Cathe Friedrich's XTrain: Tabatacise DVD

A very high-impact, very high intensity Tabata workout. It's the classic format: 20 seconds of maximum effort, then 10 seconds of “rest,” repeated eight times (for a total of four minutes per Tabata). You get five complete Tabatas. They're intense, but varied — each series uses a totally different set of exercises. You'll be endlessly airborne with a non-stop medley of plyometric favorites — from “pop squats” and “power scissors” to “sprint shooters,” and “frog jumps.” Between each Tabata, Cathe adds a short step-aerobic “recovery” segment (the only time a step is used). Nothing fancy, just a well-cued and well-structured fat-burner.

Requires a step. ©2012.

What if I told you that you could get into fantastic cardio shape by doing as little as four minutes of exercise? Sound too good to be true? Not when it comes to Tabata training. Tabata training has been around for a very long time but has recently been gaining more and more popularity in the fitness industry. Tabata training is a short but very intense type of training workout that improves your aerobic capacity as well as your ability to burn fat long after you have finished your workout. It generally consists of eight high-intensity 20-second intervals, each followed by a 10-second recovery. This may sound easy on paper but trust me it is not!

I have created Tabatacise to reflect this type of Tabata training. The workout consists of five different four-minute Tabata workouts. Each of the five Tabata workouts is followed by a step recovery blast. Since your maximum heart rate will often exceed 90%, I have included these recovery blasts to help bring your heart rate down in a more controlled manner. But beware, there is just a teeny, tiny blast hidden in those recovery periods. Because Tabatacise is so tough, I suggest you gradually work up to doing it in stages or levels. With each new level you attempt, you’ll add one new additional Tabata to your routine – working up to a total of five Tabatas.