Mini Goal Update and Tabata Protocol

Tom Watson's Miracle?

Did you see my man Tom Watson! The 59 yrs and 10 months old golfer that ALMOST pulled out a miracle. I really felt for the man when he fell apart in the four hole playoff. All golfers have "what if's" but if had he taken just a "tad" off his second shot on 18...he would have been the 2009 British Open Champion.

Sunday was a rest day so...I rested…for awhile but after watching "The Open", I decided to go get a little exercise and burn off some adrenalin.

I typically will take Max outside with me about this time each day for our “mid day break”. Usually Max loves going outside but because of the heat, some days he’s not as anxious to go out.

I asked him to go out and I get this look….

Today he performed the “I am not interested in going outside” act. When he does this, the outcome is always the same….So I go outside and starting working out. I glance at the door…and burst out laughing, dropping my weights….Max was at the door begging to come out, see the pic below. He had pushed window covering to the side with his nose.

So....I let him out and finished my mini-workouts on my "rest day".

Mini Goal Update

BTW - I decided to see how many push ups I could do....I did 29!!! (Tammy can confirm this....)I made it part of the way up on #30....I wanted it SO BAD...but couldn't get there.

Tabata Protocol

In my Journey I came across the previously mentioned Primal Blueprint, the link to that post is here, Primal Blueprint . I had mentioned that there were fitness technique ideas that I found on the website that were very interesting. Here is one below, it goes by different names the Tabata Protocol, Tabata Sequence or Tabata Training.

If you desire to get fit...Do not discount this training …this could be exactly what you are looking for. The Tabata Protocol has been in use by athletes for quite some time. If you do a search there are 100’s of thousands of websites referencing the method.

Summary:

The Tabata Protocol can be done using any exercise. The originator Dr. Tabata, designed this with sprinting but the example below is with an exercise called Burpees. The best exercises to use with a Tabata Protocol are those that use a lot of muscles...and as you'll see Burpees fit that description.

Tabatas allow you to workout intensely in a shorter amount of time. This protocol goes against the grain of taking long walks or jogging for hours as the best method to improve your fitness. Using this method you could become fit in as little as 15 minutes a day….but it is intense. You will need to start out slow and build up.

To show you how widespread the Tabata Protocol is, the info below is from Men’s Fitness Magazine, a widely read magazine. I mention this so you won't think this is some crazy thing Steve found on the internet.... :)

Stamina Fitness Challenge

Fatigue-proof your body with the Tabata protocol

by CJ Murphy

Wondering just how well your workouts are paying off? Try performing a few Burpees. The simple yet rigorous exercise provides the short bursts the body needs to build endurance. See how many you can do before your lungs start burning. That number will help you determine your level of conditioning.

HOW IT'S DONE

From a standing position [1], squat down and place your hands on the floor [2]. Now shoot your legs straight behind you, as if you were about to perform a pushup [3]. Reverse the motion quickly to come back up and jump as high as you can with arms reaching overhead. That's one rep. Land softly, immediately going into the squat again to begin the next rep.

(I've inserted a video of burpees here )

THE TEST

Get a stopwatch and time yourself. Perform as many burpees as you can in one minute.

RATE YOURSELF

You performed…

• 15 or fewer burpees = Seriously? That's pathetic.

• Around 25 = You're in average shape.

• Around 35 = You've got good stamina.

• 45 or more = You must never get tired!

Didn't score as well as you'd like on your burpee test? Follow this program, which uses the Tabata protocol—a highly famous and effective conditioning and fat-burning method—to improve your anaerobic endurance.

Get a stopwatch and perform burpees as fast as you can for 20 seconds, and then rest 10 seconds. That's one interval. Repeat this process for eight total intervals, which should take four total minutes. If you want to perform these on the same day as a weight-training workout, do them afterward.

Week 1: Perform one block of Tabata intervals (eight in four minutes).

Week 2: Perform two blocks (16 in eight minutes).

Week 3: Perform burpees for 30 seconds and then rest 15. Continue for eight intervals in six minutes.

Week 4: Perform two blocks of the new intervals (16 intervals in 12 minutes).

Week 5: Take the burpee test and see how you've improved.

Here is the link if you would like to see the original . Stamina Fitness Challenge - Men's Fitness

Fitness.....a Destination or Journey?

The name of my blog is "Steve Cooksey’s Journey".

Why did I name it that?

1. My name IS Steve Cooksey....helloooo! (sorry...sometimes I just can't resist)

2. ...but more to the point, I named it a "journey" because fitness should be a lifelong journey not a destination.

What does this mean?

Too many times most of us (myself included) have treated Fitness as a destination, we arrive and then we move on. It is a pitstop along the way. Once we achieve a desired fitness level, we move on to other things. We forget to eat healthy foods and we forget to exercise and pretty soon we have fallen back into bad habits, gained weight and have become physically UN-fit...again.

Of course there are other times we don't even make it to our desired fitness level, we get side tracked before we even arrive....some times before we even start. It's easy to get side tracked with all the clever marketing campaigns and the fast paced lives we live.

BUT we all MUST treat fitness as a life long journey. Yes, we may veer off course occasionally but if our compass is set in the right direction and we stay “on the road”, we should be able to live longer more fulfilling lives than had we not stayed on the path to proper health and fitness.

At least twice I have gotten into good physical condition, back in 1990 and then again in 2000. In both instances, after I had achieved a desired level of fitness…I went back to my old habits and before long all the exercising, all the dieting was for nothing. I had gained all of my weight back and then some.

As I gained more and more weight...I probably started a diet every week (if not every morning when I looked in the mirror) but until I had major health problems I could not find the motivation to do something about it.

I hear this ALL the time when I try to talk someone into eating right and exercising. "Steve, it took a hospital stay to get you motivated." They actually use me as an example of how they can play the game!!!! Eat whatever you want, get fat and when health problems come...then you'll get fit???

Why that is wrong!!!

1. I almost screwed up so bad...I almost didn't have a second chance, don't assume you will.

2. If you are obese or significantly overweight...you will have health problems at some point. It WILL reduce the quality of your life or reduce the length of it. It may just be increased joint pain, it may be diabetes type 2 or it could be a heart attack or stroke....don't wait for an ambulance ride to begin your fitness journey.

Housekeeping Issue

Sorry about this but I have to take up some space here with some “housekeeping” duties.

1) Yesterday, the blog had over 100 page views so that was cool, an all time high.

So for those of you who have passed this on to family or friends…. I thank you.

2) Blog Layout

a. I don’t like the way the blog “archive” is laid out here…so I am working on a solution. One solution may be html code to create my own archive listing…I’d prefer an option that allows you the reader the ability to review titles more quickly.

b. One option is the Label section, on the right hand side. Check it out, you can click on a label and it will pull up posts associated with the label.

c. Also, on the right hand side, there is a “subscribe to the blog” and “search the blog” sections. If you subscribe, you will receive updates via email. The "search the blog" should be self explanatory.

3) Comments / Suggestions / Questions – if you have any of these, please let me know.

THANKS FOR READING!

Steve