Times a countin'...

Today was my first foray into the world of Tabata. It remains to be seen how successful it will be, but I can tell you about my experiences.

First a brief description (for a more thorough description, check here): The Tabata method involves a series of 8 repetitions each lasting 30 seconds. The first 20 seconds of a repetition is spent going balls to the wall doing an activity of your choice. The ten seconds following are for resting. Repeat ad nauseum. Literally.

So for my activity, I chose to do burpees. This is the full burpee - stand, squat, pushup, squat, leap (also sometimes called a squat thrust). I went seven rounds, instead of 8. My lungs were fire, my heart pounding, and my stomach unsettled. Oh, and I got that fun metallic/blood taste in my mouth that I get when I run hard. So I laid on the floor and tried to think of a happy place. My score - 3. That’s right. 3 friggin burpees. (I suppose it should be zero since I didn’t run the last round, but since it was my first trip to flavor country, I’m gonna call 3 good).

Here’s my overall rep count: 6, 5, 5, 3, 4, 3, 4, 0

Not bad, and at under 5 minutes, It almost feels a) like cheating, b) like it’s not worth getting suited up for, and c) medieval torture. But this time it’s even better, because you do it to yourself!