The “20-Second Fitness” training program is a riff on the legitimate Tabata Interval method of high-intensity training. As a matter of fact, of all of the marketing-driven/created exercise programs that I have encountered over the years the underpinnings of this “20-Second Fitness” program are as solid as you can get. But that doesn’t mean that you should buy it.

As a matter of fact, the “20-Second Fitness” program gets a “Do Not Buy” recommendation. Here’s why with a little bit of background info.

Tabata Intervals are a totally legit high-intensity training method. Researchers found that performing high-intensity intervals for 20-seconds on a stationary bike, with a 10-second rest, repeated over 4-minutes provided serious results. The original study consisted of highly trained athletes in peak condition who were able to work much harder than the average person over these 8 intervals. During these intervals these subjects maintained a pace of 85 RPMs and their training heart rate was way above what the average person can achieve/maintain.

You should not try any extreme training that will elevate your heart rate beyond prescribed levels unless you are well-trained and are under proper guidance. This is not meant to offend, but there are very few people out there who are capable of performing true Tabata Intervals.

Do a Google search for “Tabata Intervals” and you will find plenty of info.

No doubt in an attempt to capitalize on the New Year’s Resolution crowd, the “20-Second Fitness” folks want you to buy stuff, but you do not really need any equipment to take advantage of the very real benefits offered by Tabata training. You certainly do not need to purchase DVDs and fitness accessories for $100.

This isn’t to say there isn’t a proper progression for regular folks who want to try Tabata Intervals, but the proper application of these intervals does not require equipment or DVDs. As a matter of fact, if you do the Google search for “Tabata Intervals” you will find the site, TabataProtocol.com, which will give interested parties an excellent outline of an interval progression.

The science behind “20-Second Fitness” is sound, but this doesn’t mean you should buy the program.

After reviewing over 1,600 papers, researchers from the Mayo Clinic state that, “You can make a very compelling argument for exercise as a disease-modifying strategy to prevent dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and for favorably modifying these processes once they have developed.” Author and neurologist Dr. J. Eric Ahlskog lead the effort that included the review of all scientific papers on the subject of exercise and cognition, including observational studies and studies done with animals.

This exercise includes traditional gym-based cardiovascular exercises, as well as other activities like walking and performing household chores, including yard work and shoveling snow. Through the use of brain scans the researchers have found that exercise preserves the integrity of the human brain and note that animal studies show that exercise improves the function of the brain and increases the connection between brain cells.

The review also found that there is a significant reduction of risk of dementia in people who being exercise during midlife and a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Aerobic exercise improved the cognitive function of healthy adults, and with seniors aerobics was linked to a smaller loss of age related gray matter.

The researchers concluded, “Exercise should not be overlooked as an important therapeutic strategy. Whether addressing our patients in primary care or neurology clinics, we should continue to encourage exercise for not only general health, but also cognitive health.”

All-in-all, this is yet another instance that proves exercise is the best disease-modifying strategy known to medical science. Better than diet, pharmaceuticals or any other intervention. Everybody should exercise.

There are so many people doing so many things wrong in the gym that I hardly know where to start when it comes to trying to get them to change their ways. The fitness field is unlike any other that I can think of, in that there has been little change in the mainstream public’s approach to exercise over the past 35 years. Every time I workout in a gym (not my own) I see an amazing array of ridiculousness.

So here is a list of seven things that people have to stop doing in the gym, in no particular order. Oh, and I’ll say “please,” because you really need to change.

1) Please stop doing all of the lateral, front and bent-over raises. You aren’t helping your shoulders, you aren’t building muscles or strength in any meaningful way, and you are wasting your time. As a matter of fact, you are hurting yourself. The deltoids are small muscles and do not need to be pounded with three different variations of high-volume training. If you want to build strong shoulders and give yourself the best chance to add muscle and improve function limit your shoulder training to military/overhead presses with dumbbells and barbells. Please.

