump Rope (High Knee jump rope style, sprint in place)
* Pushups
* Squats
* Chinnies

Having 1 minutes rest between each exercise and gradually cutting down the rest periods as it gets easier to recover.

The variables are endless really. Just alter them as and when it suits you to keep the intensity up.

Not sure how good that rope thing is as i've never done it but i imagine with a heavy rope you'd feel a decent burn in the shoulders.

[Mr Punch]

To prevent boredom but also to work the same area more effectively I like to slightly vary the exercise... so, if I'm doing tabata push-ups I do

20 secs inclined
10 secs rest
20 secs normal
10 secs rest
20 secs declined
10 secs rest
20 secs wide
10 secs rest
20 secs kneeling
10 secs rest
20 secs narrow
10 secs rest
20 secs spiderman
10 secs rest
10 secs inclined wide
collapse on face

tabata lunges

20 secs alternate legs
10 secs rest
20 secs same leg (l)
10 secs rest
20 secs same leg (r)
10 secs rest
20 secs walking
10 secs rest
20 secs side (left)
10 secs rest
20 secs side (r)
10 secs rest
20 secs jumping alternate
10 secs rest
20 secs Bulgarian split squats
wobble, sit down

crunches (usually with 5 kg plate)

20 secs normal
10 secs rest
20 secs hip extensions
10 secs rest
20 secs oblique twists
10 secs rest
20 secs oblique crunches
10 secs rest
20 secs side crunches
10 secs rest
20 secs bicycle crunches
10 secs rest
20 secs one-leg hip extensions (l)
10 secs rest
20 secs one-leg hip extensions (r)
10 secs rest
lie back and think of England...

get the idea?

BTW, you can do tabatas with a stopwatch - you don't need an interval timer, fancy-pants!

[bwhite55]

To prevent boredom but also to work the same area more effectively I like to slightly vary the exercise... so, if I'm doing tabata push-ups I do

20 secs inclined
10 secs rest
20 secs normal
10 secs rest
20 secs declined
10 secs rest
20 secs wide
10 secs rest
20 secs kneeling
10 secs rest
20 secs narrow
10 secs rest
20 secs spiderman
10 secs rest
10 secs inclined wide
collapse on face

tabata lunges

20 secs alternate legs
10 secs rest
20 secs same leg (l)
10 secs rest
20 secs same leg (r)
10 secs rest
20 secs walking
10 secs rest
20 secs side (left)
10 secs rest
20 secs side (r)
10 secs rest
20 secs jumping alternate
10 secs rest
20 secs Bulgarian split squats
wobble, sit down

crunches (usually with 5 kg plate)

20 secs normal
10 secs rest
20 secs hip extensions
10 secs rest
20 secs oblique twists
10 secs rest
20 secs oblique crunches
10 secs rest
20 secs side crunches
10 secs rest
20 secs bicycle crunches
10 secs rest
20 secs one-leg hip extensions (l)
10 secs rest
20 secs one-leg hip extensions (r)
10 secs rest
lie back and think of England...

get the idea?

BTW, you can do tabatas with a stopwatch - you don't need an interval timer, fancy-pants!

i've tried a stopwatch, i always focus on the watch and i find that it lowers my intensity level. and what are spiderman pushups and bulgarian split squats?

[Mr Punch]

Spiderman pushups are when you have your arms at different levels, so for example, your left arm at shoulder level and your right at nipple level... or hip level.

Bulgarian split squats are when you put one foot on a chair behind you, and do one legged squats, making sure that the front foot is well stretched out so when you go down you're not putting too much pressure on your knee (your knee should never go past your toes).

[Mr Punch]

Strange about the stopwatch, but everyone's different.

[bwhite55]

Spiderman pushups are when you have your arms at different levels, so for example, your left arm at shoulder level and your right at nipple level... or hip level.

Bulgarian split squats are when you put one foot on a chair behind you, and do one legged squats, making sure that the front foot is well stretched out so when you go down you're not putting too much pressure on your knee (your knee should never go past your toes).

so is a bulgarian squat a pistol w/ a chair?

[spirez]

so is a bulgarian squat a pistol w/ a chair?

http://www.defrancostraining.com/pics/images/pics/meatheads/pic_bulgarian-squat.jpg

I still wouldn't call that protocol tabata, mr punch. That's just intervals to me.

