While we're all "stuck at home" trying to stay healthy and combat COVID-19, here is a workout activity that you (and your parents) can do with little or no equipment other than a cell phone and a little bit of space! These workouts are called TABATA training workouts which are short burst, high intensity workouts.

TABATA TRAINING & TIMERS
The TABATA makes use of a timer app that you can download to your phone, and you'll need one of them. I have a Samsung Galaxy (android) phone and i use the "Tabata Timer" made by Simple Vision (screenshots of this app shown below); if you are an iPhone user, i would recommend the "Tabata Timer and HIIT Timer" by Tabata Stopwatch Pro (screenshots of this app also shown below). These timers can be set up with the sequence of your TABATA (explained next) and they will "walk you through" the sequence with audible and visual timers that you follow - the timer tells you when to work, when to rest and when you're finished with an exercise.

Android Phone Tabata Timer by Simple Vision	iPhone Tabata Timer and HIIT Timer by Tabata Stopwatch Pro

Typically, you'll do a TABATA with a series of exercises - let's start with SIX different exercises:
1) low planks
2) jump rope or lateral jumps
3) arm raises
4) burpees
5) russian twists
6) body squats

For the first exercise, low planks, you'll plank for 20 seconds (this is the "burst") and then you'll recover (short rest) for 10 seconds; you'll REPEAT this for 8 rounds, a total of 4 minutes of burst/recover planking; then you will LONG REST for 1 minute. After the minute-long rest, you'll do another TABATA with your second exercise, jump rope/lateral jumps - same thing, jump for 20 seconds (burst), recover for 10 seconds (short rest); repeat this for a total of 8 rounds; LONG REST for 1 minute. Then you will TABATA for exercise #3 and will continue this sequence for all SIX exercises.

It's IMPORTANT that, when you are doing the "burst" activity/exercise, you want to do as many "reps" of the exercise during the 20 seconds as possible and then to try to maintain that number of reps as you move through each round - for example, if I can do 20 jump ropes during the first 20-second burst, I want to try to do 20 jumps during the 2nd 20-second burts and so on. You WILL experience fatigue so maintaining this "level of intensity" is tough. BUT, one of the reasons TABATA training is great for VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS is because this is how our game is played: we go hard for a short period of time (while a rally is being played) and then we have a short "rest" while the ball is shagged and the next serve is being put into play, and we DO this "go hard, rest" thing over the span of a whole set! For a video explanation of TABATA training and its history, CLICK HERE.

TABATA EXERCISES, EXPLANATIONS & VIDEOS
Below is a list of exercises that I will add for our TABATA WORKOUTS over the coming weeks - please read through these explanations and watch the videos BEFORE you jump into doing any TABATAS! If you have done TABATA training with me in the past, you're welcome to create your own workouts as well - I would suggest doing between 6-8 different exercises, but keeping your workouts to 20-second bursts, 10-second reovers, and 1-minute rests in between with eight rounds for each exercise. Also, if you create your own TABATA workout, you want to include exercises that work your core, your shoulders, your legs and your aerobic capacity; I usually try to split exercises up so you're not doing two leg exercises in a row or not doing two high aerobic exercises in a row. As I add *NEW* exercises and videos, I will flag them with a *NEW* tag so you know to review them!

**AEROBIC EXERCISES**
jump rope or low, lateral jumps
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) this video shows really good form for a) regular jump rope (she calls it "bounce step") and for b) running jump rope (i think she calls it "alternate step") - these are the first two styles she shows in the video and are the ones i want you to use
2) if you HAVE a jump rope, do the jump rope for your tabata (i would do the whole exercise as EITHER regular/bounce step OR running/alternate step; do not switch back and forth thru the tabata round)
3) if you DO NOT have a jump rope, use one of the following and do low, side-to-side (lateral) jumps OVER; a) an elastic/stretchy string that you tie between two chairs or table legs - this should NOT be any higher than your ankle bone, OR b) if you don't have any stretchy string you can tie up, simply put something on the floor that you can jump side-to-side over (you can roll up a dish towel and jump over that - it should be something that if you hit or land on you won't hurt yourself)

burpees (skip the "intro" on this video)
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) feet just a little wider than shoulder width apart; when you put your hands down on the floor, put them just inside your big toe; your toes should be mostly pointed straight ahead, not out to the sides
2) make sure your knees don't wobble or cave as you are doing this exercise! control your knees!
3) i would NOT include the push-up, just go to the elevated plank position... if you are a burpee-pro and you want a little more out of this exercise, add the push-up
4) i WOULD include the little jump at the end; raise your hands in the air (above your head) and jump a couple inches off the floor
5) as indicated in the video, keep your back straight and your chest kind of up when you come up from the floor into your standing/jumping position
6) also, when you are in your elevated plank position, be sure to tighten your core/abs and keep your back from either sagging low or curving high (like a camel)