2) For the love of Jack LaLanne please stop with all of the machine-based cardiovascular exercise. I understand the allure of the new fangled treadmills, stair climbers, elliptical trainers and all of their variations. But all that glitters isn’t gold, and won’t improve your fitness level either. Here’s a tidbit of info: Your hamstrings work in a completely opposite manner on the treadmill as they do on Terra Firma, so you really are teaching your body to move incorrectly if you do treadmill training. Try calisthenics, the rowing machine (the only good cardio machine), and movement-based exercises. And if you insist on doing the treadmill, stop holding on to the rails while leaning back, and don’t hold dumbbells, while walking. Pretty please…

3) Eliminate “Abs and Arm” days from your training regimen. Pretty please, with sugar on top. This kind of workout is probably the biggest waste of people’s time, along with “Number 2,” from above. Your biceps and triceps are tiny muscle groups and act as support to the larger muscle groups that are the prime movers in pushing and pulling. So if you are doing the right kind of training, your little biceps and triceps are getting more than enough stimulus to promote growth. Aside from those who are using steroids and other illegal muscle building drugs, doing a lot of arm training will actually keep your guns from growing. Show me someone who is awesome at doing push-ups and pull-ups and I’ll show you someone with great arms. And great abs, for that matter. If you spend a lot of time, actually any time, doing abs while lying down or seated in a machine you are wasting your time. Here is a homework assignment; research improving the strength of your abdominals and eliminate everything you find that has you horizontal or relies on a piece of equipment.

4) Don’t fall prey to the CrossFit/Boot Camp mentality, that says you can beat yourself into submission as a way to make you stronger, por favor. So not true. Every workout shouldn’t be about how much punishment you can take. If you ever watch the television show, “The Deadliest Catch” on the Discovery Channel you will see how putting the body in crushing physical situations only serves to break the body down over the long haul. 35-year old guys look like 55-year old guys and have a litany of permanent physical problems. The setting is different, but constantly beating yourself up in the gym is not a winning long-term strategy to improve performance or health and fitness.

5) Please stop sitting down during your workouts, both while exercising and while resting. You are in the gym to exercise and, except for rowing, there isn’t a physical activity worthwhile that is performed in the seated position. Staying on your feet during your training sessions one of the simplest ways to improve your workouts. And recent research shows that sitting can be as detrimental to your health as smoking. My sense is that this is a bit of hyperbole, but it has been shown that too much sitting has a negative effect on health and fitness even for people who get the recommended amount of exercise.

6) Use aerobics and spinning classes as the occasional change of pace to your routine, and not the backbone of it. Not to be too harsh, but next time you’re in a class, look around you and assess the state of your fellow class-goers. If these classes were so great, more people would be satisfied with the way they look and feel.

7) I’m begging you to stop working with any personal trainer who has you doing any of the following: using machines; has you exercising while lying down for more than 10% of your session; starts your workout by doing abs and/or arms; has you lunging or squatting with weights of any kind before you can properly perform these exercises while standing; watches while you are on a piece of cardio equipment (unless you are doing intervals during circuit training); pushes you to the point of nausea or exhaustion. There are more items I could add to the list, but I’ve gone on long enough.

So stop doing these things. Please.

Sprinting is a very effective and efficient way to improve your fitness level. Over the past several years there there been several studies that support my feeling that sprinting is the only form of running the vast majority of people should do. In the May 2011 edition of the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, results of a study done by a team of researchers from Australia provides the basis for a fantastic workout.

I read this stuff so you guys don’t have to. And rather than bore you with the details, I’ll just hit you with the key points.

The findings of the study are that 8 sessions of repeated sprint training over 4 weeks improved Intermittent Peak Running Speed (IPRS), above and beyond regular training. This breaks down to 10 maximal sprints of 80 meters (87 yards) every 25 seconds, twice a week for 4 weeks; a true 10-minute workout. The researchers also found that this kind of training can also develop maximum running speed and anaerobic capacity. This is good stuff. This means you are getting into great shape. This kind of workout puts a fraction of the impact on your body when compared to distance running.

These findings support the, “Quality over quantity,” approach, in that doing more than 10 sprints did not result in any measurable improvements. Ten minutes of high quality exercise is superior to 20- or 30-minutes of sub-maximal effort.

This is all good, no, great news. However, the bad news is that it is very tough for most people to perform a true maximal sprint of any distance, and even tougher to perform repeated 87-yard maximal sprints with only 25-seconds of rest in between. Anyone who has sprinted knows this. And when you realize that it will take most people around 15-seconds to finish this sprint, you can see that this is a butt-kicking workout.

You will derive a great deal of benefit if you start slow and work up to the full workout as used in the study. I recommend starting with 10, 40-yard sprints with 25-seconds rest in between and working up to the full, 87-yard distance. There are many ways that you can do this. You can stick with the 40s, you can mix and match sprints of various distances and keep to the 25-second rest periods, or even use slightly longer rest periods. A good rule of thumb to use is that for every second of sprint, take 4-6 seconds of rest, so if you sprint for 5 seconds rest for 20-30 seconds.

