Hi 
Happy almost-weekend! Hope you’re having a great day so far <3
I’m off to teach, but wanted to post this Tabata Thursday video for those who are following the June calendar, or anyone who’d like to get an extra cardio blast in their day.
For more info on Tabata training, check out this post.
Here’s how it works:
-20 seconds of hard work, 10 seconds of rest. Repeat 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. Tabata workouts are crazy effective workouts. The ones I post you’l be able to do anywhere, and it only takes 4 minutes out of your day. BOOM.
-For Tabata Thursdays, I’ll be posting Tabata-style videos with different movements each week. I’ll break down the movements and then we’ll go for it together.
-Feel free to repeat the video 1-2 more times (max) throughout the day, with a decent amount of rest in between. Give yourself at least a few minutes so your heart rate can completely recover.
-Remember, Tabata training is an advanced style of interval training- not the best choice for beginning or intermediate exercisers as it works your heart to maximum capacity. If you’re just getting started, try to incorporate interval training into your routine (maybe 2 minutes easy, 30 seconds hard and increase work/decrease speed from there)
-With any type of interval training, be sure to do it on nonconsecutive days, max 3 times per week. Your heart is a muscle, so just like you biceps, triceps, anything else, it needs rest too.
-As always, check with a doc before making any fitness or nutrition changes. Honor your body and your injuries- if it hurts, don’t do it.
-This week’s moves:
Vertical jump- remember to land with your knees slightly bent (no locked knees!) and push through your heels to spring up. Try to touch the ceiling!
Burpee-make sure to keep your body in a nice straight line when you jump back into a plank position. Ears to heels, one straight line. Take deep breaths and remember to keep your core tight.
Side jump- keep both legs working together and both knees slightly bent the entire time. Use the momentum of your arms and focus on jumping UP, as well as out.
Tuck jump-as high as you can! I like to do two little prep jumps and then a tuck jump, but do whatever you need to do. Try to get your knees to your belly button!
LOTS of jumping!
Here’s the breakdown and workout video:
The actual workout starts around 4:30 so if you’d like to repeat (or mute my music and use your own) definitely feel free to! The only rule: I want to hear what you listened to 
Check in!
Leave a comment when you’ve finished the video (only 4 minutes for the workout portion) and let me know how it goes! Plus I’d love to hear your feedback on how to make these better in the future.
What’s your favorite move that gets your heart rate up FAST?
I’m off!
Happy jumping
xoxo,
Gina
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Hi, I'm Gina. Welcome to The Fitnessista! I love blogging about my adventures as a new mom, military wife and fitness instructor, as well as sharing new workouts and recipes. Check out the About page for more info - thanks for stopping by!
YOWZA!!!! My legs are wobblin’, that was killer!! The tucks were brutal but great. I used “I’m in the House” by Steve Aoki feat Zuper Blahq. I love super effective short workouts!
great job!!
I LOVED Tabata Thursday! Loved the video (watched it on my iphone in line at Starbucks) and immediately downloaded the Tabata Pro app…I hope they are paying you a commission
Completed 3 rounds of the Tabata with 5 minute rests in between and it totally kicked my butt but I felt amazing! I did it in the stretching area of my gym and I think all the zen’d out ladies stretching around me thought I was a little cray. Whatevs!
haha not paying me a commission, but i’m glad you liked it
AWESOME WORK doing 3 rounds! rock star. clapping for you, friend
First time doing tabata- big fan! I did two rounds, then came back to post and Madison (who posted above me) inspired me to go for one more round- super happy for that. I’m super sweaty and it is awesome. No problem with water intake today
Also- I listened to Paralyzer by Finger Eleven and Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 during the workout (I’m a junky- they were on repeat). (Also- I didn’t check in yesterday but I made up my steady state via treadmill since I used Tuesday as a rest day)
whoo hoo!!!!
i love the song paralyzer
Yay! Triple Tabata for the win!
Studies have shown that DNA can be directly related to the way we work out and what we are able to do. For example, I am a slow runner, and that could be directly related to my genetic makeup..what are your thoughts?
Hi, Im not Gina, but work in the fitness/athletic world and thought I would share. Without getting super duper complex, there are three types of muscle fibers. One fiber is traditionally thought of as an endurance type and one is more of a sprint type and one is a mix. Some people believe that if you have one type you won’t be successful at opposite side of the spectrum. However, I am a supporter of the side that says while you may have more of one type, you can train your body and the other muscle fibers to work harder.
