Jumping on the Tabata Bandwagon

Like any good gym goer/cardio junkie/person with no life, I hopped right onto the tabata bandwagon and took the first class my gym offered.

My gym is doing a 5 week series of Tabata classes.  I guess the point is to see if people are interested, and it might become a regular thing.

I've seen lots of Tabata popping up lately in fitness blogs and conversations with friends, so I wanted to try it for myself.

What is Tabata exactly, you ask?

It is a method of HIIT (High-intensity Interval training) where 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise (at an intensity of about 70% of VO₂max) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated continuously for 4 minutes (8 cycles)

Tabata is a good workout to do if you are short on time.  It has also been shown to improve  the VO₂max of an individual.

VO₂max is a measure of  "the maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual." Source

A Tabata workout can be done in the form of an organized fitness class, on a run or treadmill workout, or on your own with nothing more than a timer.

Example of a Tabata Treadmill workout from Carrots 'n Cake.:

The class I took worked like this:
The instructor had her iPad propped up, and set with a timer.  The timer was set for 20 second intervals and then a 10 second rest period.

I knew it was a good workout because I was literally dripping sweat by the end of it.  The gym floor was actually slippery where I was standing (gross).  The next day or two,  I was pretty sore.  My calves were really tight and walking down stairs was really painful!  We did so many jumping jacks and air jacks, I don't think my body was used to all that hopping around.

The exercises we did included:
Jumping jacks
Jumping jacks (with squats)
Air Jacks
Lunges with switch leaps
High knees
Burpees
Pushups
Front kicks
Mountain Climbers
Planks
Squats
and more..

It doesn't look all that hard, but trust me, it is!  Before the class started the instructor said "this will be harder than childbirth," now that isn't something I can speak on, but I will tell you that it is hard, you will sweat, and you will be sore!