Give the sprint workout a try and improve your speed and fitness level.

Spring has sprung and with the start of good weather comes the stampede of “Painful Joggers,” pounding the pavement and pounding their joints into submission.

Joggers make me sad. Well meaning, hard working folks who have been convinced by a marketing juggernaut to “Just Do It.” These people really think that jogging is not only “good for them” and the best use of their time, but that it is the key to fitness, their salvation, a better body, etc. They long their miles, run their races and gain a sense of accomplishment. A Pyrrhic victory indeed.

I am not saying distance running should be abolished. But I am saying that distance running should be left to the professionals, the elite runners who earn a living from pounding the pavement. Recreational runners are better off finding another avocation; they will be better off in the long run. Go for a swim, do some calisthenics. If you are compelled to run do a sprint workout.

These joggers, good people all, are just wasting their time and effort while grinding their bones and connective tissue into dust. Do you know that running puts impact forces on the body that are equal to three times body weight? What this means is that every jog step taken by a 150-pounder results in approximately 450-pounds of force on the body. Let’s do some math using our 150-pounder as an example.

Most joggers will take at least 120 steps per minute – 54,000 pounds/minute – so a 20-minute run places 1,080,000 pounds of force on the body. A fully-loaded 747 weighs 900,000 pounds.

So for the past couple of days, during a stretch of glorious weather in New Jersey, I have been saddened by the sight of people jogging with terrible form and bad gaits. It’s a seasonal thing for me. I get over it, but for these first couple of weeks I really am morose at the sight of people shuffling along on the sidewalks and streets.

Power walkers don’t have this effect on me since they are actually doing something good for themselves, without the downside of the pounding. Walking results in ground reactive forces of only 1.5 times body weight, and is a less destructive, ground-based bi-pedal activity. Fast walking is more difficult than slow jogging, which is why so many people jog (or “slog” as some call it).

My position is not a popular one and Joggers defend their turf, as they should. But the reality is that jogging beats up the body and is an orthopedic ordeal unlike any other recreational pursuit.

The Stairmaster, in all its iterations, is one of the most popular and misused pieces of equipment in the gym world, so I’m going to try and set the record straight and tell you how to use this equipment properly. I realize that here are many different types of machines, for the sake of brevity and clarity I will use the generic Stairmaster.

First off I am going to re-re-re-state that I have an extreme anti-equipment bias. Equipment is inferior in every aspect to ground-based, compound movements. Whether talking about strength training or cardiovascular exercise, machines do not and cannot compete with the non-equipment counterparts.

However, I still know how to use these machines properly and understand what they can – and cannot – do.

One of the most ridiculous things I see people do on a Stairmaster is what I call, “The Sleepwalk.” The Sleepwalk is performed on the revolving staircase or step treadmill-style Stairmaster, where the user walks at a slow pace – usually at the lowest setting possible – and extends the trail leg straight and back, ostensibly to work the buttocks. So silly and a total waste of time and effort.

The super-slow, “fat burning” pace is incredibly inefficient, as it delivers just about zero cardiovascular benefits and burns an absolutely minuscule amount of calories. Trying to “squeeze the glute,” as I’ve heard from personal trainers and clients alike, is a effort in futility in the misguided quest to “tone the butt.”  It’s like doing a biceps pose over and over again in the hope of developing the muscle.

I cannot believe how much time people waste – the vast majority are women – doing The Sleepwalk on the Stairmaster. People compound this bad behavior when they lock their arms and lean on the handrails. Just like when walking on a treadmill, hanging onto the handrails makes the exercise even less effective than it already is.

On the chain-driven Stairmasters people tend to use short, choppy, quick steps, which severely limits the range of motion and, as a result, makes the exercise less effective. Ideally, you want to take longer and slower (relatively speaking) steps in order to get the most out of Stairmaster-style exercise.

The common mistake people make on all cardiovascular machines is to hold on to, or lean their weight on, the handrails. More people do the Stairmaster the wrong way – locking their arms and leaning heavily on the handrails – than the correct way. This method of cheating on the Stairmaster puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the elbows, trapezius and rhomboid muscles and the neck, as well. The effectiveness of the exercise, regardless of the machine, is always diminished when holding on to the handrail.

