Modified Tabata - Get It Done In Under 30

Today I booked it over to make the noon Mad Abs and 12:30pm Dirty 30 classes I usually take on Wednesdays at Pura Vida Club.  


In Mad Abs, Cyndie had us use a Bosa ball and medicine ball for today's class.  We used the Bosa for almost the entire class including doing some lower back strengthening doing Superman lifts on them.  Mountain climbers, walking planks, slide crunches on Bosa with both legs off floor were all part of the abs fun today.


For Dirty 30, Tim had us do modified Tabata, which is four minutes of intense interval or circuit training. We had three stations today.  Here's the breakdown:


Cross over lunges then extended lunge for 20 seconds - cross your right foot in front of and outside your left foot so you are in a curtsy position lunge, then push off that right foot, and taking it out to the right to land in a 90 degree lunge with right leg while left leg straightens in a side lunge position.
Repeat with left leg as lead for 20 seconds.
Rest 20 seconds.
Repeat 3 more rounds.


Handle medicine ball kettlebell swing for 20 seconds - squat then swing handle medicine ball up to shoulder and repeat  using the power of the squat and hips to help with lift of the ball.
Shoulder press for 20 seconds - elbow even with shoulder and press ball up. Free hand is down by your side, not on hip.
Rest 20 seconds.
Repeat two moves again on each arm.


Body bar row for 20 seconds - make figure 8s as you paddle with the body bar using straight arms. Hips should stay square, abs in, and be in an athletic stance with knees bent slightly.
Mountain climbers for 20 seconds - in plank position with feet on gliders bring knees forward to elbows as fast as you can.
Rest 20 seconds.
Repeat 3 more rounds.


Then do another round of all exercises. Have fun!

Doing The Reps

It's Wednesday and for me that means Mad Abs and Dirty 30 at Pura Vida Club.  I love the classes.  They are tough and so worth me making a lunch date with my myself to workout.

Cyndie taught Mad Abs using a ball and weights.  She did one minute intervals.  We did two sets of each series and ended the class with two minutes of plank.  We did a plank with ball against the wall, forearms on ball and legs extended.  We were in regular plank for 30 seconds.  Lifted one leg for 15 seconds, then lifted other leg for 15 seconds.  Then we repeated for another minute.

In Dirty 30 I knew it was going to be tough today when the first thing written on the mirror was 10 hand stand push ups.  Tim's class is always tough but today was extra tough.  Here's series:

10 Hand Stand Push Ups - yep that means in hand stand position with feet against the wall

20 Pull Ups - I did mine TRX style using a bar

30 Turkish Get Ups - lay on floor with one arm extended holding weight. Sit up keeping weight pushing toward ceiling

40 Push Ups

50 Burpees - yes 50!

60 Kettlebell Swings - I used a 12 kg one (that's 26.4 pounds)

70 Lunges each leg - I alternated front and back lunges to get to 70

80 Speed Squats

90 Mountain Climbers

100 Jump Rope - it's 100 contact

Because there were so many in class we all started on different exercises.  I started with mountain climbers, skipped jump rope to save that for last and went through rest of series of 10 to 80 reps.

Talk about a killer workout!  I finished the series in 25 minutes and did a few extra push ups and called it a day.

Have fun with this one.

Partner Mad Abs & Weighted Dirty 30

I know when I walk into the room for Mad Abs and Dirty 30 at Pura Vida Club that I'm in for an intense workout hour.  Today's workout was a killer as usual.  For Mad Abs, it was a new instructor for me.  Cyndie had us partner up so I got to partner with my friend Amanda, who's a Pilates instructor at the club.

We started sitting next to each other in a V-sit (feet on floor or off) and taking a medicine ball to the outside, tap it on floor then toss over to your partner to do the same thing for 30 seconds.  Then you spin around on the floor and do the same thing for another 30 seconds to work the other side.  Then we sat on the floor facing each other with toes touching, one person takes ball, lays down on floor then crunches up to seated position and toss ball to partner who does the same thing.  We did this for 30 seconds.  Next is the leg push down.  You lay on the floor, legs extended straight in the air, and grabbing on to partner's ankles.  The partner standing up pushes your feet/legs toward the ground. You do that for 30 seconds.  Then you extend one leg hovering above the ground, the other leg extended and do single leg push downs for 15 seconds then switch to other leg.  Then you switch positions with your partner.  Do that series a second time....and that's just the first series we did in Mad Abs.  Other series included tossing the ball, crunching up to do punches, mountain climbers, and moving planks.

Next on to Dirty 30 with Tim.  He did Tabata style today.  We did each exercise for 20 seconds then moved on to next exercise or rested for 10 seconds.  We also did each exercise with some sort of weight.  Here's the series:

With body bar (I used 12 lbs one):
   Row Lunges - start and stay in a lunge and row body bar with straight arms alternating sides
   Squats - Wide grip on body bar and power squat
   Rest
   Repeat but lunge with other leg for 2nd round
   Repeat a 3rd and 4th time alternating lunge positions
   Rest after 4th round is active rest as you move to next exercise station

With weighted tube:
   Bazooka lunges - gripping tube, lunge forward and bring tube up to shoulder as if you were holding a bazooka. Bring tube down as you step back then lunge other side taking tube up to other shoulder. You want a quick pace on these.
   Speed skate - move side to side in a speed skate motion, extending tube out side to side and not up.  Again you want quick pace.
   Rest
   Repeat 3 more times
   Rest after 4th round is active rest as you move to next exercise station

With weighted handle ball (I used 14 lbs one)
   Kettlebell Swing - squat then swing kettlebell up to shoulder height as you stand up.  You should feel this in glutes not shoulders.
   Lean Over Row - lean over and stand on one leg with other leg extended (you look like a T), with ball or free weight in hand of side of your standing leg, row elbow up then down
   Rest
   Repeat but do lean over row on other side
   Repeat 3rd and 4th time alternating lean over row sides
   Rest after 4th round is active rest as you move to next exercise station

Repeat entire series again.