DARK SKIES BLOG

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Here’s a link to a great Crossfit video which demonstrates Crossfit’s value for seniors.   Jimmy Baker coaches Vilma Siebers, a very youthful 81 y/o athlete…inspirational!

For video preview, click [wav] [mov]

Training with Jimmy Baker – Vilma Siebers 2

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At Crossfit.com today, there is an excellent video which demonstrates how intense Crossfit can be. As you may know, much of the advantage of Crossfit comes from its “intensity of application” (The Tabata Method).

Here’s a link to the video (IMO Maggie Dabe-Colby is an incredible trainer–WOW!)…

“Intensity by Maggie Dabe-Colby, CrossFit Certification Seminar – video” [wmv][mov]

I tried to embed the video but was unsuccessful.

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The Army is adopting a new PT program that sounds like a modified “Crossfit.” As fans of Crossfit know, the Navy Seals have already discarded their old program in favor of a system that incorporates the Crossfit WOD system (here’s the link to Sealfit)…

Here’s the article at Strategy Page…

Realistic PT For Combat

The U.S. Army is changing its physical training (PT) to more closely reflect the needs of combat. Instead of long distance running, sit-ups and push-ups, the new training emphasizes sprinting, agility and the kind of strength needed to carry weapons and equipment in combat. The new training also uses a twelve month physical training cycle that peaks when troops are deploying to a combat zone, or, in peacetime, doing a year or more of “ready for deployment” status.

The more advanced stages of the new physical training has troops doing the drills in full combat equipment. That won’t be a problem, because the exercises they will be doing are the same kinds of moves they will make in combat.

Continue reading…

Keywords: Crossfit, Army, Military, fitness, Tabata, physical training

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Those of you who are familiar with Crossfit will agree with me that it is the best exercise program in the world to date. Because it is scalable, it works well for elite athletes as well as regular people who want to improve their physical conditioning (beginners should start slowly and carefully, however).

To the best of my knowledge, Crossfit is based, in part, on Dr. Izumi Tabata’s shocking findings of how short intense exercise mixed with short rest intervals produces huge improvements in anaerobic capacity and VO2Max. Here is a good article on how the Tabata method works.

Tabata Anything – Four Minutes of Pain to Gain
By John Harker

The Tabata workout is a high-intensity training regimen that produces remarkable results. A Tabata workout is an interval training cycle of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated without pause 8 times for a total of four minutes. In a group context, you can keep score by counting how many lifts/jumps/whatever you do in each of the 20 second rounds. The round with the smallest number is your score.

Credit for this simple and powerful training method belongs to its namesake, Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. Their groundbreaking 1996 study, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise, provided documented evidence concerning the dramatic physiological benefits of high-intensity intermittent training. After just 6 weeks of testing, Dr. Tabata noted a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity in his subjects, along with a 14% increase in their ability to consume oxygen (V02Max). These results were witnessed in already physically fit athletes. The conclusion was that just four minutes of Tabata interval training could do more to boost aerobic and anaerobic capacity than an hour of endurance exercise.

Continue reading…

keywords: Crossfit, exercise, fitness, interval training, john harker, tabata, tabata method, weight loss, Izumi Tabata

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This video helps further define Crossfit (sorry about the rough language, but ignore it…this program really works!)…

Keywords: Crossfit, exercise, fitness, sport, Tabata, Izumi Tabata