Mike started training in martial arts at the age of seven and has practiced for over 30 years. He currently holds a 4th degree black belt in the art of USA GOJU karate. During his peak performance as a martial artist— he was very powerful at 230 pounds; however, he lacked the type of stamina and endurance that he had seen among some of the elite practitioners. That’s when he started reading about Bruce Lee and the type of training he used— a high intensity interval training technique called Tabata. Tabata training engages a person in bursts of intensified activity, and then rests for brief intervals before ramping back up again. Mike was inspired and then sought to replicate his method.
Within just two weeks of committing himself to Tabata, he noticed a huge increase in his speed and endurance and he also noticed he was shedding fat. Since Tabata typically only utilizes one’s own body weight, it does not have some of the benefits one achieves when lifting dumbbells in the gym and he started to notice he was losing muscle.