Tabatas Everywhere

If there was one study that has influenced the fitness industry more than any other, it's gotta be the Tabata Study. Unfortunately, this study is also one of the most misunderstood (and blown out of proportion) studies that I am aware of. It seems that almost everyone caught up in the "high intensity rage" touts that all you need to do to improve both your aerobic and anaerobic capacity is tabata work. Tabata this, tabata that....These same people probably didn't actually read the study, which I'll explain in a bit.

For those of you who don't know, "Tabata" intervals are where you perform 20 seconds of work (ex. sprinting, cycling, burpees, squats, etc.) followed by 10 seconds of rest. This is done for 8 total rounds, (for a 4-minute routine).

Now, for the record, I think this work:rest protocol can be a great tool for fitness clients, or for people just looking to try something different in their daily workouts. Nick Tumminello, for example, has given some great ideas on how to properly progress someone with this protocol and also gave some cool ideas for how to use it. The point of this post isn't to tell you that you should never use a 20:10 work-to-rest ratio, but to clarify some very important points for trainers or strength coaches that read this site. Got it? Cool. Here we go...

Key Points to Understand About the Tabata Study

1) Less than 1% of those who claim to use tabatas are not actually doing tabatas. You may be using a 20:10 work-to-rest protocol, yes....but you're not anywhere close to doing an actual tabata. The test subjects in the study were working at 170% VO2max for each work interval. That's almost impossible to sustain. Unless you've performed a VO2 max test yourself, you can't come anywhere close to actually understanding how difficult it is to work this hard. Let me put it this way: you'd have to be chased by a Saber-Toothed Tiger to sustain this type of intensity, and even then you'd probably fall prey to natural selection due to your inability to hold out for even four minutes.

2) The protocol calls for eight rounds, but the test subjects didn't even always complete all eight. Some had to stop at seven rounds because they couldn't sustain the 170% VO2max output. Again: you're not working as hard as you think you are.

3) Some fitness gurus proclaim that all they need to do is perform tabata intervals to improve both theiranaerobic and aerobic capacity. Again, they couldn't have read the original study. The high-intensity group also performed a session of steady-state work each week. Does this not now befog the entire study by adding in a session of pure aerobic work each week to the high-intensity group?! You can't say that (based off the study) tabata intervals are superior at improving both anaerobic and aerobic qualities when the "tabata group" also performed aerobic work as part of their protocol.

4) The high-intensity group never even achieved the level of aerobic development that the endurance training group did! (See the graph below, which is taken from the original 1996 study). So, does this mean that all you need to do is a bunch of tabatas to improve your aerobic capacity?? Clearly - at least based on this particular study - this isn't optimal.5) Most of the improvements in the high intensity group flat plateaued at the 3-week mark (specifically, the gains dropped from a 20% improvement to only 5%, and it didn't get any better). The anaerobic energy system actually "taps out" very quickly (I say this not based on the Tabata Study alone, but on other research and personal experience), and you don't need to spend all year developing it. If you (or your athletes) are performing tabatas year round then you are wasting valuable time that could be spent improving the energy systems for your given sport.

6) The workload used (on the stationary bike) was supra-maximal. The bike is one of the only pieces of equipment you can use for this magnitude of intensity because of safety concerns (if you fatigue, you won't get hurt due to the fact that you can just stop pedaling). Just understand that if you're using front squats or thrusters or whatever (and using somewhere around 50-115lbs) you may be replicating the work:rest duration of tabata intervals but you're nowhere close to replicating the actual workload.

7) The interval training group didn't perform anything else throughout the course of this study. They weren't doing maximal strength training, power training, attending sports practice, etc. Imagine adding the true tabata protocol to a full schedule of strength and conditioning? Chances are (if you don't pass out from fatigue) you won't improve much at anything else.

Again, my main point is not to say that no one should perform the 20:10 interval ratio. You can certainly use it from time to time, just understand that you're not actually performing a tabata (honestly, as a strength coach, I think I just become a bit miffed when the semantics of it all is abused).

