Robb Wolf posesses a unique perspective of both scientist, athlete and owner of NorCal Strength & Conditioning. Robb has done research with Prof. Loren Cordain of Colorado State University and author of the book The Paleo Diet. Robb is also a review editor for the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism.
Additionally, Robb is co-publisher and editor-in-chief of the Performance Menu
“If your athletes life depended on getting in top-shape in record time what would be the most important thing you would do (Nutrition-Wise)?”
The second segment in my series of hard-hitting quick-tip audiointerviews comes from CrossFit Barbell expert Mark Rippetoe. The question I asked him is simple, his answer is bound to raise a few eyebrows;
“If your athletes life depended on getting in top-shape in record time what would be the most important thing you would do?”
Mark Rippetoe is the owner of Wichita Falls Athletic Club. He has 28 years experience in the fitness industry, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, USA Weightlifting Level III Coach, as well as a USA Track and Field Level I Coach. He has published articles in the Strength and Conditioning Journal, is a regular contributor to the CrossFit Journal, and is the author of the book:
I’m doing a series of hard-hitting quick-tip audiointerviews with no-nonsense in the trenches CrossFit Coaches. The question I ask is simple and bound to make an impact in how you approach your training;
“If your athletes life depended on getting in top-shape in record time what would be the most important thing you would do?”
Chute Fighter – A rough stock animal that will not stand still and tries to fight the cowboy before he leaves the chute.
A simple little circuit compounded in difficulty by the Nasty addition of 50 Bullwhips…
A good test of conditioning and grip endurance
“Chute Fighter”
5 Rounds for time:
10 Chins
30 Air Squats
50 Bullwhips
Video of Chute Fighter
Wall Alarm – Facilitates the process of getting the right tools to the right place on the initial dispatch, helps eliminate the guesswork of “when will the pain kick in”.
A lung searing workout compounded by the high box jumps, (26 inches for Women, 32 inches for Men).Tough start to finish, a killer Cardio workout!
“Wall Alarm”
10 rounds for Time:
5 Burpees
10 High Box Jump
15 Wall Ball
Video of Wall Alarm
Cannon – You can’t shoot a cannon from a canoe; one of my favorite core strength and conditioning phrases. Think about it…
This workout is a great test of Strength Endurance; both bodyweight and barbell, as it involves higher repetition pullups and Front Squats. We add a power and conditioning element by including the Concept2 Rower. The workout is a descending ladder, meaning the repetitions decrease each round. This keeps intensity high as fatigue sets in.
The 2 big mistakes that I see people make in the deadlift are:
1. Dropping the hips too low. The tendency here is to “squat the bar”. Instead get the butt up a bit and shoulders over the bar!
2. Not taking in a huge breath of air before the lift. Take a big breath and raise your ribcage and chest. Then get tension on the bar this will help “lengthen” your spine and increase intra-abdominal pressure which aids in mid-line stabilization, (a Solid Core)…
Then, grip and rip!
Note Karen’s starting position…
If she lifts her butt up a bit it will get her shoulders and scapula over the bar and put her in a better position.
Note the space between the bar and her body as she has started the lift, (there should be none). Here she is still “squatting the bar”. Karen did make some nice adjustments today, as did all of you…I happened to catch her on camera early on…sorry Karen but it’s a great example of what many are doing and the photo’s will help us all tremendously!
Note the solid start position here…High hips, scapula over the bar.
Does this help?
Check out these 2 quick video’s for more help with the deadlift:
With a Mash-up we keep the intensity and benefit of Tabata’s while switching back and forth between movements.
With a traditional Tabata you keep a low rep score, (Click here to see this previous Blog entry), this often has you pacing your effort. Occasionally it’s a true benefit to sell out…a sell out is when you put the intensity meter on high and go for as many reps as possible for every single 20 second interval. There is NO penalty if you don’t keep pace; with this workout we tally your total repetitions.
Make sense?
OK…it’s time to lay it all on the line, sell yourself out, and track total combined repetitions.
Today’s workout had us starting with an upper body push/pull circuit:
20 Seconds maximum Pullups
10 second Rest
20 Seconds Maximum Pushups
10 Seconds Rest
*Repeat for 8 total intervals, (4 minutes), and track your total Repetitions*
Keep the Tabata interval timer running and rest only 1 interval, (30 seconds), before moving to the next sequence/phase. If you are a psycho looking for that next level feel free to use a 20lb X-Vest!
The second phase had us on a lower body movement, Air Squats.
20 Seconds of Air Squats
10 Seconds of rest.
*Repeat for 6 intervals, (3 minutes), track your totalrepetitions*
Why only 6 intervals?
I want to keep output high, lets keep that sell out mentality!
For phase 3 we then move BACK to the original circuit:
20 Seconds maximum Pullups
10 second Rest
20 Seconds Maximum Pushups
10 Seconds Rest
*Repeat for 8 total intervals, (4 minutes), and track your total Repetitions*
Phase 4 is more Air squats BUT with one less interval, 5 instead of 6:
20 Seconds of Air Squats
10 Seconds of rest.
*Repeat for 5 intervals, (2 minutes, 30 seconds total), trackyour total repetitions*
Excellent!
