Tabata Bike Sprints

Workout 8 April 2009:

Three rounds of Tabata bike sprints, resting two minutes between each round

Results: 3.1 miles at resistance level 2
Previous best: 2.6 miles at resistance level low, 2 Tabata rounds (26 Sep 08)

As my recent Muay Thai training has showed, my conditioning deteriorated a bit over the past month due to my back not allowing me to do my usual workouts at my usual intensity. Today's workout allowed me to go high intensity with little concern for aggravating my back. If I kept the same pace as I did about 6 months ago, I should have biked 3.9 miles. I wasn't able to go as far mainly due to decreased conditioning, but also since I increased the resistance on my mountain bike stand trainer by two levels.

A Tabata sprint consists of 8 rounds of 20 seconds maximum effort then 10 seconds rest. Therefore, each Tabata round lasts 4 minutes total. This is a type of interval training that is very effective at improving anaerobic and aerobic conditioning.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"Only people willing to work to the point of discomfort on a regular basis using effective means to produce that discomfort will actually look like they have been other-than-comfortable most of the time. You can thank the muscle magazines for these persistent misconceptions, along with the natural tendency of all normal humans to seek reasons to avoid hard physical exertion."