I was first introduced to “Tabatas” during spin classes. The instructor would end each class with high intensity interval training aka HIIT. The concept of a tabata is simple – 20 seconds of a sprint, followed by 10 seconds of recovery – repeat 8 times. Four minutes; how tough could it be? Pretty gosh darn tough! The adrenaline rush is great, the energy is wonderful, and the feeling of accomplishment after exuding so much effort to complete your tabata is just amazing! I grew to look forward to the challenge and results.
I really never thought about applying this concept to my strength training workouts. But Julie had. I opened my latest workout plan and right at the top was a nice description of “Tabatas” and sure enough, they are on my plan twice a week. So tabatas, we meet again. When applying this concept to weight training, Julie explains that it “provides similar health benefits to that of cardio workouts, but allows you to max out the ‘work’ from a particular excercise quickly.” The exercises are done in a fast-paced yet controlled motion.
So, fast forward to my first day of tabatas and weights. There I was, squating and pressing, huffing and puffing, sweating and burning, and honestly thinking – I completely underestimated how tough this workout was going to be. The challenge for me was finding a weight that I could execute for a full 4 minutes at the 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off pace, and maintain the quick and controlled motion. The only one I got right, was bodyweight squats on the BOSU; no guesswork there. Then as a bonus, Julie had 2 shoulder exercises on there too. Burn, baby, burn. Those shoulders were on fire and I was using what I would call pink sized weights.
I am looking forward to attacking this workout again next week. I hope to be better mentally prepared going in and to have a better grasp of what weight I can effectively use. These are completely new for me in the strength training realm and I am excited for this challenge and the results to follow.
