Tuh Bah Tuh

Tabata. 

Heard of it?  Most people say...Oh yeah...thats something they do on the Biggest Loser show...  I didn't realize that...even though I love watching biggest loser I'm terrible about weekly shows and prefer to watch an entire season after the fact.  I'm not patient enough for that weekly cliff hanger of who is going home next stuff. 

Anywho...back to Tabata...

I tried it today and Lordy Loo...it kicked my tush. 

I decided to try out a new exercise class for two reasons.

First, I couldn't find childcare during my normally scheduled Zumba hours today.  And second, this article HERE that give really interesting and good information about high intensity interval training...

The part of the article that struck me as the most interesting was that the author dropped 7% body fat by adding in twice weekly Tabata training.

Holy shnikes.  I want those results!

So essentially the idea is 4 different exercises that you do in succession for 20 seconds each.  You get 10 seconds at the end of each one to "rest" and get into position for the next exercise...let me tell you...those 10 seconds go by might fast.  You do each set of 4 exercises twice then you get 1 minute to get a drink and rest before starting all over again with 2 sets of the 4 exercises.  We did it a total of 4 times...and that took us 30 minutes. 

Can I just say woah...tushy kicking hard.  Way harder than 60-90 minutes of zumba.  I was so tired and my muscles ached.  Its the perfect addition to my cardio, I think.   

Today we did crab kicks

Burpees

lunges with side twists

And plank shuffles

I was so tired at the end of it...and I can feel my hamstrings aching just a little.  For the next month I'm doing Tabata every Tues/Thursday before my zumba class...i'm excited to see what kind of results I get from it.  This is a precursor to me starting some weight training...I'm doing great on cardio, but need to bump up the muscle mass I think.

My friend asked me if I had fun...I was like, "uh no.  But its a good workout."

So, I'm going to call it progress that despite my non enjoyment of doing burpees I SHOWED UP and did it!

And for a girl that used to hide from exercise at all costs...this is a major step forward.

PS.  Fat Tuesday will again be on Wednesday because I had a weird schedule this morning again....