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Yesterday was another Crossfit milestone for myself . . . I puked for the first time

Oh yes, the workout was so tough and I pushed myself so hard, that I had winded myself to the extreme and lost bodily control. Once I made my way to the washroom, the toilet was the image that triggered the torrent, wasted was my beautiful lunch of bison burgers made on my new Hummer grill

The workout that made me lose my lunch is called “Tabata This”. Tabata basically means doing a specific exercise non-stop for 30 seconds in sets of eight, with 10 second rests in between sets. You try to do as many reps in each 30 seconds. The set with the “lowest” number is your score. There is a 3 minute rest in between each specific exercise. So, my workout consisted of Tabata Squats, Tabata Pull-ups, Tabata Sit-ups, Tabata Push-ups and finishing with Tabata Rows. Try doing them each non-stop for eight sets of 30 seconds each set. After the push-ups I never even got to the rows, I made a B-line for the washroom. My whole body feels like I was hit by a truck, but it has never looked so good. Funny how you can look your best when you feel like dying, lol.

With that, I bring you this Friday Health Check!

Stable Surface Best for Building Squat Strength

Performing exercises on unstable surfaces is the latest muscle-building fad in many health clubs across the country. The rationale is that instability forces muscles in the lower body and trunk to stabilize the spine during whole-body exercises, such as squats and overhead presses. Researchers from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, led by Jeffrey McBride, determined that muscle activation in the lower body was up to 45 percent less during isometric squats on unstable surfaces than on stable surfaces (i.e., normal squats). The researchers measured muscle activation with electromyography(EMG), which gauges the electrical activity in muscles when they’re activated by the nervous system. Muscle tension is critical for building mass and strength. While exercising on unstable surfaces helps develop core muscle stability, it doesn’t create enough tension to promote optimal training gains in hardcore gym rats. While athletes may include some instability training in their programs, it shouldn’t be the primary means of gaining strength and muscle mass. (Journal Strength Conditioning Research, 20:915-918, 2006)

Posted on June 8th, 2007 by Leo
Filed under: Friday Health Check