I have the honor of designing the feature workout article in the new, April issue of Men’s Fitness Magazine in stores now!

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This Contrast Training workout will have leaner and more powerful than ever before in just 3 weeks!

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Please check out the article and comment here about what you thought of the workout.

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Now, I’m off to Columbus OH for the Arnold Classic. Anyone else going?

I’m looking forward to meeting some members of my internet family!

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The TMUSCLE coaches continue their look at a very timely topic — fat loss — this time concentrating on exercise routines!

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Continue Reading…

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By Nick Tumminello / Thurs, Feb 4, 2010

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TMUSCLE coach Nick T. takes on a classic conditioning protocol, and the results are guaranteed to leave you gasping.

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Continue Reading…

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Yesterday, my article titled Six New Tabata Workouts for Fast Fat Loss was published at Tmuscle.com.

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The article tells you everything you need to know about the Tabata protocol and effective Tabata workouts. But, the article originally included 7 workouts, not 6! The editors, for whatever reason, decided not to included the 7th workout.

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That’s okay because in today’s post, I’m going to hit you with the missing 7th Tabata workout!

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So, here’s the missing workout exactly as I wrote it the unedited New Tabata Workouts for Fast Fat Loss article:

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Tabata Workout #7 – Bodyweight Tabata (8 Exercises)

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This bodyweight Tabata incorporates 8 exercises and alternates from the lower body, to the core, to the upper body and finishes with a total body exercise. This is repeated twice to equal four minutes total.

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Here’s how it goes down-

20 sec Speed Squats or Squat jumps (lower body)

10 sec rest

20 sec Tight Core Rotations (core)

10 sec rest

20 sec Push Ups (upper-body)

10 sec rest

20 sec Burpees (total body)

10 sec rest

20 sec Lunges or Lunge Jumps (lower body)

10 sec rest

20 sec Tight Core Rotations (core)

10 sec rest

20 sec Plank Fast Hands (upper body)

10 sec rest

20 sec Burpee w/Jump

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Remember to perform each exercise as fast and with as much intensity as possible!

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There are two exercises listed above you may not be familiar with? – The Tight Core Rotations and the Plank Fast Hands.

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Go here to learn how to do the Tight Core Rotations

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Watch the video below to learn how to perform the Plank Fast Hands exercise.

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As always, I love to hear your comments, thoughts and favorite workouts. So, hit me with everything you have to say that’s related to doing Tabata style workouts!

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Six New Tabata Workouts for Fast Fat Loss
by Nick Tumminello | Jan 6, 2010

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TMUSCLE coach Nick T. takes on a classic conditioning protocol, and the results are guaranteed to leave you gasping.

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Continue Reading…

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A few weeks ago, I did a post covering a 12-week interval training progression using the Tabata Protocol.

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In that post, I discussed exactly what Tabata Intervals are, why Tabata Workouts benefit athletes of all levels and off course, how to gradually progress over a 12-week period to prevent overtraining.

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In this post, I’m going to cover a slightly shorter, 8 week Tabata Workout progression.

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If you are a fitter athlete with a solid conditioning base.  This 8-week progression is just what the doctor ordered to help you maximize the results of your Tabata training efforts.

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8-Week Tabata Workout Progression

Key – 10/20 x6 = 10 seconds work / 20 seconds rest x 6 rounds.

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Wk.1 – 10/20 x6

Wk.2 – 15/15 x4

Wk.3 – 10/20 x8

Wk.4 – 15/15 x6

Wk.5 – 20/10 x4

Wk.6 – 15/15 x8

Wk.7 – 20/10 x6

Wk.8 – 20/10 x8

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Do you have any personal favorite Tabata workouts?

I have a few killer Tabata workouts I will posting soon – keep checking back!

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In the meantime, post your comments and tell us about your favorite and most effective Tabata workouts!

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Alright, I’ve got allot of cool stuff in this issue of Freestyle Friday. So, lets get to it!

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My Lost Fitcast Interview

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Back during the Thanksgiving Holiday, I did my second interview with the Fitcast. It was a great interview that covered:

- Functional Movement Screening

- Fat Loss Training

- Training with a Herniated Disc(s)

And plenty more!

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For some strange reason, I never sent out an email or Blog post notifying anyone of this free interview. So, better late than never!

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Go here to listen my FREE Fitcast Interview!

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Cool Workout Tunes!

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Occasionally, I like to talk about some of the music on the Performance U playlist. These are songs and bands we like to jam to when getting after it in the gym. I try to only talk about lesser known bands that rock!