Now, still only resting that one interval, 30 seconds between each major phase we move to Phase 5:
20 Seconds Strict Barbell Front Press
10 second Rest
20 Seconds Kettlebell High pulls
10 Seconds Rest
*Repeat for 8 total intervals, (4 minutes), and track your total Repetitions*
We used a guideline of 45lbs for Women, 65lbs for Men, but scale according to your specific level.
Phase 6; more Air Squats but only 4 intervals!
20 Seconds of Air Squats
10 Seconds of rest.
*Repeat for 4 intervals, (2 minutes total), track your total repetitions*
Phase 7: Back at it again!
20 Seconds Strict Barbell Front Press
10 second Rest
20 Seconds Kettlebell High pulls
10 Seconds Rest
*Repeat for 8 total intervals, (4 minutes), and track your total Repetitions*
Phase 8; more Air Squats but only 3 intervals!
20 Seconds of Air Squats
10 Seconds of rest.
*Repeat for 3 intervals, (1 minute, 30 seconds total), track your total repetitions*
That’s It!
It’s a high Volume Squat day, we spend 9 minutes squatting but…it is spread out over the entire workout!
4 minutes with pullups, 4 minutes with pushups, 4 minutes with the strict press, and 4 minutes with kettlebell high pulls…
…all of these movements are spread out so we are able to keep intensity high.
This is a brutal workout that will test both your conditioning and strength!
With rest periods included, this workout takes less than 30 minutes!
The Tabata Protocol is a 4 minute workout method that taxes both the anaerobic and aerobic systems thus giving you more bang for your workout buck!
If you are unfamiliar with CrossFit training I’ll keep it in simple terms; with the Tabata protocol you’ll get all the benefits of Cardio while training traditional weight lifting or bodyweight movements.You could spend 25 minutes on cardio and 25 minutes on weights; 50 minutes total…
…or perform a few 4 minute Tabata’s to get faster and better results!
The workout is of course very physically and mentally demanding, sometimes motivation is the limiting factor in getting the results we want from this protocol, that’s why we make a game out of it!
More on this game in a bit…
With the Tabata protocol we perform 20 seconds of work in a core strengthening movement followed by 10 seconds of rest.This is done for eight straight intervals.The clock never stops, so the total workout takes only 4 minutes!
The game we play that keeps us pushing to the higher end of our potential is to simply keep score of our lowest output.
Your score at the end of the 4 minute workout is the LEAST amount of repetitions you perform during any of the 8 intervals. You set your pace during the first 20 second interval by counting your total repetitions, you then have to match that first interval score for each interval. If your number drops on any interval this is now your end score.This method really helps with motivation and provides inspiration to keep the pace and intensity up!
For example; if I perform 10 repetitions on all eight intervals 10 is my final score.If for some reason or another I drop to 7 repetitions during any of the eight intervals then 7 is my final score.
Make sense?
When applied appropriately it is no doubt one of the best protocols available!
What is appropriately?
Well one way to “Tabata” is by utilizing the movements in Fight Gone Bad (FGB).
FGB is a workout developed for competitive martial artists.
The workout deserves further explanation of it’s own but for now all you need to know is that the movements in FGB were picked to improve the core strength and conditioning of martial artists who are fighting for their survival…these athletes are in shape!I’ll get more in-depth on the FGB workout on another day; today lets look at the movements.
FGB has 5 core strengthening moments:
Wall Ball
Concept2 Row
Box Jumps
Barbell Push Press
Kettlebell High Pulls
These movements deserve further exploration, description, and coaching on both form and function…but again I’ll cover these in-depth on another day …guess I have some writing to do and video to shoot…that is why I started a Blog!
Here is a quick video of these movements as a demonstration.
OK, so now that we have some background lets get into the Nuts and Bolts of the workout…
Start with Tabata Wallball, keep track of the least amount of reps you get on any interval. We use a 12 pound medicine ball for Women and a 15lb Medicine ball for Men.We use a 9 foot target.
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Concept2 Row, keep track of calories, record the least amount of calories burned on any of the 8 intervals.
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Box Jump, track reps. We use a 20 inch box for Women, 26” box for Men
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Barbell Push Press, track reps. We use 55 pounds for Women, 75 pounds for Men. We commonly scale the load for different fitness levels and substitute Dumbbells when needed
Rest 1 Minute
Tabata Kettlebell High pulls, track reps.We use 24 kilos, (52lbs) for Women, 32 Kilos for Men, (70lbs).We commonly scale the weight used for varied fitness levels.
That is it!
Add up your score on each movement to get your total score.
Five Tabata’s with 1 minute rest in between equals a brutal 24 minute workout!
Does this Blog Post better describe the workout “Tabata Fight Gone Bad”?
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