Simply put that you may have more of a endurance make up but that doesn’t mean you can’t train like someone who is a good sprinter. It just may be harder for you. It also may take longer for your pace times to go down and workouts like these may be difficult.
Not trying to steal your thunder Gina. Hope you don’t mind
.
not at all! thank you for chiming in with your expertise
xoxo
i think that while some of us may have advantages of disadvantages in that area, it’s definitely possible to overcome them. you may just have to work a little bit harder and with time, you’ll see improvement. i’m the same way, but opposite. i was never a distance runner- more of a sprinter. i had to really train to be able to run long distances
Love the video! Thanks for making it for us
i’m so happy you liked it!
For my money, Burpees are the winner for elevating the heart rate. But it seems everyone does Burpees differently. My vote is for the full-on flop onto the belly (or go squat thrust into a push up), and do either a jumping jack or a jump once you get back to your feet.
Rowing machine sprints are a close second. I have a water rower, and if you do a 500m sprint in 1:40 or less, you can expect to come close to a meltdown.
haha i’ve always been afraid of the rowing machine
so tabata is new to me. but i LOVE it! love that it’s over and done with extremely quickly, but a very effective and intense workout. i did it 3x in a 30 minute time span. loving the accountability here. free motivation for me to hang in there.
amazing job!!
Did you see this??? http://www.sharecare.com/static/sharecarenow-names-the-top-10-influencers-of-online-fitness-conversation
Congrats!!!
xx
yes, going to blog about it tonight! thank you- i’m really honored that they included me <3
Gina- sorry for the off topic questions.
1) I asked you this before about your heart rate monitor but I can not for the life of me, find that post to see if you already answered. Are you using it more to ensure your heart rate is elevated or to see how many calories you burned? Both maybe?
2) Is there a way that when we comment on a post, there can be that option of “be notified when there is a response to your comment”? Some other bloggers I follow have this and this way, I dont have to keep checking the post for your answer. I get an email when you’ve responded.
Just curious if that would be possible or too much trouble to include this feature?
Thanks so much!
hey girl!
1) it’s the polar ft40- i love it! i use it for both
2) i can definitely add that option when my revamp goes live!
xoxo
Thanks for the info on Tabata… all very new to me.
How many 4 minute rounds per day should you be aiming for?
i’d stop at 3- you can do 4 max, but i probably wouldn’t do more than that
I did 3 rounds in 15 minutes and I am a drrrripping sweaty mess!
Great workout–I love Tabata…With two kids under 3, I don’t have time for anything else!! haha…
Checking in for Tabata Thursday. It was my first time doing Tabata, and wow it is intense! I am definitely huffing and puffing
I will try for 1-2 more rounds, also going to get my bedtime ab burner in tonight because I haven’t done it this week yet! I am totally motivated by Summer Shape Up! I love it!! Thanks!!
Holy Legs, Batman! That was intense in all the right ways! I did the Tabata described in the video and followed it up with my own consisting of bodyweight squats and squat pulses (20 seconds of pulses is no joke). Might have to call in sick tomorrow
Followed it all up with a mile run cool down (9:49).
I feel like I didn’t sweat that much in comparison to longer workouts, but my heart rate was sooo accelerated it was crazy. It was like the hardest I’ve ever breathed in my life. And the main thing I noticed was afterwards, my mood was totally lifted. I find this a lot with exercise obviously, but tabata seemed to be even more effective. My energy levels were sooo high after just 2 rounds! So awesome. I’m going to try to get up early and get in workout 2 before work, just because I know that I tend to want to blow off workouts Friday evening when I get home and the week is finally over. Thanks again Gina and good job everyone! So inspired!
Have an early start tomorrow so this will be perfect to get in something quick. This looks killer. My legs will curse your name.
Made myself a sweaty mess with other moves today.
Hi Gina
I’m emailing you all the way from very cold South Africa! I discovered your blog a week ago and I can’t stop reading it! I’m fascinated by your diet and I love seeing all the pictures of the dishes you make! I already “stole” some of your recipe’s to try out. Just like you, I love eating healthy and exercising regularly…but I must admit, that if there’s one thing I struggle with, it’s what to do when people invite me over for a “wine and dine” evening and they serve me food which I don’t eat for health reasons! It’s not like you can just turn it away and say “no thanks”.
