Today was one of those workouts that seems easy but ends up kicking your butt.
It was tabata day! Tabata training is where you alternate high intensity exercises and short breaks. This kind of workout took me awhile to get on board with. I’ve been a believer for most of my life that the longer you exercise, the better. I figured 60 minutes on an eliptical watching Sex and the City reruns was the way to go, and laughed when I saw infomercials for workouts that would get you your dream body in only 12 minutes a day. It just didn’t make sense to me. Nowadays, I’m much happier working out for 20-30 minutes a day sweating my butt off the entire time.
The basic outline for a tabata workout is:
- 4 minutes long
- 20 seconds of intense exercise
- 10 seconds of rest
- Repeat 8 times for a total of 8 rounds
We had 5 exercises to complete so the whole workout was 20 minutes long. Also, we were only allowed to record our lowest score (so even though I thought I was a badass and started with 13 pushups, I had to record 7 because by the 8th round my arms were crying uncle. No one will ever know of my initial glory. Except you fine folks, of course 🙂 )
Aside from my arch-nemesis “the pull-up”, this was very doable. By the end we were all groaning on the floor, but isn’t that what a good workout should look like?
The best part about tabata training is you can do it anywhere–a hotel room, park, living room, etc., and it doesn’t take up too much of your day. If you want to give this workout a go at home, just replace the pull-ups with another activity like jump roping or mountain climbers–all you need is a stop watch, some loud music, and determination to get it done.
Weekend
A few pictures from the weekend–it wasn’t the healthiest. Not by a longshot. Our crazy girls weekend didn’t go as planned (Megan sprained her ankle on Thursday) so we ended up moping around her apartment which led to not-so-great food decisions. The highlight was definitely the turtle races. Even though they still scare me…
As you can see, fall has finally arrived in all its crisp-air, crunchy-leaf glory! I spent the last few hours of the weekend outside by the lake and it was beautiful.
Today or tomorrow I’m going to try a new recipe for cheesy cauliflower and grilled chicken–if it works out, I’ll share it soon!
Have a great Monday 🙂
i had a big lunch 
Lauren! I’m kind of obsessed with your outfit! More jealous of the fact you can still wear sandals while we’re in full-out boots mode in Canada aka the arctic!
I have zero idea what turtle races are but if they have anything to do with drinking games then I would also be scared! My chugging skills are seriously subpar.
I know it’s been the most bizarre weather (chilly but still sunny) so I can still work the flip flops. I can’t wait for boots-only weather, though. Talk about comfy! And turtle races is a happy hour thing a local bar does where you bet on which turtle will win and if your turtle wins you get free drinks. It was hilarious!
Sounds like a great weekend, regardless! I hope your recipe works out because I want to try it too!