The bottom line is that when using any kind of Stairmaster exercise at a pace that allows you to maintain proper form, which means no leaning, no Sleepwalking, no glute squeezing and no short, choppy strides. Hold on as little as possible, keep an upright posture and take strides with a full range of motion and you will get the most out of your Stairmaster experience.

I can’t believe I have to write the phrase, “How to walk on a treadmill,” but it is very clear that people need to read/hear it. How can so many people not know how to perform the most fundamental movement there is?  Go to any big, open gym and watch rows and rows of people not walk properly on the treadmill.

It’s amazing that so many people think that holding on while walking on the treadmill is the proper thing to do.  Think how ridiculous it would look if people had to hold on to something wherever they went or whenever they moved about; the mall, the ballgame, walking down the street, playing basketball.

Hanging onto the side rails of a treadmill while walking on a steep incline at a fast pace is a waste of time – and it looks ridiculous.  You would think people would realize something was amiss as they struggled to keep pace with the machine – as they hold on for dear life – and maybe slow down or decrease the incline.  Or here’s a radical thought: how about members of the gym’s training staff make an effort to point out to clients the errors in their treadmill walking ways?  I know, that’s crazy talk.

If you accept the idea that working out on the treadmill is a viable option to walking and running on terra firma – which I do not – surely you must accept that holding on or altering your gait in any way diminishes the effectiveness of the exercise.  So, if you don’t hold on when you walk on a treadmill you will give yourself the best chance to get the most out of your treadmill experience.  When people hold on they are either walking at a pace that’s too fast or on an incline that’s too steep, which leads to other form problems like leaning leaning back.

You defeat the purpose of the exercise when you hold on.  Setting the speed and incline higher doesn’t provide any magical benefits if you have to hold on to keep up.  And if you’re too lazy to walk fast enough to keep up without holding on  either get the lead out and pick up the pace or slow it down and walk at a speed that you can handle.

The treadmill is just a machine and cannot do the exercise for you;  it can’t deliver benefits without you making an effort.  You don’t hold on while walking around in life so stop holding on when walking on a treadmill.

When I go to the gym to workout I talk to a lot of people and lately I’ve been hearing so many of these folks complaining about having to workout. When I ask them if they enjoy training or have fun during their workouts most people look at me like I have three heads.

During the honeymoon phase of working out many people enjoy the idea of getting themselves into shape but really don’t love exercising. Then once the sameness of their training routine sets in, people start to lose interest in their program and working out becomes all work and little, if any, play.

People get bored with their workouts because, quite frankly, they don’ t know what they are doing and most trainers, especially in big box gym, haven’t a clue either. Machine-based exercise programs are the most boring kind of activity imaginable, and since most people and personal trainers gravitate to this style of training, it’s no mystery people get bored with their routines.

If you are one of the denizens of the gym who get on a treadmill, tune in to your iPod and hunker down for a long run or walk you are no doubt bored to tears at some point. You also aren’t getting too much bang for your exercise buck/effort either, but that’s a different story. It doesn’t matter which machine you use, they are all boring and do not come close to providing a challenge.

This is why people think exercise is boring and why many folks bail on their regular exercise routines after a relatively short period of time. The prescription of treadmill (or any other piece of cardio equipment), leg press, leg extension, leg curl, calf raise, pull downs, endless biceps and triceps work and all kinds of seated and lying exercises results in a boring, ineffective workout program.

The cure for a boring workout routine is to find a personal trainer – I use the term “fitness development coach” – who knows how to design and implement a workout using ground-based, compound movements. This kind of fitness professional will teach you how to move properly¸ will improve flexibility, stability and core strength. Because these kinds of workouts are challenging they are effective and fun.

We don’t go through life seated in a machine and unless you’re involved in crew there aren’t any sports that are played lying down, so you shouldn’t exercise this way. And the word routine should be limited to describing the days and times you workout, and not be a reflection of doing the same handful of exercise programs over and over.

Mixed distance shuttle runs are a great way to improve your conditioning level.  If done properly, they can be much more efficient and effective than other kinds of cardiovascular training, and certainly are better than distance running, jogging or any kind of machine-based cardio.

Mixed distance shuttle runs should be an integral part of any team sport athlete’s training regimen, but the rest of us can benefit from utilizing this method of training, as well.  Rather than repeatedly running fixed distance shuttles, for instance a 60-yard shuttle utilizing a 15-yard course completed 4 times, a mixed distance shuttle workout consists of shuttles of different distances in the same workout.

