Tabata intervals

The following post will be my impressions of using Tabata intervals to improve fitness.  I have to be up front that this is not going to be a formal, scientific review of the effectiveness of Tabata-style intervals vs other types of endurance training.  All it will be is my impressions reflecting back to previous years of cycling in comparison to this year.  There will be no "proof" given.

Just so ya know.

When I first got back into cycling in 2009, I saw a big jump in my fitness during that first season.  In the spring, a 15 mile ride was quite an accomplishment.  In October, I rode my first 100 mile ride.  That is substantial change in about 3-4 months.

This isn't all that surprising.  If anyone starts a new exercise program, they will always see a big boost in fitness in the early stages.

I think of it like climbing a mountain.  Climbing the first 1/3 of the mountain will seem pretty easy compared to climbing the last 1/3 of the mountain.  Building fitness is easy when you don't have much to begin with.  The more fit you get, the more work you have to put in to see further gains.

During the 2012 cycling season I spent most of my time on the bike just riding.  There was no particular speed I was aiming for.  There was no "structure" to my training.  Hop on the bike and go ride.  This attitude was undoubtedly influenced by my experiment with barefoot/minimalist running, which, admittedly, took up most of my mental energy.

Don't get me wrong.  I have absolutely nothing against a good ol' fashioned bike ride.  However, there did seem to be a downside to that strategy.

I lost speed.  Even when I would push myself a little harder, it didn't seem like I could go all that fast.  My average speed really dropped.  Most rides were in the 15 mph range compared to the mid 16 mph range.  Who wants that?

For this cycling season, I knew I had to do something different.  There were several reasons for this:

• Leah - with an infant and two older children, I didn't anticipate getting in a lot of long rides.  This has turned out to be true.  My current mileage totals for the year can attest to the fact that I haven't been on the bike much.
• Crazy Faith - when I decided to do the 12 hour charity ride for my church's Chrisitan Ed Ministry, I knew I needed to find a way to get as much out of each ride or run.  Quality over quanity.
• I don't like slow.  Simple enough.

What I needed was good quality workouts to make up for the lack of mileage.

In the past, I have heard about and done a few Tabata intervals.  You can find a description at this link.  The gist of it is this...go all out for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds and repeat 7 more times.  It comes out to 4 minutes total.  Four minutes doesn't seem like too much.  You can nudge that 4 minutes into lots of different workouts.

I started using the Tabata intervals probably back in May or June.  The goal has been to do them either running or cycling a little more than once per week, which I have been successful at.

Has it helped?  I would have to say yes.  When I do a more casual ride, my pace is typically along the lines of 16.5 mph vs something in the mid 15's.  I certainly feel stronger on the bike.  Hills are still hills but it seems like I'm getting up them a little faster.

On several occasions, I have done rides between 15-25 miles which I treated like a time trial.  Basically, my goal was to go all out and see how fast I could go.  Those rides have been between 17.9-18.1 average mph.  I really don't think I could have done that pace last year.

As I mentioned above, I don't have any firm data to prove that I'm more fit.  I don't own a power meter so that I can compare 1 minute, 5 minute and 20 minute power outputs.  As cool as that would be to have, it is quite unnecessary.

What have the workouts looked like?  It has varied considerably.  Below are some examples:

• Jog to a nearby trail, do the Tabata, and jog back.  I usually take a longer route back home than I did to get to the trail.
• On the commute to work - a few times I have had extra time on my ride to work, so I've thrown in a Tabata.
• Long rides - I did one 30+ mile ride where I threw in a Tabata at around the 30 mile mark.
• Ride to a high school track, do a running Tabata, and ride home.  Once again, I have often taken a longer and more vertically challenging route home compared to how I got to the track.

This year has been the Year of Opportunity.  What I mean by Year of Opportunity is this...with a full time job, a wife and three little ones at home, finding time for workouts is tough.  I have had to take my opportunities where I can find them.  That is where the Tabata intervals have fit in so nicely.  I can think of one run that was about 22 minutes total between the warm up, Tabata, and the cool down jog home.  Twenty-two minutes.  That's all.  Many of these have been done after the kiddos are in bed.  I might not even start until 9 o'clock at night.

If I was in the mindset of "I have to do a least an hour or it won't be worth it" then there would be no workout.  I would end up being a schlub sitting on the couch.

Twenty-two minutes.  Done.

Do I want every ride/run/workout to be high intensity?  No.  That will lead to physical and mental burnout.  Sometimes you need to go out and Just Run or Just Ride.

In fact, I think that's what I'll do this afternoon.