One of the components of the Crossfit regiment is the Tabata; A routine developed to benchmark and effectively improve your level of fitness in four minutes. Here is how it works:
In 20 seconds complete as many reps as possible of the given exercise, then rest for 10 seconds. Repeat for 8 rounds and score your lowest number of reps. The routine takes 4 minutes (20 seconds + 10 seconds x 8 rounds). For example:
Pushups –
Round 1 – 35, Round 2 – 32, Round 3 – 30, Round 4 – 22, Round 5 – 18, Round 6 – 16, Round 7 – 14, Round 8 – 16
Lowest # of reps was 14 during the 8 rounds, so for the Tabata pushups your score is 14.
I ran through 4 separate exercises yesterday and will use my scores to benchmark my progress over the coming months. My results were:
Burpees – 7, Pushups – 15, Squats – 17, Chin-Knees (bicycle crunches) – 40
All in all this was quite a difficult workout, though not as crippling as I had expected. Including a 3-minute warmup and 5 minutes of stretching I was able to complete my entire workout in under 30 minutes again.
I love Crossfit.