Have you tried the Tabata Method?

My quest to try something new in the gym continues.  This past week our trainer, Brad, took us through a workout following the Tabata Method.  What is Tabata?  Well, Tabata is a type of high intensity interval training that was developed by Izumi Tabata.  It is a timed work out that last a total of 4 minute.  Each circuit last 20 seconds with a 10 seconds rest.  You repeat for 8 cycles.  The principle is to work your aerobic and anaerobic systems at the same time.

You can use any explosive exercise as long as you do it at high intensity for 20 seconds and do cheat on the 10 second rest. It is probably best to chose exercises that are full body.  We choose to do one exercise for the 8 cycles but you can mix it up if you choose.  We did dumb bell thrusters.  You can see an example of how that exercise would look below.

I can tell you this was probably the hardest and longest 4 minutes that I spent in the gym in a long time. I used 7.5 dumb bells since this was the first time I have had every tried this type of HIIT workout. I thought the first cycle was the hardest just because I was not used to doing squats that fast.  I felt really good for cycles 2 through 5; at 6 I started to slow down a little.  There was no way I was going to give up but I just wanted it over.  I really don't remember what happened during cycles 7 and 8.  I was shaking and felt like I wanted to puke (I didn't) at the end of the 4 minutes.  I was better able to reflect on the experience after taking a cool down walk to get my heart rate back to a normal level.  I felt really good at this point.  I was little sore on the next day but it was about the same level of soreness that I have when I do an intense workout.

Is Tabata for you?  Well, I would say you should do your research.  Here is a list of pros/cons for using this type of method.  If you are short on time but want an intense workout this may be for you.

Enjoy.