Long distance running… it can be high intensity, but not the same type of intensity as a sprint. It can be high intensity, but not the same as lifting weights. It can be high intensity, but not the same as mobility drills. High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.) has been gaining ground and popularity for the past few years.

That’s where Tabata comes in. The basic backstory: Dr. Izumi Tabata and his team ran a study where they divided participants into two groups. The moderate exercise group worked out 5 days a week for an hour. The high intensity group worked out 4 days for 4 minutes, 20 seconds. The moderate group gained cardiovascular fitness, but not much muscle fitness. The high intensity group experienced gains in both areas.
[Source]

So… how do runners use it? Well, building a strength-focused Tabata workout can help build key muscles, muscles that can help our running by keeping us more upright and our glutes firing. Doing exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups for 20 seconds, with a 10 second recovery in between each. Lateral squats are great because as runners, we tend to move so much in a forward direction. It’s great to hit more planes of motion.

Or we can hit the track and do Tabata sprints, 20 seconds sprinting followed up with 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times. This isn’t a workout for the newbie though, the sudden stopping can be harder on joints and

I’m partnering with HumanX by Harbinger to help spread the #TabataTuesday word and educate people about the amazing benefits of adding some Tabata to your life. They make a wide range of gear (find out how you can win some, just keep reading!) that can help power the burn in your Tabata workouts. (Of course, many Tabata workouts can be done gear-free too!)

HumanX is giving away gear every Tuesday during March. Here’s their full post on the details, but to enter you just need to use the hashtag #TabataTuesday on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook and you’ll be entered to win a weekly prize, as well as earn entry toward the #TotalTabata grand prize pack at the end of the month. Each post or tweet is an entry, so you can enter on lots of platforms and enter multiple times.

This week’s giveaway is for Kettlebell Arm Guards from HumanX Gear. Kettlebells are a fun strength training tool, but they can scratch/scrape/bruise your arms. These help protect you, so that the evidence of your workouts isn’t based on how many bruises you have. (Unless you’re like me and you just bruise for seemingly no reason at all!)

I’ll make sure to let you know what the next #TabataTuesday giveaway is as well! Follow me on all my social platforms for updates too! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Check out this video for some starting ideas: