Death By Tabata: Courtesy of Dan John

Today I decided to change things up a bit. I had read an article on T-Nation by Dan John about the Tabata Front Squat. It boasted bringing a 500 pound squatter to his knees with a weight of only 95lbs. I've done tabatas before (20 seconds of all-out work follow by 10 seconds of rest for 8 intervals), I've front squatted heavy. I wasn't afraid.

Boy, was I wrong.

I throw 95lbs on the bar and think nothing of it.

Round One: 13 reps. Not bad, I thought. I'm gonna breeze through this.
Round Two: 13 reps. Still going strong. No problem.
Round Three: 10 reps. I figure this is going to be the magic number for rounds 4-8.
Round Four: 10 reps. My quads burst into flame.
Round Five: My lungs catch fire. 10 reps
Round Six: 10 seconds of rest feels like about 3 seconds. 9 reps
Round Seven: Tunnel vision-my world becomes a blur. 8 reps
Round Eight: I beg for death- cerebral function ceases. 9 reps
Round Nine: 8 reps. I fall to the floor and manage to scrawl an 8 onto the paper.

My legs are screaming, my lungs burn, and walking proves impossible.

I decide right there that the tabata front squat demands respect- and when it does not get respect- it beats it out of you.

After about 5-10 minutes of rest I did some double snatches with the kettlebells wrapped in towels to work the grip.

4 minutes- or in my case 4 minutes and 30 seconds- what have you done today?