FML Workout: Total Tabata Takedown

By by Jennifer Frey, NASM – June 1, 2017
Photography by Brian Fitzsimmons

What is tabata? 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. For this tabata, we’ll be doing five different exercises for eight rounds. Perform each exercise moving down the list in a A, B, C, D, E order. Once you have completed all five exercises, repeat this circuit for a total of 8 rounds. 

*For the single leg/arm movements: Start with the right arm/leg and stay on that side throughout the circuit. After one circuit is complete, switch sides to even it out. Keep alternating each new round.  


A. Scorpion Pike Press

The Set-Up: Start in a “downward dog”/pike position, hands under the shoulders and head aligned with arms. Push your hips back as if you’re trying to get your stomach to touch your thighs. Lift one leg up as high as you can while still maintaining the pike hold. This is your starting position.

The Action:
1. Starting with your right leg up, you will start to lean your weight onto your hands until you feel a suitable amount of tension. Slowly lower your head to the floor. 
2. At the bottom of your descent, take your elevated right leg and drive your knee into your right elbow or armpit. You should not only feel a shift of added weight onto your right tricep and shoulder, but an added crunch through the right side of your oblique. 
3. Using your core, push through your hands and shoulders and press yourself back to the starting position. Stay on one leg throughout the entire first round, and then alternate legs every new round. 


B. Low Plank Hold Mt Climbers

The Set-Up: Begin in a plank position: Hands under the shoulders and feet spread wider than shoulder width. Keeping elbows close to your body, slowly start to descend towards to ground, pausing halfway from the bottom. Elbows should be squeezing to your sides. 

The Action: 
1. From the low plank hold position, drive both of your knees to your elbows in a tucking motion. 
2. Once your knees have made contact with your elbows, jump your feet back to the starting position and repeat. You should never come out of that low plank. 
3. Hold through the entire 20 seconds. 


C. Single Leg Touchdown + Knee Drive 

The Set-Up: Stand on one leg with your feet pointed straight forward. Keep core tight and focus your eyes on one point in the room to remain balanced. 

The Action:
1. While maintaining a flat back through this sequence, reach down by bending the hip and knee and kicking back with your opposite leg. You should have a table top back and one leg elevated in the air.  
2. At the bottom of this squat reach the opposite hand toward the side of the balanced foot. To come back up, simply drive through the heel of the balanced foot and drive the opposite knee up into a powerful knee drive. 
3. Once airborne, try to land immediately back into the original balanced position. Stay on the same side the entire time. Switch legs at each new round. 


D. Star Jumps

The Set-Up: Begin with your feet, thighs, and knees glued together. Hold your arms close to the body. 

The Action:
1. To initiate the move, squat down halfway, keeping everything still glued together. 
2. With your chest up and eyesight neutral, explode back up as high as possible. Fully extend your entire body into a jumping jack type of position—spreading your legs and arms away from the body on the air. 
3. Land in a squat hold position, keeping all body parts pinned tight to the body. 


E. X Out Burpees 

The Set-Up: Begin in a standing position with your 
core tightened.

The Action:
1. Drop into a squat position with your hands placed on the ground, close together.  
2. Next, kick your feet back and land with your feet touching into a plank position. 
3. Simultaneously jump your hands and feet out into wide plyometric push-up. 
4. To come back up, explosively push through your toes and hands to get back to a plank position. From here, jump your feet to your hands, jump up, and repeat. 

 

 
 

Related Articles

Advertisement