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The Band – RA

Favorite Album by RA – Duality

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Favorite Songs by RA – Rectifier, I Lost Everything Today, Everything Little She Does is Magic (cover)

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5 Superpowers You Didn’t Know Your Body Was Hiding From You

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This is a very interesting, insightful and humorous article  found on Cracked.com.

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Those motivational speakers are right: You are capable of amazing things. You wouldn’t know it, because 99 percent of the time your body or brain hides these superpowers from you.

Sure, they say there’s a good reason, but we’re not sure we’re buying it. Dammit, we want our…

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Go here to Continue Reading…

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One of the most popular interval workouts among Strength Coaches, Personal Trainers and Exercise Enthusiasts is the Tabata Interval Workout.

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If you’ve never heard of the Tabata Protocol? It’s a high intensity interval training method originally created by Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata. Put simply, the Tabata Protocol is one the best cardio / metabolic conditioning workouts every discovered because its simple to understand and easy  to apply.

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“The rate of increase in V02max is one of the highest ever reported.” – Izumi Tabata, Japan
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With only 8 minutes (give or take) 2-3 times per week, you can turn your body into a fat-burning machine that will outlast all comers!

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The original Tabata Protocol consists the following:

• 5 minutes of warm-up

• 8 intervals of 20 seconds all-out intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest

• 2 minutes cool-down

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Now, you will need to gradually build up your ability to successfully complete the full Tababa without loosing intensity, overtraining or puking every workout  . Therefore, I never start athletes out from day one doing the Tabata Protocol the way it is typically described above.

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Many folks don’t realize it but, If you research the Tabata Protocol online, the original study conducted at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan used highly-trained endurance athletes in peak physical condition.

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Now, because most folks are not highly-trained endurance athletes, it’s important to utilize a progressive approach to increasing fitness level and work capacity to accommodate this workout. This is especially important when training power based athletes or working simply to improve overall fitness.

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So, to help you train smarter, harder and safer, In this post, I’m going to provide you with a 12 week progression for using the Tabata Interval protocol.

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In the chart below, you will see figures that look like this – 10/20 x6.

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The first number listed is the work (exercise) interval in seconds (ex: 10 =10 seconds). The second number listed is the rest interval in seconds (ex: 20 = 20 seconds). The last figure represents the number of rounds you will perform of the given interval (ex: x6 = perform 6 rounds).

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Put simply – 10/20 x6 = 10 seconds work / 20 seconds rest x6 rounds

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Okay, now that you understand how read the chart below. Here is my 12 week Tabata interval workout Progression.

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12 Week Tabata Workout Progression

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Keep your eye on the Blog because very soon, I’m  going to provide you with another Tabata progression. This will be a shorter, 8 week progression used for fitter more well conditioned athletes. STAY TUNED!!!

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Alright, I’m back home from giving two killer presentations at the ECA World Fitness THRIVE Conference. The crowd at both classes could not have been any better and a BIG Thanks goes out to all the folks at ECA for welcoming me with open arms and for their amazing staff!

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On top of that, Alli had her Figure Competition this past weekend. Tomorrow, I will reveal the results and talk about what goes back stage at a Figure Show.

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For now, we are back in action with Smarter Strength and Conditioning concepts!

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In todays post, I’m going to hit you with one of my favorite Leg Complexes. A  leg complex could also be called a leg circuit.

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This complex is one of the version I have developed from the original Super Legs circuit designed by my good friend, Coach JC Santana.

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This Leg Complex is done unilaterally so its great for sports specific purposes and for physique competitors to develop symmetry.

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In my last post, I provided you with Mark Young’s brilliant concept of using Tight Rotations as part of a cardio / conditioning / fat loss workout.

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As promised, in this post, I have provided a video that will show you one of the ways I utilize Tight Rotations in our Metabolic Conditioning here at Performance U.

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In this video, you will see Alli McKee doing some serious upper body dominant conditioning after her Strength Workout. Trust me when I say, Alli can out-last any and all comers when it comes to conditioning. When we are training, regardless of how difficult the workout, Alli won’t stop until I tell her to stop! That my friends is the type of drive, mental toughness and dedication it takes to be a champion!

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And, its why Alli is going to kick ass on stage at her figure competition next week!

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Watch Alli “get after it” in the only she knows how, as she performs 1 round of her interval conditioning.

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Now , go here to read Alli’s Blog post in which she reveals the exact training specifics of the Conditioning workout you have just watched. Yes, here, Alli tells you the specific reps, sets, tempos, rests used in during her strength session that day. Plus,  she provides the work/rest interval times she performed on the conditioning workout in the video here.

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Where else can you get real world training information like this? – No where but here at NickTumminello.com and at Alli’s Fit to Figure Blog.