a.
Sprints
Sprints present several advantages:
everybody can run, required equipment is limited (sport shoes…) and you can
probably practice almost everywhere, while travelling or close from your home.
However, sprinting is a very tough exercise, especially for the required
intensity.
It is advised to find a flat ground,
not too hard if possible (avoid roads). Soccer field or track field are ideal
choices.
Before starting your Tabata session,
you can follow-up a classical warming-up. The most efficient warming-up for
running is…running! Therefore, start to jog for 3mn, then for the remaining
2mn, add some short sprints of 5-6s to wake up your legs, at a limited
intensity. Add 2-3 minutes of light stretching, to recover your breath, and to
prepare your muscles. If you are running by a cold temperature, you can warm up
longer.
Then, you can start your Tabata
session. One good idea is to run back and forth, between two marks, like trees,
mileages on road, two rocks that you put on the ground etc… Using this trick,
you will know the distance you need to cover during each interval bout. Else,
with your energy fading, the last bouts might be shorter although you think you
are pushing as harder at the beginning!
Another tip is to use a timer, which
will help you to run the 20s and to rest the 10s. Alternatively, you can find
MP3 recorded with the Tabata training. If you have a partner who can shout at
you the intervals, it’s also helpful!
Gym boss is popular:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036USWUQ/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=projmanatalk-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0036USWUQ&adid=113DKP70YMYZMR6EAFCV
and it exist apps for smart phones
also.
Now you are ready!
Check your departure mark and start to
sprint the first 20s. Your timer or your MP3 will tell you when to stop. Record
the point you have reached. Take a 10s break. And start to sprint again in the
opposite direction to reach again your departure point!
Repeat this 4 times and you’ll be
done. Total will be 8 sprints of 20s.
You might feel that the first 3-4 can
be handled. But after 2mn, you start to be out of breath, and both your aerobic
and anaerobic systems start to feel the pain. Rounds 5 and 6 are very hard.
Maybe the hardest is round 7, because round 8 is the last so you know your
torture is going to end soon!
You can also running around the track
and field and check the total distance covered after the 4mn.
Which
distance to cover?
Well, it depends of your experience in sprinting and MAV (Maximum Aerobic
Velocity), and fitness level.
But for instance, if you MAV is 15,13
km/h and you run the 21.1 kms (half
marathon) in 1h44mn40sec, 170% of VO2Max should be approximately 170% of MAV
and therefore, the distance to cover will be around 140m. This is very
challenging to perform in 20s, especially for the last bouts. But this is the
secret of the Tabata training, very high intensity!
(check the ebook to see the Table!!)
By experience, the distance you will
cover will be less (“target”) than the theoretical one (“distance”). Don’t
start too fast but try to keep the same distance at each interval. This way the
average intensity could be 170%, with 2- bouts at 200%, and last 3-4 at only
150% for instance.
I For your first attempts of Tabata
training with sprints, you should target only 4 repetitions to get used to the
intensity of the effort and to avoid injury. For the 2nd try, at
least 48hours later, raise up to 6 repetitions. And finally, for the 3rd
attempt, you should be able to complete the full cycle. With practice, both
physical skills and experience will increase and you’ll perform more correctly.
Example: my MVA is approximately
16.8km/h and for Tabata the distance covered is ~1000m instead of theoretical
1272m. After 6mn of warming up (average cardio=71%) the Tabata session is done
at 89% average and 91% maximum. Another 6mn of cooling-down at 79% average.
That’s it, 18mn of efforts with only 4mn intense, for a better result than one
hour of classical endurance cardio!
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