A Tabata-Style Workout That Hits Your Entire Body

A Tabata-Style Workout That Hits Your Entire Body

by Sue Jones
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Your previous workout put a ton of focus on your upper body, so the plan for today is to spread out the love with a Tabata-style workout that will increase your heart rate while challenging muscles in your core, legs, and shoulders.

You may hear “Tabata” used interchangeably with HIIT (high-intensity interval training), but there are some differences between the two. Mainly, Tabata uses a specific work-to-recovery ratio, while with HIIT your ratios can vary. Traditional Tabata workouts use 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest, meaning you’re going hard for twice as long as you’re resting. Tabata is a type of HIIT-style training, but not all HIIT workouts are Tabata workouts.

In this Tabata-style workout, though, you have options if the two-to-one ratio is a bit too challenging for now: As a modification, feel free to add to the rest period. (You can also slow down your movements to do fewer reps during the time period, which will dial down the intensity a bit).

Whichever option you choose, your entire body will be feeling this one. You’ll start with skaters, which will get your heart pumping, and then go right into squats for a quad-and-glute burn. Next you’ll end with three core crushers: the bear crawl and up-down plank, which are great for your shoulder stabilizers, too, and the V-up. If you’re feeling up for an even greater challenge, you can tack on some optional extra credit (see below!) that will really burn out your quads and glutes.

The hallmark of Tabata is near-max effort, so expect these work periods to feel hard. However, it’s also important to listen to your body during this. You shouldn’t be so focused on cranking out reps that your form begins to falter, or any move begins to cause discomfort. And if you feel faint, dizzy, or have difficulty catching your breath, that’s a sign to stop your workout (and check in with your doctor).

Also, because this is a HIIT-style workout, it’s really important that you don’t come into this with your muscles cold. Try one of the quick warm-ups here to prepare your body and your mind for the tough work that comes next!

The workout below is for Day 23 of the SELF Spring Reset Challenge. Check out the full month of workouts right here. Or go to the workout calendar here. If you haven’t signed up to receive daily emails, do that here.

WORKOUT DIRECTIONS

Do each move for your selected period of time. At the end of all 5 moves, rest for 90 seconds. That’s 1 circuit. Do the entire circuit 3–5 times.

  • Option 1: 15 seconds of work, 15 seconds of rest
  • Option 2: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest

EXERCISES

  • Skater
  • Squat
  • Bear Crawl
  • Up-Down Plank
  • V-Up

EXTRA CREDIT

Do 100 reps of squats. Rest for 60 seconds. Then, do a 2-minute glute bridge hold. Break up the squat reps up into however many sets feels best for you, breaking throughout as necessary. To modify this to make it easier, cut the work in half: 50 reps, rest 60 seconds, 1-minute hold.

  • Squat x 100 reps
  • Glute Bridge Hold x 2 min

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