Blueberries or Space Rocks?

When I switched blogging venues, I used this header at the top of my blog:

  Ryan was reading it one day and asked me what those big blue things were at the top of my blog.

Me: What do you mean?

Ryan: I mean what are they?

Me: They're blueberries.

Ryan: They look like space rocks.

Me:....nope. Just blueberries.

  Five minutes later, I couldn't see anything but space rocks. Or planets. Or unidentifiable blue orbs. I was going for a freshly washed handful of delicious blueberries, and now I can only see space rocks. Wet space rocks. Okay you get the point. I also figured it was a little too dark, so I decided to brighten things up a little!  

   It may not be my final design, but it's brighter and happier! And raspberries can't be confused for rocks. I also made another change. I now have my own domain name :) No more absurdly long thealwayshappyeater.blogspot.com. Now you can find me at www.happy-eater.com. Much better!

Today's Workout: Did you know you can complete a solid workout in 4 minutes? Tabata workouts are 4 minutes long (and should be placed between a warm up and cool down) and if you give it your all, they're going to vastly improve your fitness levels.

You can use the Tabata model for lifting or sprinting or both! (You can sprint while swimming, biking, and running!)  Today I completed a (running) Tabata sprint workout. Here's the breakdown:

Repeat 8x:

Sprint 20 seconds

Rest 10 seconds

Total Time: 4 minutes

Watch some beginners give it a try!

They worked out for 4 minutes and could hardly move when they were done.

Why/How does it work? Dr. Tabata completed research in this study that showed high intensity intermittent training improves both aerobic and anaerobic body systems, which is a significant improvement from your basic aerobic only (cardio) exercises. You're improving muscle performance and aerobic capacity at the same time in a shorter amount of time! 

Now, if you complete this workout to the best of your ability, you're not "done" once your last sprint comes to an end. I completed a 5 minute warm up jog and a 12 minute cool down jog...because it took 12 minutes for my heartbeat to come back down to an acceptable level. 

Here are some links of other tabata workouts:

What are Tabata Sprints?

Shape Magazine Tabata Workout

Men's Fitness Tabata Workout

Muscle and Fitness Tabata Workout

Happy sprinting!