A few weeks ago I posted an item about a 120-yard run.  Mixed distance shuttles are a great compliment to the 120-yard run workout.

Don’t try this workout if you haven’t been sprinting, running shuttles or doing agility drills, as it is a challenging high-intensity workout.  You have to be able to run at full effort for the duration of the shuttle, not just stroll or trot.  If you don’t run the shuttle at full – okay I’ll cut you a break – or near full effort, you won’t be getting the most out of the workout.  Now, I am prone to a bit of exaggeration and over-emphasize certain elements to get my point across, but it really is for your own good. I will admit that you can get a lot out of this workout if you start working at a substantially-less-than-full effort, but I admit to this only if you promise to progress and push yourself as you the workout gets easier.

Okay, so here’s your basic mixed distance shuttle run workout, 12 shuttles and a 1000-yard total distance.  Remember it’s a shuttle run, so you run the distance up and back to complete one shuttle. I’ve put the total yards run per shuttle in parenthesis for you.

• Run 10 (20y), 20 (40y), 30 (60y), 40 (80y) yards, for a total of 200 yards.
• Run 10 (20y), 15 (30y), 25 (50y), 40 (80y), 60 (120y) for a total of 300 yards.
• Run 70 (140y), 80 (160y) 100 (200y) for a total of 500 yards.

Just as important as working hard, it’s vital that you have proper rest periods in between shuttles.  In the business we call it the “work-to-rest ratio,” and we determine the appropriate rest in response to a given effort.  More precisely, for every second of work¸ there is an appropriate amount of rest.  For beginners trying the mixed distance shuttle run workout for the first time, the work to rest ratio should be as high as 1:8.

For the sports teams and competitive athletes that I work with the ratio can be as low as 1:3.  For regular folks like you and me, completing this workout with a 1:5 work-to-rest is great, providing the work is done at full to near-full effort.  Jogging 20-yards and back in 12 seconds and resting for a minute before continuing doesn’t cut it.

This workout can serve as the starting point for you and you can make up your own shuttle combinations.  Mix the distances up in any way you wish and even use a mixed work-to-rest ratio, as well.  For the shorter shuttle you can use a lower work-to-rest and use a higher ratio for the longer shuttles.  There is no limit to the ways you can used mixed distance shuttle runs to improve your fitness and capability level.

The weather is getting nicer, so get off the treadmill, Stair Master, stationary bike and elliptical trainer and get outside where you can actually move the human body the way it’s meant to move.  If your goal is to get in great shape so that you can give yourself the chance to look your best, give this sprinting/running routine a try.

Sprinting and agility drills can help you get into better, functional shape than performing any other kind of running drills. However, if you’ve spent a winter working out on cardiovascular equipment or have never really sprinted properly before, you can’t just go out on the first nice spring day and go 100%; you won’t get much out of the workout and could hurt yourself, to boot.

Follow this simple, but effective program and you will be taking a positive step towards turning yourself into a lean, mean, sprinting machine.  From a preparation standpoint, jog a lap, do some stretching and perform 4 or 5 30-yard stride outs.  Stride outs are a running drill where you utilize a slightly exaggerated running stride – it’s a sub-maximal speed sprint where you put a little extra bounce in your step.

I call this workout, “The 120-Yard Run.”  It’s about as simple as you can get.  Run 120-yards in 20-seconds and rest for 60-seconds and repeat pattern 5 times the first week, 7 times the second week and 8 times the third week.  This is a variation of a routine that I use to condition the teams I work with and is a very effective way to improve your fitness level.

When mixed with a shuttle-run and shorter distance sprint workout, “The 120-Yard Run” will get you in top shape quicker than any other kind of running routine.  And you will be functionally fit, as well.

“The 120-Yard Run” is just a part of an overall, sprint/shuttle run/agility program that will do much more to improve your conditioning in a fraction of the time it takes to complete a traditional, low-intensity/high-volume aerobic workout.   Sprinting also puts much less stress on your joints and connective tissue because you are literally taking a fraction of the strides in a sprint workout that are required to complete a jogging/distance running workout.  Running produces impact forces on your body equal to three times your body weight, and a jogger will take upwards of 120 strides per minute.  If you do the math – body weight x strides taken/per minute x total minutes – you will find jogging puts an astronomical amount of potentially damaging stress on the body.

Over the next few weeks, as we enter spring and – hopefully – great weather, I will post details about the other elements in this program so you can get a head start on getting into great shape as we head into the summer.