Tabata!

The latest craze, or maybe it's "so last summer" and I'm behind the curve again? This method is just so...me! My background and education is all science and engineering and Tabata is a real doctor who did actual repeatable studies with the goal of evaluating methods to increase both aerobic and anaerobic efficiency. On top of that, it takes far less time to do and appears to simultaneously increase muscle mass and make you leaner. Magic!

OK, first the protocol. Warm up, some sites say five minutes but I ride for at least 30 minutes prior to interval work. Then do 20 seconds peak effort followed by 10 seconds of rest (I still spin my legs, but with zero effort) eight cycles in a row. Done in four minutes. Of course a cool down is required afterward. Tabata did his research based on five sets (total 20 minutes) per week. One of the problems with the web is that googling "Tabata Intervals" should bring up something like the abstract of the good doctor's publication. Instead, it's just blogs and exercise equipment (Tabata timer only $20!) sites that pop up. Oddly, Wikipedia was no help. Anyway, the reason for the above digression is that I can't figure out if that's one set on each of five days, or say two sets followed by two rest days or whatever.

Since the web seems to think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, I naturally looked for a naysayer. I found a differing opinion here, which notes several downsides including "Interferes with Resistance Training", "Injury" and (my personal favorite) "Cardiac Event"! This didn't deter me. My son is away at college, my life insurance is paid up, the economy is in the crapper and my job sucks. So, why not try something new and potentially fatal? You might want to consult a physician before trying this. So I've replaced a couple of my anarobic intervals with these and dicovered a few things:

1. Twenty seconds is a long time
2. Ten seconds is a short time
3. Recovery is a mysterious thing
4. I'm not dead yet
   

Let me explain. After three or four cycles (ie only two minutes into it I'd look down and simply not believe that either (a) I still had seven seconds to go on an effort or (b) another one already? The first time I did a set I felt drained. Then after twenty minutes of recovery I began to be aware of my breathing. It felt like my lungs were really having a good time, exchanging that oxygen, sending energy to the muscles. The next time I went into the session already a little gassed from riding Como the previous weekend and slogging through a long week. The next day I had that "beaten with a stick" feeling that brought on an unscheduled recovery day. Bear in mind that I still did a 6x2minute (3min recovery) set 10% above LT power after, so blame could lie with that.

In summary, there are some issues. My feeling is that you can't possibly do these five days of the week. This means stacking two or three days. I'm going to try attacking from another angle and I'll let you know (provided I survive). I find that the limiter to completion of a second set on a given day is specific muscle fatigue. There's no reason why this can't be done with pushups and I'll give that a go to supplement the cycling intervals. Another problem lies in volume. I've managed to buttress my fitness with lots of tempo riding from September through early December. This would be eroded by the huge cut in volume resulting from "interval fatigue". I think I'm going to take a chance on high intensity, low volume training. By doing three weeks on and then a week of low intensity, high volume (AKA enjoyable bicycling) maybe I can race and enjoy life.