Why is it difficult to get in shape? Why is it even harder to stay fit? Well, if you are a family man like me, your day starts by preparing the children for kindergarten and yourself for work. Exercise is pretty much out of the question in the morning, at least on weekdays, simply because there’s no time. Sure, I could get out of bed an hour earlier at 4:40am, but I’m pretty sure that’s a habit I’ll eventually break.
The next opportunity to exercise occurs after we have picked up the children from kindergarten around 5:30 p.m. you can do some exercise every other day. On the other hand, it is not so easy to take care of the children and at the same time prepare dinner. It would be great if my wife could do that while I cook. Correct.
After dinner there is a window of about 45 minutes before it is time to put the children to bed. I think this time is well spent playing with them. If it’s my wife’s turn to put them to bed, then I can do my exercise. I finish at about 9:00 pm That leaves about an hour free of kids with my wife to get the marriage blossoming before it’s time for bed. Right now we’re both pretty exhausted and just want to relax in front of the TV. It’s not ideal.
Under these circumstances it it is It’s actually quite difficult to form and maintain a good exercise habit. Is there any way to avoid this? Yes! Let’s see the solution:
The marriage-saving exercise is called Tabata intervals. It can be done with just about any exercise or combination of exercises, but I’m just going to show you what I do. After you’ve done whatever warm-up you want for two minutes, do the following:
- Do 20 seconds of maximum intensity high knee jumps.
- rest 10 seconds
- Do 20 seconds of maximum intensity burpees
- rest 10 seconds
- Do 20 seconds of maximum intensity mountaineering
- rest 10 seconds
- Do 20 seconds of maximum intensity jumping lunges.
- rest 10 seconds
- Repeat 1-8 one more time
- Are you ready. Go take a shower. Then spend some time with your partner.
This 4 minute workout is quite challenging and will definitely get your heart pumping and sweat flowing. Don’t be fooled by how little time it works!
There is a scientific study that supports the effects of the Tabata protocol. It was performed in 1997 by Dr. Izumi Tabata and his fellow researchers at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. I’ll skip the details of the study and head straight to the conclusion:
Four minutes of Tabata intervals can do more to increase aerobic and anaerobic capacity than an hour of resistance training!
The tabata diet can be incorporated into your day no matter how busy you are. So, what are you waiting for? Try it! Good luck!
Remember to consult a doctor before beginning any exercise or diet program.