Tabata squats are MUCH harder than doing 8 different exercises per set. And to be fair are you really gonna get that bored in 4 minutes? Maybe you have ADD :p

[Sparkle]

Tabata squats are MUCH harder than doing 8 different exercises per set. And to be fair are you really gonna get that bored in 4 minutes? Maybe you have ADD :p

Hey man, 4 minutes during a few tabata sessions seemed like an eternity.

But in all seriousness here, somebody who says they'll get bored doing the same exercise over and over again during a 4 minute period would be boring just hasn't done tabata. You're not even focusing your entire concentration on the movement, you're focused on doing that movement as fast as you can (with correct form in mind). You do 20 squats in 20 seconds, you aim for 21 in the next set and so on. It's all about pushing yourself, tabata isn't any joke and it is ANYTHING but boring.

[bwhite55]

yeah, tabata is one of the most fun(in a i feel like i'm gonna puke and i hate my life right now type of way) of any workout i've ever done. thanks for the pic, i didn't see him say put the foot behind you till i reread it.

[Cuchulain82]

Hey man, 4 minutes during a few tabata sessions seemed like an eternity.
That is a FACT! Tabata is brutal and tons of fun (in the aforementioned "I wanna die" sense).

FYI- Check out this HIIT article (http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1756065) from T-nation. Tabata is one kind of HIIT.

[Mr Punch]

I still wouldn't call that protocol tabata, mr punch. That's just intervals to me.These are bodyweight tabatas. They're plenty taxing to most people I know. So what would you call a tabata, Superman?!

I do weighted ones too, and ones with the same exercise all through, but this is the bodyweight forum and I gave some examples to someone who can't concentrate on a single exercise with a stopwatch in front of him, so I think the changing exercise thing is quite valid too.

[Mr Punch]

But in all seriousness here, somebody who says they'll get bored doing the same exercise over and over again during a 4 minute period would be boring just hasn't done tabata. Says you. I started doing pushup tabatas and I was doing them every day (I know it's against most people's advice but I wanted to push myself) - they got a bit boring, sorry.

Plus I thought it would be more of a challenge to hit it with some wide ones, narrow ones, elevated ones, etc.

[Sparkle]

Says you. I started doing pushup tabatas and I was doing them every day (I know it's against most people's advice but I wanted to push myself) - they got a bit boring, sorry.

Plus I thought it would be more of a challenge to hit it with some wide ones, narrow ones, elevated ones, etc.

"[I did such and such every single day with no variation in what I was doing at all]" . . . . and it got boring? Jeez! Really?! It's sort of like eating the same thing every day isn't it? There is such a plethora of bodyweight exercises that use the pectoral/tricep/deltoid regions that I'm amazed you only thought of pushups to do for a while. Sorry I assumed you knew you should use variation from the start! Wont do it again : P.

[bwhite55]

i was stating that i can't use the stopwatch, cuz if i watch a stopwatch, i lose intensity cuz i'm not focusing on the exercise but the stopwatch, w/ an interval timer i don't have to worry about keeping track of time, i just go all out till it beeps.

and i believe they were referring to the fact that you varied up the pushups or exercises instead of sticking w/ one and thats why it sounds like intervals and not tabata, cuz from what i understood from this thread, tabata is doing the same exercise for 8 sets. now that that is settled, quit arguing in my thread :woo: :woo: :woo: :mad: :mad: :mad: :yeleyes: :yeleyes: :yeleyes: :ban: :ban:

[spirez]

[QUOTE=Mr Punch]These are bodyweight tabatas. They're plenty taxing to most people I know. So what would you call a tabata, Superman?![QUOTE]

Erm, see post #2? Have you heard of google?

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=04-046-training

bwhite, get yourself a gym boss, awesome timers!

[bwhite55]

[QUOTE=Mr Punch]These are bodyweight tabatas. They're plenty taxing to most people I know. So what would you call a tabata, Superman?![QUOTE]

Erm, see post #2? Have you heard of google?

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=04-046-training

bwhite, get yourself a gym boss, awesome timers!

thats what everybody here says. thanks.

