Tabata Challenge - Complete!

On Facebook, I joined a January tabata challenge. The goal was to do two tabatas every day for that month. A tabata is four minutes of 8 sets of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. The 20 seconds always feels way longer than 20 seconds and the 10 way less than 10. I chose body weight movements for the most part, though I got into the gym a few times for it and did things that I can't do at home, like rowing, ring rows and kettle bell swings.

I tried exercises that I thought would be too easy, like handstand holds, and rudely discovered that they were not, in fact, too easy. (I really need to work on keeping my arms from hyperextending during handstand holds!) Even jumping jacks are a challenge, at a sufficient rate of exertion.

Once I started, I couldn't bring myself to stop. I got onto a streak of 7 days - 10 days - 15 days. Even when no one else was posting on the Facebook page, and I felt rather embarrassed to be the only one still doing it. Even when I was exhausted and had trouble finding time to fit even the short tabatas in. Even when I scheduled myself to do burpees... I was driven by the challenge. 

One thing that bugged me about the challenge was that I didn't see a lot of improvements. I didn't post my scores to the Facebook page, but I did keep track and I kept getting lower numbers of reps the second time I did a tabata, sometimes even worse on a third or fourth try. 

And yet, I was the only one on that challenge to complete it. 

There was no prize involved, no bonus for winning. 

The only thing I got out of it was the knowledge that I can take a challenge like that to the end. I know now that I can do those exercises, and that I, in fact, feel better when I do a couple of tabatas to start the day. I know that I can keep going even when I don't want to. 

I'm not going to keep on doing it every day, because I do think my body is in need of some genuine rest days, but I'm going to try and do it more often. Three to four days a week, for February, tracked on a google spreadsheet so I can see if I can improve. 

Repeating Tabatas

I made it halfway through January 11th before I repeated a tabata for the January Tabata Challenge. My original goal was a week, but then I kept thinking of other exercises I could do - especially when I went to the gym and had access to more equipment.

And, to be honest, I could have kept from repeating myself on Monday by doing a set of sprints instead of walking lunges. But I wasn't feeling well, and I didn't want to challenge my lungs with running of any kind. Or I could have done american kettle bell swings, which are distinct from russian kettle bell swings. I could even have attempted a set of double unders, but I still can't do two in a row with any consistency (double unders are my next goal after I get a pull up).

So, with the no-repeats streak broken, I went with sit ups and push ups on Tuesday morning, the first morning that I actually got the exercises done after I woke up instead of waiting until the end of the day - a trend I hope to continue.

I've been feeling like I have the cold that never ends, and there's no way I would have kept up doing 2 tabatas a day this month without the challenge. I'm on a streak, and streaks are powerful. Each day's exercise seems smaller and not as challenging when viewed in context as pieces within the larger challenge. The form of the tabatas themselves work that way as well - all I need to do is 20 seconds, 8 times. That's hardly any time at all!

The first set is easy. Maybe the second set, too. Once it starts getting hard, you're on a roll. Four sets? That's halfway - you can't quit now! It's over before you know it, and one more day of the challenge is complete.

And from the perspective of now, I plan to keep going. Maybe not every day, but I can see and feel the differences in my body as I focus on doing those 2 sets each day, no matter which exercise I end up doing. There isn't really a reward for doing this challenge. No one is going to hand me a prize if I complete it. But I already feel like I've won.

Tabata Challenge

Someone at my CrossFit box posted a challenge Facebook. A 31 day, January Tabata challenge.

And when I first saw it, I thought it looked cool and proceeded to ignore it.

But then, the new year approached, and I felt compelled to give it a closer look. Could I go 31 days, the entire month of January, doing 2 tabata sets every single day? Why not? Tabata is simple. It can be done at home with body weight exercises. It's just 8 sets of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest. Twice.

And so, on January 1st, I completed with sit ups and jumping jacks.

On the 2nd, I made it to the gym and tackled planks and single under jump ropes.

I didn't want to go to the gym on the 3rd, but my husband dragged me along and I reluctantly kept my streak going with dead hang and rowing. Both of them were harder than I thought they'd be. (Actually, everything has been harder than I thought it would be.)

On the 4th day of the challenge, I decided to try and make it 7 days without repeating an exercise, leading me to knee push ups and chair triceps dips.

The triceps dips were a last second substitution. I tried doing air squats before completing the dips, but my quads were still wrecked from last Thursday's WOD. Sure, I only completed 25 sets out of 30 in the allotted 30 minutes, but that's still an awful lot of box assisted pull ups (125), knee push ups(250) and air squats (375). After attempting a single round of tabata for air squats, I decided my legs were, in fact, hurting with bad pain, not "work through it" pain.

I had the best of intentions on the 5th day. I was going to get up and just do them, whatever they might be, most likely a glute bridge and mountain climbers. Instead, my husband woke me at 6:04. The alarm was set. Ambrose tells me the alarm went off at its designated time of 5:42. But I didn't wake up enough to do more than hit the off button - not the snooze button, the off button. And I don't remember hitting it.

And so it was nearly 7pm before I managed to get my glute bridge and v-up tabatas done. But I did. And I will complete challenge.