Tabata drills will kick your butt into shape any way you dice 'em. Strength drills, with weights or body resistance. Cardio drills, from simply moves like jumping jacks to tougher challenges like burpees. They burn. And they burn calories, as you may have felt firsthand if you did Monday's Tabata Bootcamp workout.
Tabata also works for high-intensity interval training on indoor cycling bikes, the treadmill, or an outdoor track. My quads and hamstrings are still talking to me after the workout below, with music, which we did in cycling class Tuesday night. By alternating sprint Tabata drills with climbing Tabata drills of varying resistances, and adding recovery songs in between, this becomes the format for a very challenging 45-minute class that burns lots of calories. It ends with a big push uphill, 2 climb Tabatas in a row, followed by a downhill Tabata sprint. If you're just getting started, add recovery periods in between.
The music can be changed to your liking, but try to match the song lengths, as you'll need 4 minutes for each Tabata circuit and a good 3 minutes or so of recovery in between. And if you're using a treadmill, simply apply the same resistance and speed principals outlined below.
Tabata Trails Trek
- Warmup: Light resistance, warmup pace (Rock That Body, Black Eyed Peas: 4:29)
- Second half of warmup, low rolling hills alternating every 30 seconds between a slight incline and a 5 or 6 of 10 on the resistance scale (Jump, Madonna: 3:59)
- Sprint Tabata: Flat road, going at 60% of max pace on the 10-second recovery intervals and sprint pace on the 20-second working intervals (Gonna Make You Sweat -Power Remix, J Rae: 3:58)
- Recovery: Catch your breath as you keep pedaling. After a minute or so, go back to 'active recovery' of 60% pace on a flat road (Dance About It, Paper Tongues: 2:58)
- Climb Tabata: Alternate between a 5 out of 10 max resistance on the 10-second recovery intervals and 6-7 out of 10 on the 20-second working intervals (Boys Wanna Be Her, Peaches: 3:56)
- Recovery: Catch your breath as you keep pedaling. After a minute or so, go back to 'active recovery' of 60% pace on a flat road (Hard On My Love, Robin Thicke: 3:36)
- Climb Tabata: Alternate between a 6 out of 10 max resistance on the 10-second recovery intervals and 7 to 8 out of 10 on the 20-second working intervals (Nasty, Janet Jackson: 4:04)
- Recovery: Catch your breath as you keep pedaling. After a minute or so, go back to 'active recovery' of 60% pace on a flat road. Optional mini-sprints during the chorus (Gettin' Jiggy Wit It, Will Smith: 3:49)
- Moderate Climb Tabata: Alternate between a 4 out of 10 max resistance on the 10-second recovery intervals and 5-6 out of 10 on the 20-second working intervals (Jique, Brazilian Girls: 4:15)
- Steep Climb Tabata: Alternate between a 7 out of 10 max resistance on the 10-second recovery intervals and 8-9 out of 10 on the 20-second working intervals. Slow but strong! ('Till I Collapse, Eminem: 4:58)
- Sprint Downhill Tabata: Flat road, going at 60% of max pace on the 10-second recovery intervals and sprint pace on the 20-second working intervals (Untouched, The Veronicas: 4:15)
- Cool-down: Back off the resistance and keep pedaling, slowing down easily throughout the song and lengthening your inhales and exhales as your heart rate comes down (Breathe, Telepopmusik: 4:56)
Coming up: Chris crosses the #360to30 finish line...and 5 suprising food sources for must-have nutrients.