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My Tabata Experiment

Harry's Tabata Log

For six weeks I'm devoting all of my exercise time to Tabata Intervals.

Tabata Intervals take a grand total of four minutes a day. Add a warm-up and a cool-down period and you come up with an exercise program that takes less then 20 minutes a day. It's also simple, easy-to-do at home and very effective.

In trials conducted by Izumi Tabata, those doing the four-minute intervals gained more aerobic capacity than those who simply exercised continuously for an hour. In addition, Tabita exercisers had big gains in anaerobic capacity whereas the continuous exercisers had no gains in anaerobic capacity.

My log consists of a Google spreadsheet which I update daily. You can follow my progress. Click to see what I've been doing for the last few days.

I took some measurements before I started. I would like to have weighed, but I don't have access to scales. I live on a houseboat and scales just don't fit in.

Here are the measurements, which I did myself:

  • Middle neck - 14.75 in.
  • R. bicep - 11; 12.25 flexed
  • L. bicep - 11; 12.375 flexed
  • Chest - 38; 39.625 expanded
  • Waist - 31.75
  • R. and L. thigh - 20

I'm also keeping a daily tally of my resting pulse rate, which is probably more telling then any of these muscle measurements.

Routines

Unlike the Tabata experiment, where he had everyone do the same routine everyday, I'm doing a variety of routines. There are basically five:

  1. Wind sprints
  2. Mountain climbers
  3. Hindu push-ups
  4. Burpees or jump-backs
  5. Squats with dumbbell press

Wind sprints are easy to explain. You just sprint for 20 seconds and rest for ten. I've struggled with a watch to keep the time, but it's easier with a little MP3 that I have on my Ipod. I use the one without music. Thanks to Just a Guy Thing for these links

Tabata MP3 Timer with Music

Tabata MP3 Timer without Music