And I'm certainly not anti-high intensity training. It DEFINITELY has its uses, it's just very important to understand how to wield it appropriately.

If you're a strength coach, or train athletes in any way, you'd be unwise to regularly utilize the tabata protocol to prepare your athletes for competition. Could it be a tool to use for a friendly competition every now and then? Certainly. But not as a tool to optimally prepare your athletes for their respective sport.I'd also like to clarify that I'm not trying to be the pot calling the kettle black on this one. When I first started searching the internet for training methods I quickly came across the tabata protocol and handed it out like water to everyone I knew. I'm just glad that I eventually investigated the matter a bit further, and wanted to spread the word.

Welcome!

Hello! You've just been redirected to SAPT's new website! I hope you like it because, as usual, I still do all this stuff myself! So, what's so great about this new site?

1. It looks pretty sweet.
2. Our dedicated readership can now post comments and we can all see when comments have been posted!!!! Yay, interactivity! A big short fall or our old site was you could post a comment, but we were never notified of comments, nor could you see that comments had been posted on the live site.
3. Chris, Steve, and I can go back to embedding video straight into our posts!!!! Another HUGE YAAYYYYY! Our old host took away this ability a couple months ago and it was a big problem.

Also, you can now follow us on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. Go ahead and friend us, follow us, and whatever Tumblr interaction is called!

- Sarah

40 Bench Press + 40 Pushup Variations

I wanted to get this list out and circulating before the next weekly celebration of National Bench Press Monday (please re-read the that one more time, but this time with a thick layer of sarcasm). Anyway, I've actually got two lists today, the first one is a comprehensive list of bench press variations from Siff's Supertraining. But, since we don't do a heck of a lot of "bench pressing" with our SAPT athletes, I thought it made sense to come up with a complimentary list of Push-up variations like we use at SAPT. Enjoy.

40 Bench Press Variations to Spice Up Your Mondays:

1. Snatch grip bench press (BB)
2. Narrow grip bench press
3. Jerk grip bench press
4. Hands touching bench press
5. Bench Press, starting at rest from chest (different grip spacings)
6. Bench Press, with bounce at bottom, very lightly touching chest
7. Bench Press, slow down, fast up
8. Slow down, slow up Bench Press
9. Fast down, fast up Bench Press
10. Bench Press to lower part of chest
11. Bench Press to mid chest
12. Bench Press to clavicles
13. Reverse grip Bench Press
14. Thumbless grip Bench Press
15. Bench Press, elbows close to body, arms rotated laterally (all variations)
16. Bench Press, elbows rotated away from body, arms rotated medially (all variations)
17. Bench Press, limited range between set points on power rack
18. Bench Press, isometric, pressing against bar fixed at selected point
19. Bench Press, driving up to stops on power rack, then pressing isometrically
20. Bench Press, forced reps wit partner helping at sticking point
21. Eccentric only Bench Press (raised by partner)
22. Bench Press, continuous reps without rest at top or bottom
23. Bench Press, replacing bar on rack between each repetition
24. Concentric only Bench Press (lowered by partner)
25. Bench Press, feet on bench (all variations)
26. Bench Press, from different starting points off of boards
27. Bench Press, load release at selected point
28. Bench Press, plyometric thrust at given point against light load
29. Conventional machine Bench Press (all variations)
30. Bench Press, using variable resistance machine
31. Bench Press, holding at different stages on way up or down or both
32. Dumbbell Bench Press (above variations)
33. DB Bench Press, rotating DB's on the way up and down
34. Seated Chest Press machine (all variations)
35. Decline Bench Press (all variations)
36. Incline Bench Press (all variations)
37. Bench Press with firm sponge (foam) on chest
38. Bench Press with attached chains or bands
39. Oscillating Bench Press, elbows slightly bent
40. Bench Press held at given level, partner pushes down with oscillating thrusts

From this list you can actually extract at least 160 total pressing variations. I'm not suggesting these are all "good" variations. But they are all variations!

