Today’s WOD (workout of the day) is a Christmas-themed tabata workout. In a tabata, you perform a given movement at a high intensity for eight rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. If you have downloaded the SmartWOD timer, it has an easy to use tabata function. For today’s WOD:
(1) Press “TABATA”.
(2) Select 8 rounds of 0:20 work, 0:10 rest.
(3) Click on the plus sign beside “Add sets”.
(4) Select 4 sets with 2 minutes of rest between sets.
(5) Press "START TIMER".
You can also use “tabata songs” on YouTube to time your workout. For fun, consider using these Christmas tabata songs for today’s workout: Jingle Bells, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Last Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town/Jingle Bell Rock, Underneath the Tree.
If you are an experienced athlete and feel capable, please perform the following WOD as prescribed (Rx):
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Tabata
Rx:
Tabata 1 - Reverse snow angels
Rest 2 minutes
Tabata 2 - “Gingerbread jacks” aka jumping jacks
Rest 2 minutes
Tabata 3 - “Angel wing workers” aka dumbbell push press (50lb, 35lb)
Rest 2 minutes
Tabata 4 - “Tinsel twists” aka Russian twists with dumbbell (25lb, 15lb)
Tabatas scale automatically. A beginner will naturally perform fewer reps than an advanced athlete. However, it may also be necessary to scale the movements. A beginner’s version of today’s WOD could look like this:
Scaled 1:
Tabata 1 - Reverse snow angels
Rest 2 minutes
Tabata 2 - “Gingerbread jacks” aka jumping jacks
Rest 2 minutes
Tabata 3 - “Angel wing workers” aka dumbbell push press (8lb, 5lb)
Rest 2 minutes
Tabata 4 - “Tinsel twists” aka Russian twists
Perhaps something between the Rx version and the beginner version of the WOD is right for you today. Another variation of today’s WOD might look like this:
Scaled 2:
Tabata 1 - Reverse snow angels
Rest 2 minutes
Tabata 2 - “Gingerbread jacks” aka jumping jacks
Rest 2 minutes
Tabata 3 - “Angel wing workers” aka dumbbell push press (35lb, 20lb)
Rest 2 minutes
Tabata 4 - “Tinsel twists” aka Russian twists with dumbbell (5lb, 3lb)
Please listen to your body, and pick the version of the workout that is right for you. You can always adjust mid-WOD if you find that the modifications you’ve picked are too easy or too difficult.
Personally, I dislike keeping score during tabatas. It’s not hard; but I prefer to turn my mind off and just work when the timer tells me to work. If you do want to keep score, count the reps you perform during the four tabatas. If you do keep score, consider leaving it in the comment section below!
Not sure what some of the movements are? Click on the following links for more information:
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