by the way, i forgot to mention... my ketostik this morning was off the charts purple. (or pink, or fuscia, or whatever you call that colour.)

OMG,
Gostryder- since you've joined this website, i have very much enjoyed reading your posts...
I didn't say the specialists are wrong, and i didn't say you are wrong!!!!! I was in no way trying to offend you- i was just pointing out that you can create different workouts around the original formula, and that it can be fun!!!! So please, please don't get nasty. I've trained and learned with many males (as there are no other female powerlifters near me, to my regret) and one of the only reasons i could stand all the testosterone and growling, is that they were always respectful. Please keep that in mind even though this isn't the "real world".

I think thrusters are the way to go with tabata's. Cleans and jerks would be monstrous as well, but require learning the proper technique.

My bad Lilli..I'm sorry. I'm just trying to "Hold the ocean back with a broomstick" when it comes to tabatas. I have told some buds about it and they totally went overboard and are fried beyond belief. I hope people who read this as well limit the use of it as well.

Lady C..isolating muscle groups are not ideal when using Tabatas such as the ab lounger. You want total body movement which really tax your overall system,which will help you burn more fat and buld more muscle.

KB is right, maybe he should do a 4 minute Tabata with clean and jerks and report back to us..I'm too much of a wuss..

That would be beyond brutal.

Did anyone watch 20/20 on t.v. last night?
There was a segment on that was about people who want to lose weight should NOT do cardio( it makes you more hungry). And to only do strength training when you work out. A lady lost 100 pounds by only doing resistance exercises 3 times a week and eating 1200 calories a day.

Okay, I tried the Tabatas. I obviously didn't push it hard enough because while I felt exhausted at the end, I wasn't practically dead.

I did thrusters with 5lb dumbbells (I'll have to try 8 or 10lb next time). I did 10 reps of the thrusters during each 20 second intervals (got to 11 or 12 once or twice).

From what I've read, I didn't push myself nearly hard enough, but I'll chalk it up to being a good practice run at it.

It sounds like you've established your base. Now you can make your adjustments for optimal performance.

Hey great job Valerie..yeah try a little heavier weight and go from there.

are you sore at all?

Right now I'm weight training 3 times a week for 60 minutes, full body each time. I was reading one of the tabata sites that said that no matter what you do in the 4 minutes, you can still only burn so many calories given it's so little time. Obivously, you are saying that the "afterburn" mitigates this effect, even though the workout only lasts 4 minutes.

I take it I'm getting an afterburn with 60 minutes 3x a week (which I enjoy, by the way, although I'm tempted to try tabata just to try it), so it's hard for me to believe that 4 minutes would give me the same effect as 60 t.i.d. Any thoughts? Or is Tabata just something for those who are not inclined to work out for longer periods?

If fat loss and muscle gains are your goal,then absolutely choose Tabatas ..as an adjunct to your regular workouts.

Remember less is always more..

My triceps are sore. I'm not sure if it's from the thrusters or from some upper body work I did on Thursday night where I did some tricep work though. It only seemed to show up later today though.

I will treat it like a baseline and try a heavier weight (I'll try 8s) and try to go a little faster next time.

So, today was supposed to be a HIIT day, normally I do 20 minutes. And the 4 minutes just didn't feel like enough, so I just did another 4 minutes. Taking another crack at it, I guess. I did squats with dumbbells at my sides (no thrusters since my triceps were sore). 10 lb dumbbells, and averaging 14 reps per 20 secs this time. I definitely felt this one more. My head felt like it was going explode actually, and I was sweating hard & losing leg strength toward the end, unlike this morning. I've recovered quickly though. Still more of a baseline thing, I think.

Actually, this is highlights one of the reasons I've been toying with getting a trainer once in a while. I'm not sure I can push myself hard enough. I think I might do better with someone yelling out "faster, faster".

This is one reason why I like using a treadmill for Tabata's or just general interval training. I set the incline and the speed and then I have to keep up......there's no choice in the matter.

I do most of mine with kettlebells and sometimes I'll start with a heavier bell, where I may only get 3-4 reps, then drop to a lighter one and finish up the 20 seconds there. I set them up so that the interruption is almost non existent.

I am *so* sore today! I guess those intervals did more than I thought!