40 Push-up Variations to Spice Up Your Entire Week:

1. Snatch grip Push-up (very wide hand placement)
2. Narrow grip Push-up
3. Jerk grip Push-up
4. Hands touching Push-up
5. Push-up, starting at rest from floor (different grip spacings)
6. Push-up, with bounce off back & triceps at end of motion
7. Push-up, slow down, fast up
8. Slow down, slow up Push-up
9. Fast down, fast up Push-up
10. Push-up to very low part of chest (hands placed low)
11. Push-up to mid chest
12. Push-up to clavicles
13. Push-up to sandbag or low box walkover
14. Push-up with one hand on medicine ball
15. Push-up, elbows close to body, arms rotated laterally (all variations)
16. Push-up, elbows rotated away from body, arms rotated medially (all variations)
17. Push-up with both hands on medicine ball
18. Push-up, isometric, holding position at selected point
19. Push-up, driving up to stop from partner, then pressing isometrically
20. Push-up, forced reps wit partner helping at sticking point
21. Eccentric only Push-up (SAPT uses these all the time)
22. Push-up, continuous reps without rest at top or bottom (Steve just wrote a post about this)
23. Push-up, resting briefly between each repetition (most likely with weight on back)
24. Concentric only Push-up (start from laying on floor)
25. Push-up, feet on bench (all variations)
26. Push-up, from different starting points off of boards or sandbags
27. Push-up with crawl variation between clusters of repetitions
28. Push-up, plyometric thrust (clap variations, usually)
29. Depletion Push-up, 3 sets max push-ups each followed by :90 rest
30. Push-up, using chains laid over back
31. Push-up, holding at different stages on way up or down or both
32. Single arm Push-up (above variations)
33. DB Bench Press, rotating DB's on the way up and down
34. Staggered hand position Push-up
35. Hands elevated Push-up (all variations & can be weighted)
36. Depth drop Push-up
37. Push-up, plyometric effort to land on low sandbag or box
38. Push-up with attached bands
39. Oscillating Push-up, elbows slightly bent
40. Push-up held at given level, partner pushes down with oscillating thrust

Since we can actually post and SEE comments now, please feel free to add some bench press or push-up variations that I may have missed!

Sarah

The Ron Reed Project

One of our clients, Ron, recently went through an incredible body transformation that I wanted to share with you. Ron had been training with us for a little while already, but he told us that he wanted to enter a focused fat-loss plan as his health was beginning to suffer due to some weight he had put on.

We gave him an individualized nutrition plan, and tweaked his workouts so they would be a bit more "fat loss" oriented in nature. His results were nothing short of fantastic! See the video on the right, or you can view it HERE.

I'd like to point out a few things that may be helpful to those of you reading:

1. Ron works full-time, both in the business world and at home as a dedicated father and husband. So, a transformation like this is certainly possible if you consider yourself a busy person (and I don't know anyone that doesn't). 
2. Ron FREQUENTLY has to travel for work - often for 5-7 days at a time. So, even for those you that travel, you can definitely make worlds of progress with a schedule that demands regular travel. Ron would tell me what equipment he had available at the hotel (sometimes the hotels didn't even have a gym), so I would give him some "hotel room workouts" in which he could still get in some training with just his bodyweight, a chair, and a bed as his gym equipment. Your improvements in the physique realm will never depend on what fancy gym equipment you do or do not have available. It's the mindset that is going to be the difference maker. 
3. Honestly, most of Ron's success was due to his consistency in the kitchen. I've said it before and I'll say it again: You can't out train a bad diet. Ron was constantly emailing me to make sure something was "approved" before he picked it up at the grocery store or added it to his meal. When he was on the road, he was sure to pick items on the restaurant menus that were going to help his progress, not hinder it. 
4. He did not count calories, eliminate carbs from his diet, or partake in anything extremely complicated. It's important to note that nutrition plans really don't have to be as complicated or tedious as many may make it seem. 
5. We did not do any carb cycling or sodium depletion leading up to his "After" picture (or at any point in his program).
6. Ron did not do a single crunch or sit-up throughout his program.  Proof that you don't need to (in fact, you can't) sit-up your way to a lean midsection. It won't happen. 
7. He performed zero steady state running throughout his program. Again, it is unwise (and unnecessary) to prescribe long distance running for someone in need of weight loss. Considering that all of Ron's blood levels returned to healthy levels during his program, this also goes to show you don't need long distance running to improve the health of your heart. Can it help? Absolutely. But I wouldn't recommend it as a modality of choice for a weight loss client. 
8. He not only maintained, but increased his strength during this phase. I can't tell you how many times I talk to people (primarily males) that are frightened they're going to "lose all their muscle" if they enter a fat loss program. It's not going to happen if you design the program appropriately. As shown in the video, Ron hit a 40lb PR on his weighted chinup, a 30lb PR on his front squat, a 15lb PR on his close-grip bench press, and a 20lb PR on his trap bar deadlift. Note that these personal records occurred during this particular 16-week program (not throughout the few years he's been training with us). 
9. Ron just turned 51 years old. 'Nuff said. 