**CORE EXERCISES**
planks
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) you may want to get a towel or something like that to put under your arms/elbows if you are planking on a hard floor (one that's not carpeted)
2) do not put your feet up against a wall behind you - if your feet are slipping when you do this, then try to do the plank on a carpet or rug or on a surface where your feet won't slip
3) as the guys indicates towards the end of the video, you want to keep your back straight (like a table) and you want to tighten your "quads, butts and guts" while doing this exercise
4) don't forget to breathe while you're planking!

stink bugs (video below calls this "dead bug", i learned it as "stink bug")
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) push your belly button through your spine and towards the floor
2) you can start with just the leg movement shown in this video OR, once you've practiced the full exercise, you can do the one at the end where your opposite arm and leg are straightened at the same time
3) this is not a fast exercise, but a little more methodical with a medium tempo; bend/straighten, bend/straighten (the tempo that the video shows at the end when she is straightening arms and legs is a good tempo)
4) as you straighten your leg, i would try to straighten so that it is a little closer to the floor (in the video, she straightens her leg kinda high; the lower you can go to the floor, the more work on your core)

high-low planks (in video, he calls this a "walking plank")
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) just like in a regular, low plank, you want to keep your back straight (like a table) and tighten your "quads, butts & guts" throughout this exercise
2) as you move from high to low, low to high try not to tip one hip down and up, but rather keep your body in a straight position with your hips staying parallel to the floor
3) make sure to alternate which arm you are going up and down with

bicycles
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) this video shows exactly how to do this exercise and also gives you a good "pace" for doing these

russian twist
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) they show FOUR versions in this video, please start with the FIRST one and progress through to the THIRD one (skip the last one as we've already got the regular "bicycle" exercise listed here)
2) when/if you add a weight to this, you can use a dumbbell or a plate or even just a filled water bottle to hold in your hand

**LEG EXERCISES**
body squats
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) feet should be shoulder-width apart
2) "control" your knees as you move up and down in the squat, your knees should NOT cave in, but should stay straight or even push just slightly out as you stand up in the squat
3) keep your chest up and your back straight
4) when you stand up from the squat, push through your heels and tighten your glutes (butt) as you stand

step ups
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) you can do this on any sort of elevated step (can be stairs at home or front porch step); or if you have a stable surface/box/chair/bench to step onto... start out with something that isn't too high - i would NOT suggest starting with something as high as a chair, unless you've done these before!
2) as indicated in the video, you will step up going RIGHT-LEFT and then step down in reverse order, going LEFT-RIGHT; then for your next rep, step up going LEFT-RIGHT and step down going RIGHT-LEFT
3) in the video he does a good job of explaining how to control your knee and make sure you are stepping up with the weight and power going thru the heel of your foot - you should step your WHOLE foot onto your platform, not just the ball of your foot
4) if you want and you have access to any dumbbells (hand weights) at home, you can hold them in your hands (with just your arms relaxed, hanging down at your sides) as you perform the step ups - i would NOT do this to start with unless, again, you've done this exercise before
5) as you get comfortable with this, you can try to use a higher step; but, still want to pay careful attention to your knee and how you are stepping up/down

stationary lunge
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) this video shows great form, pay attention to how the athlete keeps her KNEE STABLE while doing these - it's not wobbling around
2) be sure to keep your knee over your foot (your thigh and your shin should be making a right-angle; square to the floor)
3) for the tabata, do one set with your right foot forward and the next set with your left foot forward; alternating for each set (you'll end up with four sets each)
4) after you've done a week or two with just the body-weight lunge (as shown in video), you can ADD dumbbells/hand weights to this and simply hold the weight in your hands with your arms hanging, relaxed, at your side (these should be low/small weights to start)

**ARM/SHOULDER EXERCISES**
front & side arm raises
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) if you don't have dumbbells (hand weights) at home, use two filled water bottles (just make sure they are the same size)
2) if you have actual dumbbells to use for these, i would STRONGLY suggest not starting with more than 2, 3 or 5-pound weight for each arm!! once you have done THREE tabata workouts (over the course of a week) where you can get through a whole 8-set tabata round with a certain weight, then you can INCREASE your weight if you have access
3) as noted in this video, it's important to keep your arms straight, elbow kinda locked
4) do NOT raise your arms higher than your shoulders; that is NOT good for your shoulder
5) stand up straight and tall when you're doing these and, as stated in the video, do NOT bend and straighten your back to help you lift the weight - if you can't lift with just your arms, the weight is too heavy for your!
6) for the TABATA, do one set of FRONT RAISES then the next set with SIDE RAISES (you would end up doing four sets of each)

lateral walking high plank
CLICK FOR VIDEO DEMO
NOTES:
1) just like in a regular, low plank, you want to keep your back straight (like a table) and tighten your "quads, butts & guts"
2) make sure your hands are on the floor beneath your shoulders (and NOT our in front of your shoulders)
3) for the tabata, simply "walk" two-three steps (arms and legs) to your right and then two-three steps back to your left - you want to make sure you're doing an equal number going to your right and left so you are alternating which arm/leg you "lead" with