Tabata Brutality

How about a workout that takes just four minutes?

But, these four minutes are the toughest bouts of :20 seconds of intense work followed by only :10 seconds of recovery repeated eight times.

Let me spell that out:
:20 intense work
:10 recovery
:20 intense work
:10 recovery
:20 intense work
:10 recovery
:20 intense work
:10 recovery
:20 intense work
:10 recovery
:20 intense work
:10 recovery
:20 intense work
:10 recovery
:20 intense work
:10 recovery

Now ... apply these intervals to whatever exercise modality you like ...

Spinning
Jogging
Strength Training
Plyometrics
Yoga
Stepmill

And voila! You have four minutes of intense activity that translates to cardiovascular and strength gains!

I challenge you to repeat your tabata intervals up to four times for a twenty minute killer workout!

Be sure to follow with a long, deep stretch, lots of water, an ice bath, epsom salts or whatever else you need to recover from TABATA BRUTALITY!!

(image from: istockphoto.com)