Tabata Tuesday

Have you all heard of a Tabata workout?  I've read about it quite a bit, especially on Blonde Ponytail, but have never done it until last night.  My gym recently started a bunch of new classes that so far have all been awesome and this class is no exception.  It is called "Tabata in no time" and lasts 45 minutes which is PLENTY!

SIDE NOTE: There is has been little to no running going on my life right now and I'm fine with that since I'm having way more fun taking fun gym classes and going for long park walks with my dog instead...maybe I'll find my running mojo again soon...maybe not ;)

What the heck is Tabata you ask?  I found this explanation and more on this site:

"Tabata" is the name of a particular type of workout program that provides similar health benefits to that of cardio workouts, but Tabata has a bit more spice.  Instead of hours upon hours of exercise, Tabata can be completed in 4 minutes.  Tabata falls under the category of high intensity training or high intensity interval training."

I would add that Tabata also incorporates ALOT of strength and the emphasis is not just on cardio!  Check out the video below for an example.

A typical workout consist of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest.  It seems like the sequences can vary but last night we would do 1 exercise for 20 seconds, rest 10, do another exercise for 20 seconds, then rest and repeat for a total of 4 rounds.  We did two 4 round circuits for a total of 8 minutes and then rested for 3 minutes.

For 45+ minutes we did LOTS of jumping, lots of planking, lots of push presses with a barbell and lots of mountain climbers. It left me in a sweaty pool and during our "extra" 2 minute plank challenge at the end the instructor commented on how she liked my "sweat pool" pouring off my face.

One of the circuits during last nights class was:

• 20 seconds of pushups, 10 seconds rest
• 20 seconds plank dumbbell row on the right, 10 seconds rest
• 20 seconds of pushups, 10 seconds rest
• 20 seconds plank dumbbell row on the left, 10 seconds rest

That circuit was killer and I think we did it 2 times through although my mind is a bit fuzzy from all the intensity.

I honestly have not felt that drained after a fitness class or run in a long time and I loved it.  My shoulders and legs were on fire immediately after class and they feel kind of like jello today...I will be back each and every week for more of this class for sure!

I came home and immediately fueled up with this goodness:

Green beans with roasted salmon on top of a bed of spaghetti squash with avocado sauce!

That spaghetti squash was left over from a recipe I made the night before that was sooo easy and super delicious called Mexican Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Avocado Spread.  You should make it this week!

Question: Have you tried Tabata?  Do you want to now?