I’m just curious to how you handle situations like that?
Congratulations on your blog doing so well! Its really fantastic
Rochelle
i just did the Tabata workout and it was AMAZING! I did two rounds with 5-6 minutes rest inbetween. My heart was beating soooo fast! I did it while listenint to AOTP “Cookin’ Keys” but that was the music that my app (that i just downloaded
) put on for me, but it was great anyways! The Burpees are killeeeers!! xxx Nadja
Thanks for making the video – this workout was amazing! I was planning on taking yesterday as a rest day because we were traveling to our vacation destination but managed to cram in one round before we left for the flight and another once we settled in upon arrival. My legs are jello today. This was such a great (totally new-to-me) and intense workout but SO easy to fit in to the day. Thanks!
I did two rounds this morning and it was fantastic! I felt a bit silly jumping all over in the gym at 5am, but it was totally worth it and I was completely awake by the time I was done. I cant wait to see what other combinations you come up with. Thanks!
I can’t wait to do this workout. I love tabata because of the time efficiency. My favorite move that gets my heart rate up is the burpee. I love that burpees are full body moves and you can add a push up or other variation.
Great video as I had no clue what Tabata was. I completed 2 rounds last night and it got my heart rate going for sure. No exciting music while doing mine, just the background of a Lego Ninjago episode ( I have a 2 yr & 6 yr old). My 2 yr old started doing the vertical jumps with me when he saw all the jumping I was doing. Too cute!
Yay! Liked this workaout a lot. And I am definitely no Michael Jordan. My tuck jumps were about 3 inches off the floor. I’m sure I didn’t look very graceful doing this but that is one of the perks of doing it in your living room with only your dog watching. She doesn’t judge.
Gina I must tell you how much I love this
I am so happy to hear you will be doing this weekly as I LOVE tabata! I love your approach to fitness so I am so excited that YOU are the one doing these videos for us!
Have a great weekend xoxo
Oh, my favourite move to get my heart rate up is high knees
Love ‘em
my legs are shakin!!! loved this post and cant wait to see more like it!
Just did 3 rounds. My heart was pumping, I could barely catch my breath, and I’m dripping in sweat! Love this workout, especially as a quick workout for days I work and don’t have much time. I love how you can get creative and come up with whatever moves you want.
my calves are KILLING ME TODAY! And i did this like 2 days ago!
Happy Tabata Monday! Wasn’t able to join in the fun on Thursday but was dying to try this work out.
Holy heartbeats batman! What a great quick workout. Now I feel better about having a glass of wine at girls night tonight
!
Just a thought for others out there, I downloaded a Free tabata app because I wasn’t sure if I would like the Tabata workout. While this one doesn’t have all the options Gina’s has, it works for this workout. Tabata timer if anyone wanted to know.
Thanks again Gina.
Doh, forgot to write what song I listened to.
Wynter Gordon: Dirty Talk (Laidback Luke remix)
Awesome workout!! I didn’t have much time today to do a longer workout but this hit the spot perfectly! Thanks, Gina
amazing! glad you liked it!
Can’t wait to try this!! Thanks for sharing Gina
Loved this tabata workout!!!! I did 3 Rounds and I feel amazing
my poor puppy was so confused though- thought we were playing lol! The side jumps were Killer I would have never thought to do them myself thank you !!! I did a tabata workout at a fitness seminar last week and she had us Doing 8 rounds of rows, squats, pushups and sit ups totalling 16 minutes it was pretty cool since that was my first time doing it with actually weights trying to get as many reps in every 20 seconds… Definitely felt it the next day!
!!
Thank you Gina you’re amaing! Loving the SSU too!
Today seemed harder than Tuesday’s workout. I made it through it though. Tabata was rough! Going to try again before bed. Great workout. Definitely a keeper!
awesome- so happy you liked it!
Gina this was great! I used your music. Just did it with you
<3
whoo hoo!
Wow! This is great! Who knew I could get so out of breath in 4 minutes?
Hi Gina! My mama and I just completed this tabata round, and your combo from the week after this one! Whew, in a good way, we are pooped! Definitely a challenge but fun at the same time. Thanks to you, tabata is our newly found rainy day sweat sesh of choice (it’s a rainy one here in Melbourne, Australia today). So, thank you! We’ve been following your blog for about a year now and love absolutely everything about it.
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I want to encourage you to definitely continue
your great job, have a nice afternoon!