Stew’s Favorites: Tabata Weights and Calisthenics

This series of articles is a favorite workout of the week for 20 weeks. This is week 20. See links below for weeks 1-19 for great ideas to add to your workout routine. These are some of the latest workouts we have been doing with our Spec Ops Heroes of Tomorrow group. If you are ever in the Annapolis, Maryland, area and want some of these workouts, they are free to people seeking military, police or firefighter professions or those serving or have served.

This is a mix of weights and calisthenics and higher-intensity cardio events using the Tabata interval protocol.

We do five-minute sets of the Tabata interval, which is a 20-second sprint/10-second easy pace that is repeated 10 times (equals five minutes). Then you spend roughly five minutes in the gym, doing a push, pull, full body, ab exercise for one minute each. Give yourself 15-20 seconds between each exercise for transition time.

Warmup with five-minute Tabata (20 seconds fast/10 seconds slow)

Repeat four times.

• Push one minute
• Pull one minute
• Full one minute
• Abs one minute
• Five-minute Tabata interval

Feel free to change the exercises each set.

(push = push-ups, dips, military press, bench press, shoulder workout -- any chest, shoulder, triceps exercise)

(pull = pull-ups, pulldowns, dumbbell rows, biceps curls, barbell high pulls -- any back -- biceps exercise)

(full body = burpees, deadlifts, power clean, hang cleans, kettlebell swings, MJDB#2, thrusters -- any exercise that works multiple joints in the legs, core and arms)

(Abs = sit-ups, plank pose, flutter kicks, TRX rollouts, knee-ups, leg levers, crunches, farmer walks -- any core exercise)

Run 1.5 miles easy

Run 1.5 miles fast

Warmup: 500-meter swim (any stroke)

Swim

Repeat 10 times.

100 meters at goal 500-meter pace

Push-ups one minute

Sit-ups one minute

Squats one minute or pull-ups if you have a pull-up bar on pool deck

Cooldown: 500 meters with or without fins.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you're looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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