[Mr Punch]

"[I did such and such every single day with no variation in what I was doing at all]" . . . . and it got boring? Jeez! Really?! It's sort of like eating the same thing every day isn't it? OK OK, put it like that and I do sound pretty damn stupid! :o :) But the fact remains that some people are naturally bored senseless by exercise, and I've always been one of those.

There is such a plethora of bodyweight exercises that use the pectoral/tricep/deltoid regions that I'm amazed you only thought of pushups to do for a while.What else you got that do that job then?

[Mr Punch]

Erm, see post #2? Have you heard of google?

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=04-046-training

bwhite, get yourself a gym boss, awesome timers!Do you really think there's enough variation between an elevated push-up and a standard push-up for them not to qualify in the same set of tabatas? Fair enough if that's the case, but I wouldn't have thought so. Maybe the narrowest ones and the widest ones are working different enough muscle regions... but again, I don't know.

Psychologically there's a bit of a difference for terminally bored exercisers like me, and they may be hitting marginally different heads of the same muscles, but they're pretty much the same.

As for your snappy Google comment, I didn't want a definition of tabatas, I wanted your distinction of where tabatas and my protocol differed. Plus, I come here for discussion with relatively like-minded people, not to use a search engine, if that's all right with you!

[Mr Punch]

i was stating that i can't use the stopwatch, cuz if i watch a stopwatch, i lose intensity cuz i'm not focusing on the exercise but the stopwatchWhich demonstrates a ludicrous lack of concentration/attention span all round, dear boy! :) I'm not criticizing you for it.

and i believe they were referring to the fact that you varied up the pushups or exercises instead of sticking w/ one and thats why it sounds like intervals and not tabata,Tabata is a kind of interval anyway: they're not a long way different... and nor is it like tabata is some magic untouchable protocol. Where did you see the variation method labelled as tabata as you stated in the first post anyway? I would suggest that my variations are a lot less radical than say someone doing squats followed by deadlifts followed by crunches etc.

cuz from what i understood from this thread, tabata is doing the same exercise for 8 sets. now that that is settled, quit arguing in my thread :woo: :woo: :woo: :mad: :mad: :mad: :yeleyes: :yeleyes: :yeleyes: :ban: :ban:Silly boy! :p I'm glad that you're learning from this thread: I'm still discussing the concept you brought up in the OP - I'm not arguing much and I'm quite willing to accept that I'm totally wrong, so kindly don't tell me how your precious thread should continue! This is a discussion forum!

[bwhite55]

i do have a lack of attention span. and it sucks :(

[Sparkle]

OK OK, put it like that and I do sound pretty damn stupid! :o :) But the fact remains that some people are naturally bored senseless by exercise, and I've always been one of those.

What else you got that do that job then?

Ready . . . . :D

Burpees
Mountain climbers
Jumping Jacks
Sprints
High knees (running in place but raising your knees really high)
Squats
Squat Jumps
Split Squat
Lunges
Box jumps
Thrusters ( you don't even need weight for these to make them hurt)
Bear Crawls
Jumping up in the air and tucking your knees to your chest
Wrestling Sprawls
Shadow Boxing
Heavy bag work


And that's just to name a few off the top of my head! There are soooo many things you can do with tabata but I generally find that the exercises that use all of your muscles to some degree are usually the best and most tiring.

I feel you on the getting bored doing the same exercises over and over, I really do. That's why I have so many different exercises I use for tabata (add a tractor tire in there and I can give you about 6 more exercises off the top of my head :D ) and I always do different exercises for my tabata sessions. It never gets monotonous for me to be honest, just hard!

[Mr Punch]

Nice list; there are some things in there I hadn't thought of...

I've done the wrestling sprawls, and double leg drills as tabatas, and I'm not doing them again unless somebody pays me! :eek:

However, seems that someone else needs the attention span tabatas...! :p :D
There is such a plethora of bodyweight exercises that use the pectoral/tricep/deltoid regions that I'm amazed you only thought of pushups to do for a while.So, er, what you got for those then?!

[Sparkle]

[QUOTE=Mr Punch]
Burpees, hitting a tire with a sledgehammer, flipping a tractor tire, pushups, bear crawls, wrestling sprawls, thrusters . . . . . : P