Put It On My Tab(ata)

I was both relieved (OK, cool… a workout I recognize.) and horrified (GAH! Tabata!) when I saw the whiteboard at CrossFit Women this morning. Full tabata: pullups, pushups, situps, squats.

For those of you who have yet to experience the painful glory of the tabata, it’s 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest… eight times. Who would think that four itty-bitty, teeny-tiny, “that’s not even long enough to finish a cigarette” minutes could produce such anguish?

It’s fantastic. (Read all about the science-y part and meet Dr. Tabata himself right here.)

Dave, Bonita, and I did a similiar workout a few months ago, and my numbers were slightly higher — although I know my pushups were deeper this morning. So, potAto, potAHto.

My numbers:
pushups: 12 9 7 7 7 7 7 7
pullups: 9 7 4 4 4 4 4 4
situps: 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
squats: 21 20 19 20 19 19 19 19

I dripped sweat all over the floor in a kind of embarrassing and disgusting way, but I felt like a billion bucks. So fun! During the post-tabata stretch, I was eyeball-to-kneecap and noticed a black rivulet of sweat running down my shin. It made a particularly sexy pattern as it rolled over the still-red, scar-like remnant from the Box Jump FAIL That Changed My Life™.

I. feel. pretty.