Here are his Before and After pictures (the before picture was taken while he was on vacation shortly before the start of the program. And yes - for the fitness gurus out there - there is some scapular asymmetry):

Before

After (front)

After (side)

After (back)

Congratulations, Ron!

It's not too late for you to make the same transformation - Steve

Don't delay any longer...

Something that not everyone who reads this site may realize is that we don’t only train student and adult athletes. While we certainly know how to make athletes stronger, faster, more explosive, possess greater endurance, and develop a more “bullet-proof” body; we also love working with people who simply want to look, move, and feel better. I think that sometimes the fact that we do work with “general fitness” clients is overshadowed by the fact that the majority of our clientele consist of competitive athletes.

Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE working with athletes, and having the privilege of hearing countless testimonials of how they’re performing much better (and recovering more rapidly) on the playing field. This is awesome (to say the least), and is a huge part of what keeps me going throughout the workweek.

However, another aspect of my job that I thoroughly enjoy is having the pleasure of assisting an adult to make an incredible body transformation. I was reminded of this yesterday when I took Ron’s “After” picture.

For those of you who don’t know, Ron recently went through a comprehensive, “SAPTastic” fat loss plan. This included an individualized nutrition plan, and 3x/week resistance training regimen specifically designed to melt fat off of him AND maintain his strength levels (and, as you’ll see, he even GAINED strength during this fat loss phase).

All I could think of last night as I took his picture was “Wow.” I’ll say that again backwards: woW.

As Summer rapidly approaches, many of you may be worried that you haven’t met those New Years Resolutions in the exercise and nutrition realm (and thus Summer – along with shedding layers of clothing – may not be not be the most welcomed season for you). Not to fear: it’s not too late to get started on a body transformation program.

Imagine how you’ll feel at the beach, or a neighborhood BBQ, with a smaller waistline and a higher percent of lean body mass?

Don’t wait to get started. Be it joining our women’s Buttkamp (see Chris’s post below), or joining our semi-private training structure to workout alongside other like-minded individuals, SAPT can get you there.

I tried to think of something clever to sign-out with but nothing came to me, so this will have to do - Stevo

Buttkamp training footage!!!

Check-out the video to the right (or click HERE) of our Buttkampers getting it done Tuesday morning!  Low handle Prowler pushes, Medicine Ball Slams, suspension strap rows and Zercher carries…all aboard the pain train for the posterior chain!

 So what is Buttkamp?

These scientifically designed classes are for women only (sorry guys), and are aimed to cure what ails your regular fitness routine!  Using the principles of functional training and athletic conditioning, these classes will boost your metabolism, decrease risk of injuries, and improve your strength!

Buttkamp is held every Tuesday and Friday at 7, 8, and 9am at our Fairfax location, and every Monday and Thursday at 6, 7, 8 and 9am at our Sterling location!

Click HERE to get more information about these classes!

The Buttkamp Cheermeister