The Samurai Tabata Circuit
Fearsome warriors, the Japanese Samurai would only re-sheath their swords once it had drawn blood and would commit ritual suicide if ordered to or if they felt their honour had been shamed. Thankfully, this workout as not going to result in any blood being spilt but it will certainly test your mettle.
Tabata training uses 20 second work periods alternated with a 10 second rests repeated for 10 sets and totalling 5 minutes. For this workout you will be performing five Tabata exercises, one after another with a one minute rest between exercises. Try to perform as many reps as you can for each exercise. Make a note of your rep totals per exercise and try to beat that score next time you perform this workout.
The five exercises are:
1) Burpees (10 sets of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds recovery)
One minute rest
2) Crunches (10 sets of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds recovery)
One minute rest
3) Skipping – knee lift sprint (10 sets of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds recovery)
One minute rest
4) Thrusters (10 sets of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds recovery)
One minute rest
5) Kettlebell/dumbbell swings (10 sets of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds recovery)
Exercise Descriptions
Burpees
You will be performing a high volume of burpees in this workout separated by only short rests. Don’t forget to focus on good exercise technique to get the most from your training session and avoid any unnecessary injuries, aches and pains.
- Squat down and place your hands on the floor just in front of your feet
- Jump your feet out behind you so you land in the press up position
- Perform a single press up
- Jump your feet back under you and up to your hands
- Leap up into the air as high as you can
- On landing, immediately drop into another rep
- Try not to land like a baby elephant when doing this exercise – stay on your toes and although you are jumping as high as you can make sure you land as lightly as possible
Crunches
Crunches, like sit ups, come in for a bit of stick from many trainers in the fitness industry. The truth is that they are an effective anterior core exercise that will strengthen and condition your rectus abdominus or abs for short. The secret to successful crunch performance is to do them slowly and really SQUEEZE your abs like you are trying to wring them dry! Remember, no pulling on your neck.
- Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor
- Place your hands on your temples, across your chest or on your thighs
- Exhale and raise your head, shoulders and upper back off the floor
- SQUEEZE for two to five seconds!
- Return to the starting position and repeat
- You can also perform this exercise with your feet elevated and your knees and hips flexed to 90 degrees
Skipping – knee lift sprint
Try and spin the rope as fast as you possibly can!
- Begin skipping normally and then transition to jogging on the spot
- Keep your body upright and lift your knees so that your thighs are parallel to the floor
- Pump your legs as fast as you can as you spin your rope
- This exercise is more challenging – especially if you are new to skipping. Persevere, practice skipping whenever you get the chance and you’ll soon be skipping like a pro.
Thrusters
Thrusters combine a squat with a shoulder press to target your legs, arms and midsection. They are will also challenge your cardiovascular system. You can perform this exercise using dumbbells, a barbell, a medicine ball, kettlebell or sandbag – even a large rock!
- Stand with your feet shoulder width apart with your chosen weight in your hands
- Raise the weight to chest level so it is resting in your upturned palms and your elbows are down by your chest
- Squat down so that your thighs are parallel to the floor
- Drive up out of the squat and use the momentum from your legs to push the weight overhead to arms’ length
- Lower the weight back to your chest and then descend into another squat
Kettlebell/dumbbell swings
The final exercise in this workout is the kettlebell swing. Don’t worry if you don’t have access to a kettlebell though, you can perform this exercised with a dumbbell or a medicine ball in a strong bag as necessary. Kettlebell swings strengthen your hips, hamstrings and lower back and are one of the best butt exercises you can do.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your weight held in front of your thighs
- Bend your knees slightly and then hinge forward from your hips
- Lower the weight between your knees
- Drive your hips forward and swing the weight at arms’ length up to between chest and head height. The hip drive in this exercise is not dissimilar to the take off for a standing long jump. Keep this in your mind to maximize the effectiveness of this exercise.
- Do not allow your lower back to round at any point during this exercise