Even though I’m an advocate of slow, relaxed and dare I say gentle exercise, variety is the spice of life. I’ve been playing around with the tabata protocol a few times a week – using it as a good morning workout when I’m short on time as so often happens around this time of year.

Of course this wouldn’t be a site about makko-ho and Japanese Yoga if I didn’t adapt tabata to a more yogic centred approach. For those of you who don’t know what tabata training is, basically it is a form of high intensity interval training which, according to some studies, can really boost your fitness and strength. From wikipedia:

A popular regimen based on a 1996 study[2] uses 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise (at 170% of VO2MAX) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated continuously for 4 minutes (8 cycles). In the original study, athletes using this method trained 4 times per week, plus another day of steady-state training, and obtained gains similar to a group of athletes who did steady state (70% VO2MAX) training 5 times per week. The steady state group had a higher VO2MAX at the end (from 52 to 57 ml/kg/min), but the tabata group had started lower and gained more overall (from 48 to 55 ml/kg/min). Also, only the tabata group had gained anaerobic capacity benefits unlike the steady state group.

Well, there you go, if you understood all that, you are probably a sports scientist or somesuch. Lets take a simpler definition – basically, tabata training involves a 4 minute workout. Start off with 20 seconds of high intensity on the exercise of your choice. Take 10 seconds rest. The repeat this cycle until your 4 minutes are up.

Be warned, this will leave you feeling knackered if you do it properly, and probably shouldn’t be attempted unless you are fairly fit already.

So, how do I adapt tabata protocol for yoga? Well, I simply take a yoga exercise. Which one? The Dand or Hindu pushup also known as the Hanuman Push-ups or Dive Bomber Push-ups. Why the Dand? Well it has long been prized among wrestlers in India as one of the basic and most important conditioning exercises along with the Hindu squat for building strength, stamina and flexibility. And these guys have a tough regimen

Press ups in general are very good for overall conditioning, but I prefer the Dand. Done slowly, they stretch and strengthen you and I find them great for really feeling the spine and stretching the entire front of the body – something we often forget to do in our routines. You can feel a great activation along the meridians running through the chest and abdomen at the end of the Dand.

Apart from anything else, the Dand is part of the set of 5 Tibetans that I learned many years ago, and I love doing them!

So, tabata training with the Dand is brutal. Keeping a high intensity is very challenging, but even at a moderate pace, 4 minutes of these push ups will give you a good workout – try it out as a warm up or warm down – don’t say I didn’t warn you that it was tough!